Greater Joliet Area YMCA

GREATER JOLIET AREA YMCA

C.W. Avery, Central City, Galowich, Morris

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All Smiles at Summer Day Camp

IMG_9938Smiles are wider—and shinier—than ever at YMCA summer day camp this week. Thanks to the folks with Will County Community Health Services, campers at the Smith and Central City YMCAs received free dental service on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The county’s dental van, which resembles that of a tour bus, took temporary real estate at our camps, providing teeth cleanings for 26 Smith campers and 16 Central City campers.

Inside the dental bus, it felt just like a normal dentist office—perhaps even less intimidating. When you walked through the door, there was a small waiting area with a TV on the wall. To the left, there were two dental chairs complete with all the usual tools and accessories needed to provide a thorough cleaning.

The dental staff was both patient and friendly. We are very grateful our campers were given such an excellent opportunity!

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Staff Q&A: Melissa Parker

1231-YMCAAs a teenager, Melissa Parker volunteered at the Y as a junior camp counselor and helped out with youth basketball games, keeping score and running the clocks. Nowadays, she (officially) works at the Smith Family YMCA, where she’s one of the first faces you see when you step through the door. Although Melissa mainly works at the membership desk, in the past she has worked as a camp counselor and offsite coordinator for the Central City YMCA. All in all, Melissa is a dedicated, enthusiastic Y staff member, who is truly a joy to be around. Check out our Q&A below!

The Y: Were you in any Y programs growing up?
Melissa Parker: I participated in cheerleading in fourth and fifth grade and I was actually a part of the first Teen Achievers class. The very first year—it was kind of like an ‘experiment.’

Wow, that’s super cool.
I actually chaperoned a trip for them last year. I loved it. Those kids are amazing. It was fun. It was a pretty cool trip. We visited between seven and nine colleges. I was grateful for the experience. I was glad to be a part of their learning experience.

What about nowadays? Do you use the facilities at the Y?
My family and I come to work out every morning. My parents get in the water. My sisters and I will go back in the gym and work out. We get up at like 6:30 a.m. It’s rough, but we make it! Five days a week.

If you’re not at the Y, what are you up to?
Church. That’s it. I go from work to church to home. That’s kind of like my life. Church and the Y.

Excellent. What’s your most memorable Y Story?
A story that I’ll keep with me is a story of one of my campers. He started when he was six. He had been with me for like seven years. He had some self-esteem issues and there were certain things we could never get him to do. We’d try to push him every year! There was an ice skating trip during my last year as an offsite coordinator and I asked him to go around the rink just one time. So he put his ice skates on and we went around half way and he was like “Okay I need to go back.” I said “You can’t, you might as well finish! You’re half way there!” So he finished it and I was so proud. I said “You did it! That’s all you had to do!” He was happy with himself. He stopped saying “I can’t” and he actually did it. It was a boost of confidence for him. This is why I do this—to see these kids’ faces. To see their reactions. To try to get them to just try something new. It was an achievement for the Y. It was an achievement for me. It was especially an achievement for him, which is what’s most important. I was happy for him. To this day I am.

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Serving One Generation After Another

IMG_0281_copyIt’s been about 13 years since Dominique Dunn was first introduced to the Y. His mother, Natalie—who comes from a family of athletes—signed him up for the Y’s Youth Basketball League to coincide with Dominique’s growing love for basketball. From then on, the Y was Dominique’s palace—where he would spend each Saturday at open gym, playing the game he loved, fostering relationships and receiving mentorship from staff.

“I met a lot of my friends that I’m close with today,” Dominique said. “Ever since, we’d all come here on the weekends and just shoot around. We’d be here for hours. [Associate Executive Director Maurice Fears] would work with us, help us shoot. Then I kept coming here through high school.”

As a junior, Dominique joined the Central City YMCA’s Teen Achievers Program, where he says he had memorable experiences taking trips out of state, visiting universities in Washington D.C. and Tennessee.

Focused on serving students attending schools on the east side of Joliet, the Central City YMCA (CCY) and its programs have impacted countless lives. With the help of the Greater Area Joliet YMCA’s Scholarship Fund, CCY participants have opportunities to play basketball and learn how to swim as children, as well as the chance to set and achieve high education, professional and personal goals within the Teen Achievers Program as teenagers—all at little or no cost.

