Last evening, members of both boards of the Tyrone Area YMCA met at the Tyrone Elementary School to discuss a resolution to the conflict that began at the December 17 board of directors meeting.
The resolution the groups agreed upon is that a new election will be held to fill the six vacant positions for the board of directors.
All paid members of the Tyrone Area YMCA as of January 14, 2004 will be allowed to vote on these positions. Any member of the YMCA can nominate any other member of the YMCA to run for one of the six vacant positions.
According to the resolution released by the board of directors, with Linda Hershey as president, “Any current Tyrone Area YMCA member, 18 years of age or older interested in serving on the YMCA Board of Directors can sign-up at the YMCA by 5 p.m. Wednesday, January 14, 2004 to be placed on the ballot.
“An election will be held on January 19 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the YMCA. Any current YMCA member as of January 14, 2004 who is 18 years of age or older is eligible to vote on January 19, 2004.
“Six positions need to be filled for the fifteen member board. The top five vote getters will be placed on the Board for a three year term. The next top vote getter will be placed on the Board for a two year term.”
Members of the sitting board who were in attendance at the meeting last evening included: president, Linda Hershey; Reverend Norman Huff, Dave Sneath, Pete Dutrow, Fred Miller, Luke Rhoades, Tammy Emigh, Phil DeHaas and Jim Bigelow.
Members of the newly-elected board who were in attendance included: Keith Beisel, Ray Liddick, Staci Watson, Dr. Richard Shildt, Bill Fink and Greg Ray.
National YMCA representatives Julia Gallaher and Dave Long were also present to act as mediators in the meeting, which reportedly started at 7 p.m. and lasted for three-and-a-half hours.
Tyrone Area YMCA executive director Amy Hampton was not invited to last evening’s meeting. She told The Daily Herald that members of the board visited the staff at the YMCA this morning to give them the information that was decided upon at last evening’s meeting.
Hampton said at this point no changes in staffing have been made. Also, she hopes to get six people willing to serve on the board of directors who support both the YMCA and the community.
“Anytime you can get the public involved in an organization like the YMCA, which is here for the public, it’s a good thing,” said Hampton.
“I think everyone has to be happy. We do need to hold an election. It’s a positive thing. Hopefully, it’s been a learning experience for everyone, and we can move on.”
Fred Miller, whose term on the board of directors expired in December, said, “I think it’s a good resolution for the YMCA, the community and everyone involved. I know everyone involved will continue to strive for the best interests of the YMCA and the community.
“The YMCA is an integral part of Tyrone, and the consensus idea at last night’s meeting was for the best interest of the YMCA.”
Keno Beezer, the long-time executive director of the Moshannon Valley YMCA, said the situation was “very unfortunate.”
“The YMCA organization is important for small communities like Tyrone,” said Beezer. “I saw the news broadcast on the television last night and immediately, my thoughts went to the community.
“I just hope they can clear everything up and get that YMCA back on a positive track.”
Dr. Shildt said he hopes the community will all pull together to become active in the YMCA by attending the meetings, knowing what is going on with the board of directors and the programming at the YMCA.
The purpose of last evening’s meeting stemmed from the turmoil that began at the December 17 board of directors meeting held at the YMCA building.
The sitting board met for the election of new directors, but the meeting was adjourned quickly because as Hershey told The Daily Herald, if someone was being “unproductive,” it was in the rights of the board to adjourn the meeting and move on.
After the board members left the December 17 meeting, members of the public, who were also YMCA members, stayed behind.
The spokesperson for the group was Dr. Shildt. He explained to those in attendance what he felt the existing board was doing incorrectly.
According to Dr. Shildt, all existing board members, except Tammy Emigh, were not paid members of the YMCA. He said in the YMCA By-laws it states that board members must be paid members of the YMCA.
It was at the December 17 meeting that YMCA executive director Amy Hampton was appointed temporary chairperson, and based upon a vote, a newly-elected board of directors was also appointed.
