New YMCA Leader Selected - Begins in September
Richard G. Snyder YMCA’s newest executive director Jack Clevesy will begin in mid-September, but was actually scheduled to be in the area during the weekend steak fry (submitted photo).
by Jonathan Weaver
About four months after Joely Beeker resigned as CEO of the Richard G. Snyder YMCA in Kittanning, board directors are pleased to announce the appointment of a new executive director.
Jack Clevesy – the current Director of Operations at the Green County Family YMCA in Monroe, Wis. – will officially begin his local appointment in mid-September.
Board Director Rich Thomas said since mid-May, applications for the top position were sent “from all over the country” – though not from current Richard G. Snyder YMCA staff.
“(Board of Directors) probably went through a hundred people – a lot of them were local,” Thomas said. “We’ve been interviewing (Clevesy) in one capacity or another for probably about two months – though the first face-to-face meeting was probably about two weeks ago.
“It would’ve been great to find somebody local – and we did have some really good candidates -, but we were looking for the best person for the job. And, Jack is just tremendous.”
Several rounds of interviews and background research narrowed the field of applicants before Clevesy’s offer in mid-August – which Thomas said was made due to Clevesy’s energy and enthusiasm for becoming a community leader in Armstrong County.
A Massachusetts native, Clevesy has led operations at different YMCAs in North Carolina and Wisconsin during the past 11 years and boxed at the YMCA following his U.S. Marine Corps enlistment. He was attracted to Armstrong County because of family that still live in the northeastern United States.
“I’m going to retire with the Y – the Y is what I do,” Clevesy said.
Clevesy and his wife of 34 years, Andrea, enjoy outdoor sports – such as skiing, snowboarding and running.
“Can’t wait to get on the Armstrong Trail,” Clevesy said. “We do a lot of cycling – last year, we (rode) over a thousand miles on our bicycles. I love the demographics and the geographic of the area. It’s the right fit.”
Thomas – who has been involved for more than 20 years - thanked Interim CEO Bethany Riggle – Beeker’s former marketing and brand advocate– for her work during the summer.
“She has stepped up to the challenge – I cannot say enough good things about (Riggle),” Thomas said. “(Riggle) has gone out of her way to unite the staff, to keep things not just running, but running very well.
If she would’ve applied for the position, we would have struggled with that. We wanted to do a full-fledged national search, but she has been phenomenal.”
Clevesy actually attended the YMCA’s annual fundraiser at Rood’s Riviera in Tarrtown last weekend.
“I believe there (were) going to be about 122 people at this event, so it’s a great place for folks to get the chance to know me and for me to get to know them as well,” Clevesy said. “The Richard G. Snyder has done a really good job of attracting really fine, quality folks.”
Clevesy estimated the City of Monroe – located only 20 miles from the Illinois border and 10 hours from Kittanning - has a population of about 11,000 people.
Local News | jweaver August 29, 2016
Loading ...
By savvynewshound, August 29, 2016 @ 12:18 PM
I’ve read a lot lately about the YMCA being a community organization. it’s unfortunate that nobody local was qualified for the position the last 3 times it became available.