Sometime after the first of the year, Bradford will be losing a
13-year member of the community who was also able to revamp the
Bradford YMCA from a nearly closed institution to one continually
developing new programs.
Chuck Brooks, executive director and chief executive officer of
the Bradford Family YMCA, announced Tuesday he will be leaving for
Bay City, Mich., in early January.
“It’s a career move. It’s the next step,” said Brooks Tuesday
evening. “I will be going to an area north of Detroit, near Lake
Huron. The YMCA is 120 years old and the board is looking to
develop a new one in the city, at one of three sites. They needed
someone to come in and do community development and cultivation for
funding.”
Brooks explained that the YMCA he intends to go to is a 4,000
member organization in a city of 35,000 people, and a county of
110,000, with an average income of about $63,000 per household.
“It’s a little different area,” he added.
Brooks said that when he arrived in Bradford, the YMCA was six
to eight months from closing its doors, and he had to get to work
to develop a financial strategic plan that would eventually lead to
building and to what the YMCA has now.
“But it wasn’t just me. It was the board and staff that led us
to accomplish the goal in a new building,” he said. “The building
is the tool of the trade.”
As for his replacement, Brooks said the YMCA of the USA will
determine the next course of action for the Bradford location while
looking to fill his position and may even start with an interim
director.
Brooks said there are so many stories that go along with working
at the YMCA, he could not relate them all, but made reference to
the recent success of Justin Willoughby and his family that have
lost a combined total of more than 700 pounds using the YMCA
equipment for fitness while eating a new diet.
He also mentioned a community service student who did his work
at the YMCA to return later to hug the person he worked with before
he left for an armed service. Another positive story Brooks talked
of is the use of the facility by senior citizens.
“They join and come here and work out to make their lives
better. It’s great to see them here,” said Brooks. “And the
6-year-old that joins the swimming or gymnastic teams and after
about six months, they seem about 20 years old.
“You just can’t work at the Y without moving stories of people
working to change their lives through a lot of work,” added
Brooks.
Some of the programs that were created while Brooks was at the
helm include a year-round YMCA Child Care Program that serves 85
children in the school year and 115 during the summer months;
community and employee health initiatives; aquatic safety; and the
development of a financial assistance program that provides program
and membership scholarship support.
The most recent program was made possible by a grant from the
Pennsylvania Department of Health, where the YMCA, in cooperation
with Bradford Regional Medical Center’s Center for Diabetes and
McKean County Diabetes Task Force, worked to receive a $120,000
contract to implement a plan to change the growth of diabetes and
improve the lives of McKean County residents. This program was
initiated in the spring and will last for three years.
Outside of the YMCA, Brooks is no stranger to local
organizations and clubs. In fact, he worked with a few others to
create the Mountain Laurel Harmonizers four years ago and has
continued to work on the First Night Bradford committee since its
beginning in 1997. He is also current chairman of the Bradford
Rotary Club, and belongs to many other organizations.
Brooks said he has been trying to reach the groups he belongs to
in an effort to let them know he will be leaving and to resign from
them.
About Bradford, Brooks said, “Sometimes Bradford is just hard on
itself.
“Every community struggles and we need to realize there are a
lot of good things here – good schools, a great college, great
hospital, great services, a generous community of people who tend
to look after each other, and just a wonderful place for people to
live and grow up,” said Brooks. “I hope people will look at the
positive things. I think that will help the area grow.”
