Posted onFebruary 12, 2025|Comments Off on New Westport Y CEO Glen Hale: A Familiar Face
The Westport Weston Family YMCA’s search for a new chief executive officer ended right where it began: inside its Bedford Family Center.
Glen Hale takes over, effective immediately.
He does not have far to go. He has served as interim CEO since August, when Anjali McCormick resigned.
Prior to that, Hale was the Westport Y’s chief financial officer.
Glen Hale
The Y calls him “a career leader (who) has managed cross-functional teams, executed global growth initiatives and acquisitions, and implemented organization-wide technology systems.” He is also a certified public accountant.
Hale has over 25 years of experience with non-profit organizations, including CFO for several organizations.
“Paired with a lifelong interest in athletics and sports – both as a participant and a fan – Hale’s skills and passions align well with the YMCA’s mission of promoting healthy living and youth development,” the Y says.
The Y recently earned Praesidium Accreditation — the highest industry standards — for its safety efforts.
The organization also reached its maximum membership capacity of 12,500. Over 1,000 people are on the wait list. Winter programs have set record participation levels.
Westport Weston Family YMCA board president Juliane Sunderland says, “I have had the pleasure of working with Glen for a number of years. His extensive experience, financial acumen, and deep commitment to our mission make him the ideal leader to guide our organization into its next chapter of growth and community impact.
“With Glen at the helm, alongside our strong leadership team, we are confident in our ability to move forward and achieve our goals.
The Westport Y’s Bedford Family Center, at its Mahackeno campus.
John McKinney, chair of the Y board of trustees, adds, “Glen has a deep understanding of our organization, the community we serve, and has a clear plan for our future. As we look toward the next century of service, we are confident that under Glen’s leadership, the Westport Weston Family Y will continue to serve as a cornerstone of the community.”
Hale says, “I’m honored and excited to take on this role. The WWFY has a rich history of serving our community, and I’m eager to build upon that legacy by expanding our program portfolio and strengthening community partnerships.
“I look forward to continuing my work with our great team and highly engaged membership, and striving for excellence in all that we do.”
Hale is married, with 2 daughters. He and his family moved from New York to Connecticut 20 years ago.
(“06880” regularly covers the Y — and many other Westport non-profits. If you enjoy our hyper-local focus, please click here to support our own non-profit work. Thank you!)
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New York Times chief theater critic Jesse Green gave a rave review to “Cult of Love,” the new show that opened Thursday at the Helen Hayes Theater.
He likes the “rip-roaring home-for-the-holidays dramedy” for its plot, direction, music and more.
He also praises playwright Leslye Headland. This is the 1999 Staples High School graduate’s Broadway debut. But she’s earned kudos before, as a playwright, screenwriter and director (“Bachelorette,” “Sleeping With Other People,” “Russian Doll,” “The Acolyte”).
“Cult of Love” is Headland’s final work in a series called “Seven Deadly Plays.” Inspired by the 7 deadly sins, this one is about pride. It was first staged in Los Angeles in 2018.
The play focuses on 4 adult children of one family and their partners, coming home for a contentious holiday gathering.
Green writes: “Though ‘Cult of Love,’ like many unhappy family reunion plays, draws big buckets of humor from the toxic brew of religion and repression, those buckets also draw blood.
“Headland knows just how to get there, suggesting deep familiarity with the territory. But she also has a gift for complication and construction, as was already evident in “Bachelorette,” her Bridezillas Gone Wild breakthrough play of 2010…. Loading pattern on pattern — a holiday-season design don’t for most — is for her an opportunity to dizzy us down to hell.”
Click here for the full Times review. Click here for more information about “Cult of Love.” (Hat tip: Tommy Greenwald)
The Board of Education’s Policy Committee meets Wednesday (December 18, 9 a.m., Town Hall Room 307), with a wide-ranging agenda.
They’ll discuss the first reading of possible revisions to graduation requirements; admission to the Westport Public Schools at or before age 5 and assignment to grade levels; and student attendance, truancy and chronic absenteeism.
The committee will also discuss health concerns “such as lice,” and a possible new civility policy.
meanwhile, the Long Lots School Building Committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday has been postponed to Wednesday (December 18, 6 p.m., Town Hall Room 307/309. The agenda has not yet been posted.
Speaking of schools: All month long, Kings Highway Elementary School students have collected gifts for their annual Holiday Bear drive.
