Tag Archives: Westport Family Y

Breaking News — YMCA Re-opens At Noon On Friday

Posted on November 29, 2012 | 30 comments

The Westport Weston Family Y announced late today that it has received a temporary Certificate of Occupancy from town officials. The Y resumes operations — on a limited basis — tomorrow (Friday, November 30), at noon.

Family Y CEO Rob Reeves said:

“I am very proud of the work our staff and contracting partners have done to get us to this point. It’s been 4 weeks of cleaning up, drying out and undertaking the many complex tasks involved with getting our facility back in working order.”

The Y will resume operations using 2 external generators. These rooms and services will be open:

  • ·         All locker rooms
  • ·         Stauffer Pool
  • ·         Fitness center upper level
  • ·         Upper gym
  • ·         Racquet courts
  • ·         Gymnastics center
  • ·         Dance center studio
  • ·         Spinning room
  • ·         Bedford Room

 The lower level of the Fitness Center remains shut until early next week.

YMCA aquatic director Nicole Turechek checks the temperature of the Stauffer Pool, prior to reopening.

The shallow, warm-water Brophy Pool was refilled on Tuesday, and a new heater connection is being established. It’s expected to re-open later next week.

The Family Child Care Center, in the lower level of the original Bedford building, suffered extensive flood damage. It is in the process of being completely renovated.

The Y’s infant/toddler rooms (upstairs only) will be ready to open on Monday.

Plenty of work needed to be done on the Y’s flood-damaged Child Care Center.

Y officials thanked the many contractors who helped recover from Hurricane Sandy, as well as  area facilities that welcomed Y members and hosted numerous classes and programs during the hiatus. Those facilities include the YMCAs of Norwalk, Wilton, New Canaan, Darien and Fairfield, as well as Wakeman Boys & Girls Club in Southport, Intensity in Norwalk, Fairfield Country Day School, Christ & Holy Trinity Church, Westport Center for Senior Activities and Staples High School.

Meanwhile, as one door — er, YMCA — opens, another closes. The Norwalk Y on West Avenue will cease operations on December 31. Officials cited declining membership and contributions, as well as the cost of maintaining the nearly 90-year-old building, as reasons for the move.

Click here to read more about the Norwalk Y closing, from the Hour.

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Posted in People, Weather, YMCA

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Y Devastation: An Update

Posted on November 1, 2012 | 6 comments

According to the Westport Family Y blog:

Work continued today at the Family Y, as part of a multi-faceted effort to restore basic operations.

A tanker truck is onsite, serving as a “mega shop vac” to suction up water from the sub-basement areas of the facility. It is composed of 5 separate buildings — some dating to 1923 — and linked together by a labyrinth of passageways and stairwells below street level.

A heavy-duty generator arrived at 9:30 this morning, as Y staff and service partners attempt to resupply parts of the building with power. A priority is getting electricity restored at least to power the phone lines and reboot the servers that run the Y’s email system.

The childcare center sustained heavy damage from Hurricane Sandy.

Clean up of the lower-level Child Care Center continues, with much of the water-damaged school supplies to be discarded. Tasha Dennison, the Y’s senior director of Child Care and School Age Programs, toured her classrooms this morning in an effort to begin the process of taking inventory and reordering key material and furniture. All was not lost, but close to it.

No schedule has been set as of today for reopening parts of the building to Y members and the community. The process to “rebuild what matters” will require much effort on the part of Y employees and volunteers and our service partners and sub-contractors. We ask for your continued patience and prayers, and thank you for your support.

Water damage caused the Y gym floor to buckle.

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Y Takes A Direct Hit

Posted on October 30, 2012 | 3 comments

In times of crisis, the Westport Y has always taken care of our community.

Today — and for the foreseeable future — it’s trying to take care of itself.

All mechanical and electrical services are located in the basement. Rob Reeves — Westport Y CEO — just called. The basement was inundated with 20 feet of water.

The Stauffer Pool was wetter than usual. Water came up from underground.

