You can't spell everyone without the Y

Jan. 31—HENDERSON — Though named the Young Men's Christian Association, the fitness center seeks to be a place for everybody.

Paul Ross, CEO, said as much. His job is to ensure all 80 to 95 staff members, from lifeguards to nursery workers, have the resources they need to do their jobs — and to set the culture.

"That culture comes out of our mission statement," said Ross. The Y is a Christian, faith-based organization, but it doesn't seek to proselytize. "We're here to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We're here to serve, to meet the needs of people, to help them improve their lives and to be the last two words of our mission statement, for all. We're here for everybody."

The Y offers lots of youth programming, like the 80 or so students that show up for the after-school program, so their safety and security are paramount. Each guest aged 18 or older is scanned through the National Sex Offender Registry. The youth area is divided strictly from the adult area.

They also have an easy conduct policy — the golden rule.

"It's not a high threshold," said Ross. "We want you here, whether you're five years old and you need an after-school program, or you're 95."

They once had a 92-year-old taking a senior's class with some 40 peers. All classes for them are age-appropriate — senior citizens work out with belts and exercise balls.

On Tuesday, some 30 Henderson Collegiate students joined the dozens of other kids in the Y. As mentioned, the youth area is in the back of the 39,000 square foot facility — there's a cafeteria for snacks, a squash court-turned activity room, a nursery for young kids and a Kids Zone for slightly older kids, wherein there are varied daily events and plenty of room for socialization and play.

That area was packed that day — the background music was barely audible over the chatter of children. Indeed, the whole Y was alive — a swim team splashed, basketball players dribbled, their shoes squeaking on the court and clanks were audible from the weight room.

One more thing — the Y has a pool safety program that has educated some 16,000 kids since 2012 about how to float and how to safely save someone from drowning. The hope there is to get parents interested in proper swimming classes.

There has been historical inequity in, of all things, access to swimming pools. During the Jim Crow era, "public" pools were segregated, meaning many Black people never had access to swimming lessons. That's why the safety program is so great, Ross said — it's for everybody.

"There's no barrier," said Ross. Most participants in the program are minorities, he said.

Now how about him?

Ross is Vance County born and raised. Once a lawyer, he was a third of Hight, Faulkner and Ross and stuck with them for 13 years, practicing transactional and real estate law, deeds, wills and so forth. Ross recruited Jonathan Care, the current county attorney, some years ago.

Afterwards, he entered a new area of practice, mediation, later still running into the Louisburg-based attorney Charles Davis, a former State Bar Association president. Davis said Ross should join the state Judicial Standards Commission, which investigates and prosecutes, if necessary, judges for intentional misconduct. Ross served as the JSC's executive director from 2003-2014.

"I enjoyed that work, loved that work," said Ross. "But I just happened to read in the Dispatch that Woody Caudle, the previous CEO here, was retiring. It was the front page of the Dispatch."

Though always living in Henderson, he felt a rift between him and his hometown — he was out before the sun was up and back in time for dinner.

"You always have naysayers about the community," said Ross. "I have no right to complain if I'm not doing my part to make it better."

See where this is going? They sat down for lunch, Caudle imparted some wisdom and gave his soon-to-be replacement an idea of what the job would be like.

Ross recounted Caudle's words — "You will never be bored."

"He didn't go into all of the details about some things, which I still chastise him about — you made that sound really fun!" Ross joked. "Which, it has been. It has a been very fulfilling time."

With a little encouragement from one Templeton Blackburn, he took the job. He'd be closer to his and his wife's families, which was a nice bonus.

Everything seemed to line up for Ross to pick up Caudle's mantle.

"It just seemed like a good move to make," said Ross. "There was some stuff going on in Raleigh that I wasn't thrilled about, it was no reason to leave, but a lot of the things just lined up.

"It would be a great opportunity for me to engage in the community, serve the people that live here who have always been so good to me. I had an incredible experience growing up here, I couldn't ask for better. It was a good way to give back."

The move represented a way for him to reconnect with his community. He coached volleyball, but that didn't let him connect with Henderson at large.

Ross recounted listening to a podcast on his way to work on Tuesday about the sermon on the mount, in which many of the lines begin with "blessed is he who."

"[Blessed] is such a richer, deeper word than the current English connotation," said Ross. "How great is the quality of my life because of whatever?"

For Ross, it's the people he gets to work with every day.

"That's exactly the way I feel. I get to come in and work with these incredible people, have a relationship with them, share our lives with each other, pray with each other, cry with each other, encourage each other and celebrate when things go well," said Ross. "How great is that?"

Some of those people are Director of Membership Tesa Alexander, who first joined the Y out of an interest in its mission to reach the community.

"We promote healthy living, that's what this community needs," said Alexander. She graduated from Leadership Vance last year and currently sits on the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, which she hopes will open up some resources for the Y.

Director of Health and Wellness LaTonya Brown, a former Army airborne medic, worked for corporate gyms in the past — but found they were all about making money. She was a member of her local YMCA, saw their service-focused mission and wanted to take part, doing so when she moved to Henderson.

"If we were trying to get a new charter today, we couldn't get one," said Ross. "They'd say, your community doesn't have the capacity to support you."

Blackburn, who helped get the place built in the first place, alongside Roses and Harriet and Henderson Cotton Mill, made it possible. The mill's departure was a big loss — but the Y still stands, and it's got some ambition, with a renovation planned that may add another 2,000 square feet as well as revamp the existing facility.

Ross said the organization is reassessing the process, so things are up in the air for the moment. They'll be finding an architect and a contractor to work together in the design phase — that's more cost and time-efficient.

They're also trying to determine how much they'll need to replace. The building was first constructed with different sensibilities in mind — lower ceilings and less natural light. The modern fitness center has vaulted ceilings and more windows, as well as better ventilation. The current system is safe but could do with some improvements.

"Do we build all new, that depends on the funding," said Ross. They've got $17.5 million committed from Henderson-Vance Healthcare, Maria Parham's predecessor. It may be more financially responsible to build a new building, he said.

If anything, they need a new pool — the current one is only three feet deep at either end, so no diving allowed, which means no swim meets. A new wellness center is also on the menu, which would also mean a new weight room, as they're adjacent. Those two rooms are where most adults go.

Right across the way is the former Department of Social Services Building, which the YMCA bought from the county in mid-2022. Ross thanked Dr. Khanh Vu at Vance Family Medicine for his financial contribution. The building is used as storage, currently. The plan is to knock it down and use the space for either a new field or more parking.

The Y relies on fundraising more so nowadays. Those interested in donating should call 252-438-2144 and ask for Ross.