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PHILL MORGAN
FROM THE PRESIDENT
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The month of May brings a change from the harsh and unpredictable winter weather. We look forward to the blooming of flowers, warmer weather, going to grandkids' ball games, and their end-of-school-year functions.
You are planning your next trip. You just recently returned from a YMCA Alumni gathering or are planning to attend the next one.
Enjoy and reflect on Mother’s Day as a time to remember the moms in our families who work tirelessly and lovingly each day, as well as the moms who are no longer with us.
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Take time to reflect and plan something you have been putting off. Maybe now is the time to get started on your project. We can also look at May as a time of renewal. Call a friend you haven’t spoken with in a long time.
Maybe now is the time they need you to listen and reconnect. We all need to take care of ourselves. Remember those impactful words - spirit, mind, and body - which can be put into action if we are lacking in any area. Welcome May!
| | The City of Fountains awaits us. Watch this short, splashy video as members of the Kansas City Symphony give us a tour of some of the city's most iconic water fountains. There are more than 200 of them. Only Rome, Italy has more. Just click the small black arrow in the center of the image above. | | Watch this space, Facebook, your chapter newsletters, and the front page of our website for details as they are developed by the Planning Committee. | | |
A ZOOM 'CZECH-IN'
BY LAURA KAMPERMAN
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Remember before cell phones, when the telephone company used to say, “Calling, it’s the next best thing to being there”? YMCA Alumni members are doing that through the International Service Corps (ISC), by reaching out internationally via online Zoom meetings with young people in other countries.
For over a year, Alumni volunteers have been sharing life experiences with young people in Siberia, Russia. Recently, a new group was started with school-age children and young adults in the Czech Republic.
This new group was initiated by Lenka Simanova, director of the YMCA in Stary Plzenec, Czech Republic, where three YMCA Alumni volunteers spent a week last summer assisting day campers with activities and practicing English, under ISC auspices.
This inaugural call involved eight adults plus eleven children who attended the summer camp last year.
After introductions and everyone sharing something about their year since camp, a game was played to encourage the children to participate and practice their English.
In a scavenger hunt format, each child was asked to find things in their home that were round, soft, purple, and made noise, and return to tell about what they had found. Director Simanova also announced the theme for this summer’s English Camp. It will be “Alice in Wonderland.” To acquaint them with the theme, she asked the children to name or describe as many of the characters in the story as they knew.
YMCA Alumni members who participated on the call were Kim Decker (Central Atlantic Chapter), Alena Wenker and Laura Kamperman (Weatherford Chapter), and Jon Vance (Chambers Chapter). Decker, Wenker, and Kamperman served as camp counselors for a week last summer. This summer, Vance will join Wenker and Decker for the week of English Camp in Stary Plzenec.
All YMCA Alumni members are welcome to get involved in online international calls or join a short-term service project abroad with a group or as an individual. Contact ISC Chair Tracy Muckey for more information.
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MEMORY LANE
WITH BILL MOSS
'HOW'S IT GOING AT THE Y?'
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The Mehagian and Mardian families had been friends in the Ottoman Empire, and both were refugees in the early 1920s. The Mardians ended up in Pasadena, and the Mehagians came to Phoenix. They kept in touch.
The Mardians were contractors, and the Mehagians were into home furnishings. Dan Mardian's father sent him to Phoenix to build Mehagian's Furniture Store (above photo). Dan (right photo) liked it here, saw a need for a major construction company, and stayed. Dan's brother Sam joined him in the business after WWII.
Both Mardians were active community leaders. I met Dan when I joined Kiwanis; however, both Mardians were also active in the YMCA. Sam was the Mayor of Phoenix and, at the same time, Chairman of the Metro Y Board when I was hired as the COO.
Years passed. Dan aged, and indicated he was going to resign from Kiwanis because he would have to give up driving. Hearing this, I volunteered to drive Dan to and from our meetings if he wanted to continue in the club.
On my way to Kiwanis, I would drive to Dan’s home to pick him up, and we would continue the three miles to the meeting. I brought him home afterward.
I got a kick out of our weekly conversations, both on the way to the meeting and on the way home. We had the same conversation. EVERY TIME!
Dan would begin by asking what was going on at the Y, then tell me about growing up in Pasadena. He went to school with Jackie Robinson, and Dan's brother Sam played high school baseball with him. Then he would talk about how he came to Phoenix and started his company.
Then he would jump to WWII, where he was drafted and eventually commanded a construction battalion. In his battalion, he had a number of black troops that he trained to operate heavy equipment.
He was proud to have advised them to sharpen their skills with this equipment, and they would get good jobs after the war. Then he would tell me how his company built the Arizona State University Stadium, and that led to his role in starting the university's contractors' degree program. And then, he would get back to, "So how is everything at the Y?"
That would cover our trip both coming and going every Tuesday.
When I attended Dan's funeral, on my way into the church, I ran into Art Mehagian. Art invited me to sit with him and his son. When we went into the church, Art and his son were ushered into the Mardian family section. Art insisted that I sit with him, too.
