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KAREN LESLIE
FROM THE PRESIDENT
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Greetings!
I am pleased to announce a new slate of officers for our New England YMCA Alumni Chapter to begin January 1, 2026. I am sure that I speak for all of us in thanking each one of them for stepping forward to provide leadership for our continued work together.
President Lisa Drouin
Vice President, Program Nancy Bonell
Vice President, Membership Rob Reeves
Treasurer Greg Brisco
Newsletter Editor Beth Covino
Immediate Past President Karen Leslie
Members at-Large:
Martha Machnik, Harry Rock,
Andrea Vignali, Duffy Brent
Also, my thanks to Lou Falk, Immediate Past President; Alan Hurst, Treasurer, and Laurie Garbacz, Secretary who are leaving the Board after many years of service. We are so grateful.
I invite you all to consider serving on one of the many committees being formed to advance the work of our chapter. Please consider what role you may like to play- recruiting new members, planning programs, writing stories for our newsletter, reaching out to members in need or even advising active staff in our Ys. There are so many options and roles you can play. Look for more info in early January.
SAVE THE DATE: Our Fall conference will be held October 6 - 8, 2026, on Cape Cod. We are excited to build on the success of this year’s event. Please read the recap from this year's conference.
Finally, my best to you for a happy, healthy Thanksgiving season. As I count my many blessings, my friends and colleagues in this chapter are among them!
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BETH COVINO
EDITOR'S NOTE:
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Hello, alumni! I'm excited to work with Chapter leadership to bring you this quarterly newsletter. This newsletter is YOUR New England YMCA Alumni newsletter. We would love to incorporate more local alumni stories and updates. Please share your life updates and any information you have about your colleagues that would be great to carry in this newsletter.
Please email me with photos, information, or story ideas that I can pursue. Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving and wonderful holiday season. I'd also love to connect with you on LinkedIn.
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LISA DROUIN
IT'S TIME TO RE-CONNECT
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Members recently received a personal email inviting them to RE-CONNECT (a much better word than renew, but it means the same thing) for 2026. We’re happy to announce that re-connects are coming in strong!
As shared in the email, fees remain the same to keep membership affordable ($40 individual / $55 household). Twenty-five dollars of each membership goes to the National YMCA Alumni budget for support of our organization.
The balance of membership fees stays within our local chapter for our work. Local dues help to support the Dominican Republic Home Building Project, underwrites costs of events, pays for leadership training, and helps to provide EAF (Emergency Assistance Funds) to our members.
If you have not yet re-connected, we invite you to do so online by going to https://www.ymcaalumni.org/reconnect. You can either re-connect online or mail a check (step #4 on the link).
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VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
FURTHER YOUR CONNECTION
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2026 will be an exciting time for the New England Chapter with new/expanded leadership, new opportunities and new connections. Listed below are the committees and leadership. We invite ALL members to get involved. Please email chairs directly to learn more as well as to join a committee.
Committees:
• New: Caring, Compassion & Celebration Committee/EAF: Karen Leslie, Chair
• Membership Committee: Rob Reeves, Chair
• New: Newsletter/Communications Committee: Beth Covino, Chair
• Program/Events Committee: Nancy Bonell, Chair
• New: Y Staff Advisory Program: Lisa Drouin, Chair
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YMCA ALUMNI WEBSITE
VISIT NEW ALL-IN-ONE DESTINATION
| | Check it Out: The national YMCA Alumni website has been totally re-built as part of the worldwide Wix platform. Everything you may want to know about YMCA Alumni including the previously separate Travel Club and National Service Project pages is now in one place. Click the button below and take a stroll. | | |
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
MEET ANDREA VIGNALI
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How long was your YMCA career? 38 Years.
What roles did you hold? So many at four local Ys in Connecticut: First job was Aquatic and Women's Fitness Director, then Physical Director, Adult Informal Program Director, Senior Program Director, Association Executive Director, Executive Branch Director, Operations Director (COO).
