Dear McGaw YMCA Community,

Last week I announced to the Board that I have asked Board Chair Kirk Hoopingarner to begin a CEO search process for a new CEO of the McGaw YMCA. Simply said, our new strategic plan and long range vision are amazing. These exciting initiatives challenge us to develop a much longer-term perspective and require a longer commitment to leading this work than I can make. This was a tough decision to make with a long-term horizon that is so bright for McGaw and our community.

Since I came to McGaw in 2003, I've loved my work. I am very proud of the accomplishments made by our staff. I am also proud of our Board, our members and our entire community. This is a truly remarkable resource with amazing staff, Board, volunteer, and donor support and deep community engagement.

The McGaw CEO position is a highly desirable position and there are likely outstanding CEO candidates who will present themselves. Further, it is my belief that there's significant potential upside for our YMCA and our community by introducing:

• Different Energy - A sense of institutional renewal will provide real bounce for our work and increase our impact
• New Leadership - New eyes, vision, and empathy will reach deeper into the community building on the strong base we have
• A Bold Leap Forward - New leadership with different energy will bring additional change management capital

With the guidance and support of our Y-USA Resource Director and a Y-USA search specialist, Kirk has formed a CEO Transition Committee which the Board endorsed last week. The Committee includes current and former Board and community leaders:

Surveys have been sent to current Board members and leadership staff seeking their input on the search process and candidate qualifications. This information will be reviewed by the Committee when they hold their first meeting July 16th. Kirk emphasized that he fully intends to make this process as transparent and objective as possible.

I intend to continue as CEO until a smooth transition is achieved. I look forward to exploring opportunities for me to continue to advance the cause-driven work and impact of the YMCA. I would also like to explore possibilities in other non-profit organizations that are committed to community-building and social responsibility. Beth and I want to stay in Evanston, to grow our relationships, and continue to be engaged in this great community.

It's been both an honor and my great pleasure to serve the McGaw YMCA as CEO.  Thank you for all you do to make our YMCA so strong.

Sincerely,

Bill Geiger

President / CEO