Both childcare and the firehouse fitness center are under water.

Major repairs loom. The Y will be closed until further notice.

Fortunately, members have reciprocal privileges at other area Ys, including Wilton, Norwalk, Darien, New Canaan, Fairfield, Trumbull and Stamford.

They may be closed too — particularly those near water — so it’s best to call first.

The Westport Y’s location near the Saugatuck River made it particularly vulnerable to Hurricane Sandy’s storm surge.

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Flooded With Swimmers

Posted on September 9, 2012 | 19 comments

The Westport Y expected 70 kids at last week’s 2-day Water Rat swim team tryouts.

More than 150 showed up.

There are approximately 210 spots on the squad. With up to 170 swimmers returning from last season, that’s plenty of competition.

Head coach Ellen Johnston cites the Summer Olympics as contributing to the surge. She also points to the strength of the team, its history, and the coaching staff. Betsy Matheney was just named Connecticut Age Group Coach of the Year; Mark Sedlak won that honor in 2011.

The Y hopes to leverage the surge of interest with a new initiative. “Just Add Water Soon” — aka JAWS — aims to raise an additional $1.5 million by October 29 to expand the planned 25-yard lap pool at the new Mahackeno facility by 2 lanes (to 10).

JAWS would also widen the warm-water family/teaching pool by 7 feet.

October 29 is the date the Y boards are expected to sign off on the final design documents for Mahackeno.

A view from the back of the planned 54,000-square foot Y at Mahackeno. The aquatic center is on the right. (Robert A.M. Stern Architects)

The Y is 90% on its way to closing its gap of $3 million. That would fully fund the new Y, as planned.

Critics have claimed that the swim program — specifically, the Water Rat team — has been a driving force behind the Y’s move to Mahackeno.

Now, the Y is using a spike in swim interest to add extra lanes and new features. They want to prove that all members — from pre-swimmers to seniors in Aqua Fitness class — will benefit.

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Posted in Sports, YMCA

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Big Holes To Fill

Posted on August 15, 2012 | 7 comments

Scott Smith is a longtime, and very alert, “06880” reader. As communications director of the Westport Y, he also spends a lot of time downtown. Last week he sent this photo of a huge hole in the parking lot behind the new building going up at 100 Post Road East, next to the old Town Hall (now Spruce).

As a self-described “Touch-a-Truck kind of dad,” Scott has followed the construction of the building — the 1st new one downtown in 40 years — with interest. He says:

Like most job sites around town, they had to pound away for days through solid rock ledge to dig the foundation. I’m always amazed to see the guys working the machinery, how dexterous they are and how oblivious they seem to be to all that jarring noise. I’d last about two hours on the job.

So that’s why I was intrigued to see that in the parking lot just a few feet away, when they had to dig another hole through the pavement, there was 10 feet of garden-variety dirt with loose river rock, then another 10 or 12 feet of pure gray sand. It was very cool-looking, and a classic study in our curious local geology.

The sinkhole was filled in the next day or so; end of lesson. But it got me thinking about other places around town with big holes in the ground, or just filled in, or new plans to dig big. My son and I have ridden our bikes to the top part of Gault’s new development in Saugatuck – that’s a lot of rock! The Gaults have done such a nice job so far. I can’t wait to see how the next phase of the development goes.

And last week I attended the opening ceremony of Cliff’s Place, the new halfway house at Longshore. That modest little project turned out very well, and is just the first of some even bigger privately funded construction projects in the works that will serve a public purpose.

There’s the swanky new Levitt Pavilion, which just received town approval (and some public funding), and, of course our new Y, which will break ground in December. (I’m a member of the Golf Advisory Committee, and work at the Y – a partner/sponsor of some Levitt children’s performances — full disclosure!)

The brick buildings at Compo may get some work.