Then at Y-USA, I began as the Regional Training Director for the Northeast, and then moved to Senior Manager of Talent Management.
Once I left Y-USA, I went back to a local Y for my last 3 years as a Leadership Development Director.
What was a highlight of your career? Working for Y-USA as a Regional Training Manager was my dream job. I worked with 5 Training Partner Ys to develop and then manage the national staff training system for Ys.
What excites you most about being retired? My grandchildren.
Is volunteering a part of this new chapter for you? I am volunteering in my hometown with an organization called Trumbull Community Women. I also still volunteer at local Ys to teach staff trainings.
Is there something that during your busy career you did not have time to pursue that you now have time to pursue, and it’s bringing you joy? Traveling, I traveled so much with my 10+ years at Y-USA, but never really had the opportunity to enjoy the places I traveled to. I do now.
Do you have any travel plans? Heading down south to Florida in February-March. I have family and friends down there.
Why did you join Y Alumni? I joined to re-connect with Y colleagues.
| | New England Chapter's Lou Falk and George Painter of the McBurney-Morse Chapter were honored for their extraordinary leadership of the National Service Project. Lou is Chair and George is Project Manager. Photo below is Harry Rock, who emceed the ceremony. | | |
NATIONAL SERVICE PROJECT
RIBBON-CUTTING CEREMONY WEEKEND
By Harry Rock
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YMCA Alumni members from across the United States arrived in Dupree, South Dakota on the weekend of September 19, to celebrate the ribbon-cutting and completion of four tiny homes.
The YMCA Alumni National Service Project started five years ago under the leadership of New England Chapter member Lou Falk, who served as the project’s chair. The weekend was filled with activities, including celebration dinners, recognitions of volunteer workers, and the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the four tiny homes.
This signified the turning over of the keys from Construction Manager George Painter to the YMCA of the Seven Council Fires. After raising more than $1 million and four years of hard work, it was really exciting to tour these amazing houses, which will become homes for selected transitional families from the Lakota community. There were over 350 volunteers who worked on this project.
Lou Falk was honored and recognized for his leadership at the celebration dinner. Lou has worked tirelessly to ensure that there was a Standing Committee leadership structure in place to oversee all of the project requirements for success, including fundraising, recognition, publicity, registration, volunteer recruitment, construction, and more. Lou was presented with a highly coveted star quilt.
There have been a number of New England Chapter members who have participated in the project in addition to the generosity of donations from individuals and the chapter itself. We congratulate everyone who has had a part in this historic project, and we thank them for their generosity, their time, and their expertise. This project would not have been successful without everyone’s involvement.
Now, onto Phase 2, the construction of a prototype “Twig”, (small YMCA branch program center) in 2026, which will serve the remote community of La Plant with a population of 167.
If you are considering end-of-year charitable RMD from your tax-deferred retirement plan (and want to avoid taxes), please consider contributing to our chapter's long-running Dominican Republic Homebuilding Project.
Contributions can be made payable to New England YMCA Alumni and mailed to Lou Falk at 38 Center Beach Avenue, Old Lyme, CT, 06371. For more information, contact Lou at louf48@aol.com.
Click the button below to view a highlights reel of the ceremony.
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IN MEMORIUM
WE WILL MISS DEB CLARK VALENTINE AND MARK GRESENS
| | Please click the buttons below for Legacy obituaries of Deb and Mark. Note that a Celebration of Life for Deb is scheduled for Dec. 6. | | |
OKTOBERFEST
WE CELEBRATED AT PATS PEAK
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It was a beautiful day at Pats Peak Ski Area in Henniker, NH. We enjoyed each other’s company and conversation. The beer, food tent, and music-oompah band were outstanding.
“Special thanks to Nancy Bonell for organizing this fun event,” writes Harry Rock. “What a terrific setting with a gorgeous fall day. I am so happy I came. It was wonderful to see all of you again, especially a few of you whom I have not seen in many years. This is what makes YMCA Alumni so meaningful, allowing friends to stay in touch with each other. It was a truly special day.”
