Taking time to reflect, appreciate, and celebrate is always exciting. On Thursday, February 23, the La Porte County Family YMCA held its 113th annual State of the Y to reflect on its incredible community impact, show some appreciation for its hardworking staff and volunteers, and celebrate all the wonderful achievements its team has made in the past year. Over 100 community leaders, volunteers, and YMCA staff and board members came together as individuals and left as a unified team excited and eager for the future.
It’s not often that people get to take a moment to reflect on the achievements they’ve made. The State of the Y was the perfect opportunity for the La Porte County Family YMCA to showcase the impact its had on the community in the past year.
“It’s important to keep in perspective all the things we’ve done and the impact we’ve had. Even we as staff tend to forget because we’re busy all the time, so it’s nice to take a step back and say, ‘Wow, look at all the nice things we did,’” said Laurie Halaska, CEO of the La Porte County Family YMCA.
The theme of this year was engagement, and the La Porte County Family YMCA has definitely done an excellent job of engaging with the community in the past year. Halaska explained that since the COVID-19 pandemic, the La Porte County Family YMCA’s membership numbers have increased tremendously—its numbers have just passed the 9,000 membership mark.
Halaska also spoke about the La Porte County Family YMCA’s mission to get kids more engaged. The La Porte County Family YMCA provided free swim lessons to the fourth-grade students at Lincoln Elementary School. During this program, each student was provided with their own personalized swimsuit, towel, and other swimming equipment. The La Porte County Family YMCA also provided three free weeks of summer day camp at its Michigan City branch.
These were just a few of the many accomplishments the La Porte County Family YMCA made in the past year. The La Porte County Family YMCA team hopes that showcasing all the great things it has done will get the community excited and encourage them to keep working hard to make more great things happen.
“It’s really rewarding. It’s a great way to celebrate what has happened over the last year. The Y is crucial to our community, especially for young kids, and showing all the positive experiences that have happened will hopefully allow us to keep building on that and take it to the next level,” said Jessica Romine, vice president and governance chair of the La Porte County Family YMCA.
Getting people excited was no problem. La Porte Mayor Tom Dermody, who was in attendance, was beyond proud to hear about everything the La Porte County Family YMCA has accomplished. He can’t wait to see and support everything its team does in the future.
“All the stuff they’re doing is just fantastic. I grew up going to the Y, and I love the YMCA. There are already even better things coming–we’re excited as they start to build a new facility, and the City of La Porte is fully behind it. Between the Y and the Healthcare Foundation of La Porte, so many great things are happening,” said Dermody.
The event was also the perfect way to recognize and celebrate all the wonderful YMCA staff who make these achievements possible.
“They all work so hard all year round. We’re constantly growing things–we’re increasing our number of YMCA memberships, and we’re increasing our amount of programming. It’s just really nice to gather and celebrate everything we’ve accomplished together,” said Dawn Zigler, board president.
Awards were given to several amazing volunteers and staff members as well as the Y’s retiring board members and newly elected board members.
“I want to thank our board members. We could not do this without our amazing board. Everything they do comes from the heart. They’re so passionate about our YMCA, and they are truly the heart and soul of our organization,” said Halaska.
All in all, the event was the heartwarming gathering the community needed to celebrate all of the La Porte County Family YMCA’s tremendous achievements. The impact La Porte County Family YMCA has had on the community in the past year is remarkable, and it’s sure to have an even greater impact in the coming years.
To learn more about the La Porte County Family YMCA, visit lpymca.org.
