| Our Facility Map
to help you find our YMCA in Chillicothe.
|
This
is the entry to our YMCA drive. The landscaping is dedicated to Ms. Janet Crookshanks. |
 Our YMCA has a large parking area in front and a large outdoor
playing field in the back. We offer handicap parking at our front entries. Our two front
entries allow visitors to enter directly into the new
gymnasium, or they can enter the main facility at our front desk area. Our friendly
receptionists begin duty at 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. You can ask for a locker key and begin your workout.
Our two gymnasiums provide plenty of room for basketball,
volleyball, the indoor  tennis court, pitching machine action, and much more.
Bleachers offer comfortable seating for parents, students, and visitors. We also have a
complete scoreboard in our newest gym. And, you can watch the action from above as you
walk our indoor track. Our gymnastics area is off the new gym in a separate area for ease
of use.
The weight machines and exercise equipment are upstairs.
You have several to choose from, including free weights in our new weight room. Our
certified instructors and adult fitness classes will help you
learn the proper way to use the wide variety of equipment. From stationery bikes to
elliptical machines, stair climbers, a large selection of weight machines, Cycle Reebok
spinning cycles, and Life Fitness treadmills with
heart rate monitoring systems, you can select the exercise program appropriate for your
needs.
Hedrick Foundation donates $10,000 to Grand River Area Family YMCA
Wednesday, January 4, 2006 The Hedrick Foundation recently made a $10,000 donation to the Grand River Area Family YMCA in memory and appreciation of Walter T. Miller who served as a dedicated member of the foundation board for over 25 years.
Specifically, the money is directed to the endowment fund of the YMCA which will help to insure the financial security and maintenance of the YMCA facility.
Miller died in June 2005 and as a Hedrick Foundation board member, encouraged the foundation to invest in the purchase of the YMCA land and its indoor swimming pool.
Our multi-purpose room is great for our aerobics programs, birthday
parties, and meetings. In the summer, this is the hub for our summer day camps.
 In October, 2002,
our youth activity center was remodeled extensively and renamed
the "Sally Welch Young Memorial Youth Center." The Center includes a big-screen
TV, air hockey machine, electric dome hockey game, pinball machine, two computers with
Internet, video games, sectional couch, bookcases with sports memorabilia, and tables and
chairs. A kitchen and TV and VCR are also in the babysitting area.
Swim in our Olympic-size pool
or relax in the hot tub, then shower and change. Play racquetball
in our racquetball court or watch the action from the viewing areas on the second floor.
Whatever your interest, we have it at the YMCA!
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New Addition January, 1999
The grand opening of our new addition was Saturday, January
16, 1999. The  celebration
began at 2:00 p.m. with a dedication of the entire building and a short program to thank
donors and supporters of the YMCA expansion project.
Dave Rogers, Executive Director, welcomed visitors and
dignitaries in our multi-purpose room before the tours began.
Snapshots of the Grand Opening
Seeds of Expansion
Ideas of expansion began with some generous foundations, including the Hedrick Foundation
and the Roger A. Browning Foundation, which started when Mr. Browning willed $100,000 to
the YMCA. Other avenues making the expansion possible was a grant from the Youth
Opportunities Program administered through the Missouri Department of Economic Development
which provided $250,000 in tax credits to some initial donors and generous local banks. In order to get the tax credits,
the YMCA needed up-front pledges. The four local banks - Bank Midwest, Chillicothe State
Bank, Citizens Bank and Trust, and Investors Federal
- pledged money.
The Y formally kicked off its capital campaign in May,
1997, with a lofty goal of reaching $1.3 million to build a new
gymnasium, gymnastics center, weight room, youth activity center, and to fund the
Y-PALS program and build the YMCA Endowment Fund. The fund-raising campaign ran through
the end of July of that year with 18 volunteers working to reach the goal. More than
$700,000 had been raised before the campaign kicked off in what were called
"Pace-setter" gifts.
Five months later, in what fund drive chairman, Robert
Cowherd, termed an "amazingly easy" effort, a whopping $1.595
million had been pledged to fund the 13,228-square foot expansion of the facility - the
first addition to the structure. Most of the pledged money was generated locally, from
individuals, businesses, foundations, etc. At reaching the local goal of about $1.2
million, the project met the conditions set out by the Mabee Foundation of Oklahoma City
to qualify for a $200,000 gift from that entity, taking the overall capital-raising effort
over the $1.5 million mark. Of the total raised, $200,000 was put into the Y's endowment
fund, the interest from which will help offset the higher operational
costs which will be incurred  by the larger facility. In addition, $30,000 will be deposited into
the Y-PALS program over a three-year period ($10,000 per year) to help finance the youth
mentoring program.
With the financing demands met, attention turned to getting
actual construction work started. On the first day of November, 1997, friends and
supporters gathered to celebrate the Y's 5th year in the facility that opened in 1992. The
crowd also celebrated with shovels in hand, as YMCA staff, board, and youth broke ground
for the new expansion. In February, 1998, bids for construction came in and work began.
In June, 1998, The Roger A. Browning Foundation pledged
$125,000 to the 
YMCA which would be paid over five years. The City of Chillicothe provides strong support for the YMCA. Former Mayor
Jerry Wilford, left in the photo at right, presented a key to the city to Mr.
David Ross, one of the trustees of The Hedrick Foundation, at our Grand Opening. A
big "thank you" goes to Mr. Ross for the investment that has been made through
The Hedrick Foundation; not only to the YMCA, but also to the community.
Original photos
provided by Patrice Wagy Robertson.
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 In the spring of 2001, we
added our Kid's Play Park. The ribbon cutting was held on Friday, April 6, with Frances
Buckner of the Sensenich Foundation (the largest contributor to the project) cutting the
ribbon. Board members and staff attended the event with Dave Rogers, Executive Director.
The park is 19 feet wide, 29 feet long, 18 feet tall, and
designed for children between the ages of 3 and 10. The park officially opened Monday,
April 9, 2001. The project was made possible through several generous donations.
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