This is an annual event, so mark your calendars Nov. 1, 2026, and plan to join us.
| | Photos Left Side: A big group on the greens; Gail and Mark Rutkowski, Joanne and Rob Reeves; Laura Prisco, Kim Decker and Alan Hurst. Right side: Martha Machnik and Steve Clay; Kimberly Masucci and Hal Jordan; Elizabeth Covino, David Shapiro, Lisa Drouin, and Kathryn Saunders. | | |
GATHERING ON CAPE COD
FELLOWSHIP AND CONNECTING
By Elizabeth Covino
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YMCA alumni from New England, New Jersey and New York gathered on Cape Cod for the annual get-together from October 6- 8. The event was held this year in Hyannis, MA at the Emerald Resort. Prior years we were hosted by Silver Bay YMCA Conference and Family Retreat Center in on Lake George, NY. We’re known for our great conference venues, and being on the Cape in October did not disappoint.
It was a great time for fellowship, renewing friendships with Y colleagues, and meeting new friends. We balanced fun, learning, connecting, and keeping our Y’s important work front and center.
Attendees received updates on some current issues, important to our movement:
David Shapiro, YMCA of Greater Boston CEO, shared how his Association is working to collaborate with the city of Boston and other towns and social service agencies in his talk about the Y’s commitment to serving the immigrant population. He said the Y was well-poised to quickly jump in during the pandemic to connect people to much needed services.
Ed Toole, formerly of the Y Retirement Fund and now owner of Toole Financial, shared financial planning strategies in your retirement years.
Ranjeev Benjamin, Executive Director of Mental Wellness at the YMCA of the North Shore, a new position for this YMCA, shared his Y’s new initiatives, bringing a mental wellness mentality to all they do. Their goal is ensuring the Y is a place where all individuals can improve their mental wellness and quality of life by strengthening their sense of control and belonging.
Kellie Wardman of DBD Group (formerly of the Granite YMCA and Y-USA as Resource Director) grounded the group with her talk on “Navigating These Times with Purpose and Joy.”
At the opening night dinner, we raised funds through a silent gift basket auction to support the National Service Project’s second phase. The evening program also included an update from Stacie Peugh, CEO and Steve Clay, Board Member from YMCA of Cape Cod about The Don & Dottie Smith YMCA being built in Falmouth, along with an update on the Retirement Fund from Kimberly Masucci, Sr. Director of Education & Y Relations.
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MEET YOUR NEW ENGLAND
YMCA ALUMNI COLLEAGUES
| | Here's a listing off your New England YMCA chapter members. Just click the button below. | | |
2026 ADVENTURES
YMCA ALUMNI TRAVEL CLUB
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Be sure to book official YMCA Alumni Travel Club adventures and your own individual, family and referred friends' travel through Go Travel's expert agents. YMCA Alumni's national budget receives a percentage of all sales and you get the best prices, advice and a smooth booking experience.
2026 will bring choices of spring cruises in the Caribbean with one crossing the pond; an upscale train adventure on the Rocky Mountaineer; a C.I.E. luxury motor coach visit to Spain's amazing cities; cruise Classic Canada from Quebec City to Boston in the fall color season; sail into Alaska before the crowds; and specialty cruises for knitters and widows and widowers.
Check out the next issue of Going Places to be emailed to you Nov. 15, as well. Two trips for 2026 are already sold out (Scenic Switzerland by Rail and America's 250th in NY Harbor and Beyond on Cunard's Queen Mary 2). The lesson: Don't delay.
Visit the brand new Travel Club web page with direct access to all trips for details and booking by clicking the button below.
Visit us on Facebook each Travel Tuesday.
Contact YMCA Alumni Travel Club:
(407) 774-2229
ymcaalumni@gotravel.com
| | IMPORTANT NOTE: Please think twice when unsubscribing to any unsolicited email. If it has been sent to you by Constant Contact, they cannot 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 | | | | |