As “06880” well documents, and as WestportNow.com’s “Teardown of the Day” shows us, virtually every day there are new (big) homes going up all over town. Combine that with some other projects in the planning stages downtown (the movie theater, the remaking of our own old Y) and what I hear may be an ambitious renovation of Compo Beach’s dilapidated brick buildings, all this work gives me a good feeling that we really are “rebuilding America” (at least our small part of it).

Think how many guys are working these days, or will be, on job sites locally. And once they pack up for other sites and leave the ribbon-cutting for those in shiny shoes and nice ties, think how our community will be the better for it.

I think we’re making good progress these days. Don’t you?

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Posted in Downtown, Local business, Longshore, Organizations, People, Real estate, Saugatuck, YMCA

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Macaroni Kid

Posted on July 7, 2012 | Comments Off on Macaroni Kid

In January, Cathy Siroka’s 5-year-old son was diagnosed with celiac disease. The news changed her life.

After learning all she could about the condition, she was motivated to promote healthy nutrition. With years of experience in marketing communications, writing and editing, she researched parenting newsletters for good ideas.

One — Macaroni Kid — appeared in every search.

It’s a national template with content covering health, travel, fitness and safety. But there are opportunities for local content too. “Publisher Moms” provide information on family-based activities — classes, shows, events — as well as home-based stuff like cooking projects, and arts and crafts.

There was no need to reinvent the wheel. Cathy became editor/publisher of the Westport-to-Greenwich edition.

In just 6 weeks ago, she’s already signed up a couple of hundred subscribers.

It’s not easy work. In addition to marketing Macaroni Kid to readers and advertisers, she hunts down all those family-friendly activities. Keeps up to date on new store openings (and closings). And asks organizers and merchants for discounts, coupons and free passes (for contest prizes).

She also writes appealing copy each for each week’s free e-newsletter, and oversees the Macaroni Kid website.

The current newsletter includes information on a kids’ triathlon at the Stamford JCC, a summer youth job fair in Bridgeport, Westport’s Great Duck Race, and the July 15 Westport Y Point to Point Swim.

The Westport Y Point to Point Swim is a great family event.

There’s also a giveaway: 2 family 4-pack tickets to Stepping Stones’ Summer Jam Teen Concert. The age range for Macaroni Kid is “newborn through high school,” Cathy says.

Newsletter subscribers gain access to a 24/7 family forum. It’s intended for posts like “Can anyone recommend a good swim teacher?” and “It’s 7:30 on a Saturday night. I need a dentist — help!”

In just 6 weeks publishing Macaroni Kid, Cathy — an 8-year Westporter — says she’s learned a lot about this town.

“People in Westport care a lot about their kids,” she notes. “But they’re very giving. They appreciate what they have. They don’t take living here for granted. They realize that with this life comes responsibilities. They really like events that have charitable aspects to them.”

Particularly if — as the Macaroni Kid tagline says — they “entertain, stimulate and exhaust” their kids.

(Got an idea for an article or event listing? Email catherines@macaronikid.com)

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Posted in Children, Entertainment, People, Teenagers

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Generous Westporters Make Fresh Air Fun

Posted on June 3, 2012 | Comments Off on Generous Westporters Make Fresh Air Fun

A recent “06880” post on the Fresh Air Fund — noting the importance of providing a week here for inner-city youngsters, and the difficulty of finding host families — sparked immediate interest.

A month later, the ripples keep spreading.

Eileen Ogintz and her husband Andy Yemma will once again open their home. But both work during the day.

The boy they’re hosting loves soccer. Eileen heard that Mickey Kydes runs a camp in Westport during that week. She made a quick inquiry — and Mickey offered a full scholarship.

Her next stop was Athletic Shoe Factory, for gear. Instantly, owner Chris Buchner gave her a brand new pair of soccer shoes, plus shin guards and socks.

Mickey and Chris follow a great tradition. As the Westport Y has done for years, they’ll again provide free spots for Fresh Air children at Camp Mahackeno.

Eileen hopes other Westport merchants can follow Mickey, ASF and the Y’s lead. For example, she’d love for restaurants and ice cream places to give host families a break. “Most of these kids have never been somewhere that isn’t fast food,” she says.