Each year, the Connecticut Education Foundation’s Holiday Bear provides gifts for children whose families face financial or other hardships.
The KHS Caring Council helped package 25 Holiday Bear bags.
Meanwhile, yesterday the school helped raise funds for Connecticut Children’s Hospital.
Students also wore pajamas as part of a statewide spirit day.
It’s been an eventful month for Kings Highway!
A few of Kings Highway’s many holiday bags.
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John McKinney is the newest member of the Connecticut Mirror’s board of directors.
The Mirror is state’s non-profit, non-partisan, digital source for public policy, government and politcal news.
McKinney — a descendant of Westport’s famed Bedford family — is also a trustee of the Westport Weston Family YMCA.
The former State Senate minority leader and a Republican candidate for governor, he was appointed by Governor Ned Lamont to the Liquor Control Commission in 2021.
McKinney serves on the advisory board of Operation Hope, a homeless shelter in Fairfield. He and his family help provide housing and care for people with AIDS through the Stewart B. McKinney Foundation. It is named for his father, the longtime US Congressman from Westport’s district.
And finally … on this date in 1819, Alabama became the 22nd US state.
(Whether you’re here in Westport, way down in Alabama, or anywhere else, “06880” is your hyper-local source for news, events and much more. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Posted onAugust 29, 2014|Comments Off on Y Cuts The Ribbon; Long Journey Is Almost Complete
A video tribute featuring Allen Raymond was the emotional highlight of yesterday evening’s Westport Y ribbon-cutting ceremony. But there were many other memorable moments too, at the new Mahackeno facility.
The spacious new parking lot was filled. Y members, staffers, volunteers and friends gathered to celebrate the move from the 90-year-old downtown facility, to the one off Wilton Road.
Longtime benefactors were honored at a pre-dedication reception inside. The Gault, Mitchell and Tauck families headed the list.
Robin Tauck enjoys one of the Y’s new group fitness studios.
Then the group assembled outside the west-facing front entrance. Replicating the work of his predecessor 91 years ago, Reverend Jeffrey Rider of Greens Farms Congregational Church delivered a prayer that invoked the first chapter of the Bible: Rather than dwell alone, mankind should be part of a community.
1st Selectman Jim Marpe continued the theme. He said the Y makes the community more whole, more healthful and more connected.
State Senator John McKinney — a Bedford descendant — described his family’s 5-generation support of the Y.
Board president Bonnie Strittmatter and trustees chairman Pete Wolgast thanked many people. So did Y CEO Rob Reeves, with a special shout-out to principal designer Kevin Smith.
Y CEO Rob Reeves, and the crowd outside the new building.
After the ribbon was cut, 250 people poured into the new Y. The adults ate, talked and toured, while the kids romped in the new gym.
It was a great start. But it’s premature. Until final inspections are done and permits are issued — hopefully within a few days — the downtown Y will linger on.
Enjoying the evening (from left): Ruth Sherman, who has taught aqua fitness at the Y since the 1960s; former CEO Helene Weir, and Patty Kondub, a popular Y spin and aqua teacher. (Photos/Scott Smith)
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Some powerful voices roared last night, as the Zoning Board of Appeals considered an application for a new entrance/exit from the Post Plaza Shopping Center onto South Morningside Drive.
The proposed driveway — referred to by some proponents as a benign-sounding “curb cut” — would be built directly opposite the Green’s Farms Elementary School bus exit. Hundreds of area residents fought the idea, citing safety concerns.
The main entrance and exit for Post Plaza Shopping Center. The entrance and exit would be at the rear, on South Morningside Drive.
Opponents included State Senator John McKinney, who represents Green’s Farms in Hartford, and presumably had other things to do — hours earlier, he announced he’s running for governor.
First selectman candidate Jim Marpe also blasted the proposal.
But some of the strongest words belonged to Joan Constantikes. In 1971 she helped lead the original fight against an entrance/exit there — before construction of the shopping center even began.
Calling the design “selfish and aggrandizing, which would endanger the entire neighborhood,” the octogenarian said (in a letter read by RTM member Dewey Loselle):
It is never too late to do the right thing, and the same issues exist now as existed back then: Do you put the desires of a business group before the needs and safety of school children? I sincerely hope that the kinds of people who joined our cause back then will come to the fore again, and that right will prevail.
More than 4 decades after she began, Joan Constantikes still battles for children.
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