I was honored.
| | Bill Moss is a member of the Grand Canyon Chapter, serves on the National Service Project Standing Committee and was editor of this newsletter when it was known as "The Old Guard News." Bill was a nominee for the 2025 F. William Stahl Award. | | CO-CHAIRS NAMED FOR STAHL AWARD 2027 SELECTION COMMITTEE | | |
Two former recipients of YMCA Alumni’s prestigious F. William Stahl Award – Nancy Reece (2025) and Len Wilson (2019) – have been appointed co-chairs of the Stahl Award Selection Committee for 2027 by President Phill Morgan. (Photo: Len presents Stahl Award to Nancy on Reunion Cruise in 2025.) The prestigious Stahl Award is YMCA Alumni's only national honor.
The committee, to be selected by the co-chairs, will solicit new nominations, include runner-ups from the 2025 process, and choose the next recipient. The award will be presented at the June 2027 YMCA Alumni Reunion in Kansas City.
The award is given in recognition of Bill Stahl’s dedication and commitment to the YMCA, the YMCA profession, and the art of written communications. It is generally presented every few years at a YMCA Alumni national event or reunion.
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CHAPTER CHECK-IN
IOWA, TEXAS, SO. CAROLINA
| | Members of the Mott Chapter got together this spring for a meet-up in Fairfield, IA. Top photo L-R: Golfers Nick and Nancy Zimmer, Jim Weaton, and Marv Zimmerman played a round; Bottom left (L-R): New officers were elected, including Treasurer Mary Carol Fish, (Mary Carol is Past YMCA Alumni National President), Louie Warren, President, and Connie Zimmerman, secretary; Right Photo: The Weatons -- Lori, Nate, and Jim Weaton. Members took in a Neil Diamond tribute concert and several tours. | | College Station, Texas -- the home of Texas A&M -- welcomed members of the Shreiner Chapter Spring Gathering. Left photo L-R: Ellen and Craig Schaefer, Florence Bice, Kathleen and Jerry Vincent taking in the A&M Garden. Right photo: Florence Bice and Pam Power in front of the Marine 1 Helicopter at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. | | Charleston, SC drew in a good crowd of Weatherford Chapter members for their annual Spring Fling. A water taxi ride from the hotel to the Historic District got things off to a good start. Tania and Kevin Griffin relaxed in a "comfy" resort chair. | |
SPOTLIGHT
'DANUBE DREAM' RIVER CRUISE
MAY 6 - 14, 2027
AVALON WATERWAYS
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Cruise along the peaceful and storied Danube River through Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary. Visit some of Central Europe’s most splendid capitals and charming towns along the way. Your fellow passengers on this Avalon Waterways river cruise number only 166, so register soon.
We begin our river journey with two nights in Prague, Czech Republic. Then, enjoy the magnificent views as our Danube River cruise takes us through the picturesque wine region of the Wachau Valley, concluding in Vienna, the “City of Music.”
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ALL ABOARD:
One of the most anticipated, sold-out YMCA Alumni Travel Club trips ever -- Scenic Switzerland by Rail -- will roll down its high-altitude tracks with more than 30 members taking in the awe-inspiring sights later this month. The trip, hosted by YMCA Alumni Immediate Past President Jean Carmichael, is a perfect example of why it's so important to register as soon as trips are announced. To all our members aboard: Have a wonderful time!
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We want you to know about the recent passing of a chapter president and answer a question we often get: “Where can I find out which YMCA retirees have passed away?”
First, David Paul Snow, the newly elected president of the Mott Chapter, left us in early March. He died at home in Bennington, NE, surrounded by his wife, Connie, and family members. Dave had served YMCAs in New England, Missouri, Montana, Iowa, and North Dakota. He was 83 years old.
We post a list of those who have left us as soon as we receive it from Y Retirement. Click HERE.
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Following the passing of Dave Snow, the Mott Chapter has elected Louie Warren as its president.
Louie began his YMCA Career at the Topeka YMCA in 1976, later moving on to the Auburn Valley Branch of the Seattle YMCA.
He is best known for his 23 years of work with the YMCA of Greater Omaha, NE. Louie was Executive Director of the Southwest Branch, Vice President of Operations, and retired in 2011 after serving 17 years as President/CEO.
The Mott Chapter service area includes all of Iowa and the eastern portion of Nebraska.
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
YMCA ALUMNI
| | THE CONNECTION is written, edited and produced by craig altschul + associates (ca+a). It is published 12 times yearly. Next issue: June 2, 2026. | | OUR MISSION: To provide opportunities for members to Connect, Travel, and Serve while nurturing worldwide Christian fellowship. | | IMPORTANT NOTE: Please think twice when unsubscribing to any unsolicited email. If it has been sent to you by Constant Contact, they are not allowed, by law, to send any more emails to you, including from YMCA Alumni. Just flick away emails you don't want -- but please don't "unsubscribe." We can get you re-subscribed ONLY ONCE. Send us an email if you are not receiving our newsletters or you have accidentally unsubscribed and we will try to reinstate you. --editor | | | |
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