“If everyone just does a little bit, the impact can be huge.”

(Business owners wishing to help Fresh Air Fund hosts provide a great experience can call Martha Mintzer at 203-226-6627, or email martha_mintzer@yahoo.com. Click here to learn more about the Fresh Air Fund.)

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Posted in Children, Local business, People, YMCA

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Applying The Cunningham

Posted on May 19, 2012 | 9 comments

When most Westporters read that Briggs Cunningham III — a great-grandson of Edward T. Bedford, the founder of the Westport YMCA — pledged $250,000 to support the new facility at Camp Mahackeno, they may have thought “that’s a lot of money.”

Or “Briggs Cunningham III — what a WASPy name.”

Neil Brickley –a good friend of mine who learned to sail off Burying Hill Beach, within sight of the old Bedford estate (now Green’s Farms Academy) — thought, “I wonder if that’s the same Briggs Cunningham who invented ‘the Cunningham.'” (If you’re not a boater — and I’m not — then you don’t know that a Cunningham is “a common device on sailboats that adjusts sail tension.”)

“Cunningham downhaul” (Photo/Wikipedia)

“Applying the Cunningham” is apparently a favorite sailing technique. Though it sounds like something right out of the Kama Sutra, via The Onion.

Neil is right. The inventor — Briggs Cunningham II — has quite an entry in Wikipedia. He was, that impeccable source says, “an American entrepreneur and sportsman, who raced automobiles and yachts.

“He skippered the victorious yacht Columbia in the 1958 America’s Cup race, and invented the eponymous device, the Cunningham, to increase the speed of racing sailboats.”

He learned to sail at 6. He began racing at 17, out of Pequot Yacht Club. Briggs II left Yale to marry Lucy Bedford — daughter of Standard Oil heir F.T. (Fred) Bedford. Not a bad career move.

In addition to sailboat racing, II competed in the 24-hour auto race at Le Mans. In 1951 he designed and built the Cunningham C-4R, a race car with “a sleek, hand-hammered aluminum body and Chrysler’s newly introduced V-8 engine, (which) has been called America’s first sports car.”

Briggs Cunningham II, on the cover of Time.

On April 26, 1954 Briggs II was on the cover of Time magazine, with 3 of his Cunningham racing cars. (“The H-Bomb In Color” rated only a ribbon at the top.)

So I’m guessing the $250,000 his son — Briggs III — just pledged to the Y isn’t going to break the bank. (Briggs III’s sister, Lucie McKinney, pledged $500,000. But she’s got more skin in the game. She’s a Westporter — III lives in Kentucky — and 2 of her 5 children are Y board members.)

The Cunningham-Bedford Y connection is indeed strong. In 1944 the Y was offered 30 acres of land off Sunny Lane, near their newly established camp. Fred Bedford (Briggs II’s father-in-law, and III’s grandfather) said the Bedford Trust Fund would pay half of the cost — provided the Westport community matched it.

The total amount:  $10,000.

In 1945 the Y moved onto the new land, which they called Bedford Camp. The next year — at Fred’s request — it was changed to Mahackeno. The name honored Mahackemo, the chief of the Norwalke Indians, who in the early 1600s used the property as a summer home lodge.

Which is all you need to know today about Mahackeno, the Bedford family, Briggs Cunninghams II and III, and how generations of boaters have changed the shape of their sails.

Camp Mahackeno, shortly after the name was changed from Bedford Camp.

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Posted in Looking back, People, Sports, YMCA

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YMCA Moves One Step Closer To Mahackeno

Posted on May 15, 2012 | 23 comments

Two months ago, the Westport Weston Family Y announced some stark news. It was $6.2 million short in its fundraising campaign. Unless it raised sufficient funds by mid-May, the Y said, it would not proceed with plans for Phase I — the scaled-down version — of its new facility at Mahackeno.

Yesterday, the board of directors and board of trustees voted unanimously to forge ahead with their new home. Over the past 8 weeks, board of directors president Bonnie Strittmatter said, they’ve received “more than $4.4 million in contributions.”

That funding, she said, “has given the Boards the confidence to release funds that will keep our building project on track to break ground in the fall.”

The boards, she added, “are optimistic that the progress we’ve made with fundraising will continue until we reach our goal of fully funding the first phase of our building project by the time construction starts.”

The Y has now raised more than $10.6 million toward its building project.

The YMCA also announced an intention to complete the sale of its downtown building.

In all, today’s press release said, the Y “has identified $34.1 million in funding, including proceeds from the agreed-upon sale of its current home.” It is estimated Phase I will cost $37.5 million, leaving a funding gap of $3.4 million.

Construction is scheduled to begin this fall, with a target date for opening of November 2014.

In other news, the Family Y trustees voted to issue a “Written Notice of Intent to Close” on the previously agreed-upon sale of the Y’s current facility at 59 Post Road East to Bedford Square Associates.

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Y’s Men Serve, Learn, Celebrate

Posted on April 19, 2012 | 2 comments

By the time they reach retirement age, many Westport men hold positions of power and prestige. CEOs, CFOs, masters of the universe — they are enormously experienced, and wise beyond their years.

But those years tick by. The day they retire, these men have time on their hands, in a suburban town they may not know well, and where every other adult seems to be working or caring for kids.

If they’re really wise, these guys join the Y’s Men.

On Tuesday, the Y’s Men celebrated their 35th birthday. Many of their 460 members — and wives, significant others and friends — jammed the Unitarian Church to eat, be entertained, and do what they do best: listen, talk and learn.

From its formation in 1977 — and its 1st meeting in January 1978, with 9 men — the Y’s Men has grown into one of Westport’s premier social and service organizations.

Every  Thursday morning, guest speakers enlighten members on an enormous range of subjects, stimulating great discussions. In just the past year the group has heard from Connecticut’s governor, attorney general and chief justice, and a Federal Reserve Board governor.

Last month Sarah Bloom Raskin -- a Federal Reserve Board governor -- addressed the Y's Men. The list of speakers is varied, and fascinating.

The Y’s Men sponsor activities like hiking, skiing and bridge. There are clubs for international politics, investments, Apple technology, books, collecting, cameras and memoir writing. Y’s Men travel — locally, throughout the US, and abroad — on trips that combine education and sightseeing.

There are monthly dinners, summer evening picnics at Compo, singing with the Hoot Owls, listening to jazz, gardening, boating, golfing, tennis and ping pong.

And members throw themselves into a variety of service activities, from delivering food to the needy and transporting patients, to cleaning up public spaces.

What was most impressive on Tuesday, though, was the camaraderie and enjoyment the Y’s Men drew from the club, and each other.

“I had a great group of professional friends,” president Jeff Hare said. “Now I’ve got another great group. I feel as engaged with things today as I ever have.”

Every year, the Y's Men sponsor a Memorial Day float. This one honored member (and Navy veteran) Barry McCabe.

Another member — chowing down on a buffet line that stretched nearly the entire length of the meeting hall — said that although he lived in Westport his entire working life, he’d never really known the town. Now, he said, he knows its history, its people, its organizations, its rhythms, its beauty — and he is proud to help it, however he can.

Every member has a talent to share. MBAs help with finances; designers run the website; engineers offer insights during a discussion on oil drilling.

The Y’s Men are proud to be one of the largest and most successful retired and semi-retired men’s groups in the state.

They’re proud too that members span a broad political spectrum. Debates can be challenging. But, one member said, “If I’ve learned one thing in this group, it’s that you’re never too old to learn.”

(For more information on the Y’s Men click here, or contact Roy Fuchs by email at royfuchs@snet.net, or phone at 203-856-4321.)

Last year, the Y's Men sponsored a ski trip to Deer Valley, Utah.

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