[Read more…]

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Stories from the JETS: Mark Broucek

This weekend, the JETS Swim Team will host its annual Summer Classic Swim Meet at Lake Central High School in St. John, Indiana. In honor of the 50th Anniversary of this beloved event—formerly known as the Dr. Pepper Super Swim Meet—we’ll be sharing stories and memories from JETS swimmers, volunteers, coaches, and families.

Today, we shine the spotlight on Mark Broucek. Mark, a JETS alum and former JETS coach and parent, has been involved with the program since the earliest days of the Summer Classic.  

“My family moved to Joliet in 1968 when my dad became the city manager. He also served as the president of the Joliet Community Swim Association. At that time, he knew that if the swim team was going to go forward, they had to raise money. So he wanted to host a new meet. After a couple of years, they realized they needed a sponsor to make it sustainable,” Mark said. 

Mark said he remembers the day he was alongside his father for a fateful ‘driveway meeting’ with the family who ran the Joyce Bottling Company.

“My dad knew that in some capacity the Joyce family was involved with the development of 7-Up, so maybe we could get that as the title sponsor of the meet. It would have been the ‘7Up Invitational.’ Mr. Joyce said ‘We don’t need any publicity for 7-Up, but Dr. Pepper is this regional brand in the south that doesn’t have as good of a foothold in the Midwest. How about if Dr. Pepper ‘hosts’ the meet?’ That’s where the idea to give away the Dr. Pepper six packs and trophies came from,” Mark said.

As the years went by, Mark said the incentive to win Dr. Pepper was always in the minds of each competitor at the annual summertime meet. 

“You only got a six-pack if you won your heat,” he said. “Kids wanted to get those six-packs, even if you had to wait to go home and drink it because the cans had been sitting in the sun all day at the meet.”

Mark would go on to swim competitively for Arizona State University and competed in the 1980 Olympic Trials before returning to serve as a JETS coach from 1987-92.

“When I became a coach, my first job was with the JETS. It was so cool to see the meet still going on,” he said. “It typically ran the week before the state championships for the older kids and every single JET still wanted to swim in the meet. Maybe not always in their best event, because they wanted to be ready for state, but no kid would want to skip Dr. Pepper.”

Mark parlayed his experiences with the JETS into a coaching career spanning more than three decades, and he later served as a parent volunteer while his own kids swam on the team. 

“We always said before the Dr. Pepper meet, you were just a swim parent. After going through one Dr. Pepper meet, you become a JETS parent,” he said. “When you have a kid on a baseball or softball team, you drop them off and then you sit out your lawn chair and you watch the game. When you have a kid on a swim team, you may be asked to keep time, help with the lane ropes, or do something you may have never thought about doing before. And because of that, you become a part of the team.” 

The Y would like to thank Mark for all his contributions to the JETS program and wish the best of luck to all the swimmers and families getting ready for this weekend’s 50th Anniversary Meet! 

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Join the Y for Exciting Fab 50 Fall Events

The YMCA’s Fab 50 Club is a social club focused on fun and fellowship for facility and community members ages 50 and over. On a weekly basis, the Fab 50 club meets to mingle, play games and, every once in a while, go on an adventure. This fall we have a wonderful lineup of events and programs to enjoy!

Fab 50 Adventures (Open to all Greater Joliet Area YMCA Facility Members and Community Members)

That’s Amore: The Dean Martin Story
Come join us for a fabulous performance featuring some of Dean Martin’s greatest hits! Fee includes meal, gratuity and admission. Transportation not provided. Registration closes Monday, September 13.
Date: Thursday, September 23
Time: 11:45 a.m.-2:45 p.m.
Location: White Fence Farm, Romeoville
Cost: $40
REGISTER TODAY

The Four C Notes
The Four C Notes are the Midwest’s ONLY tribute band dedicated to recreating the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons! Fee includes choice of meal, gratuity and admission. Transportation not provided. Registration closes Wednesday, September 22.
Date: Thursday, October 7
Time: 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Location: Jacob Henry Mansion, Joliet
Cost: $53
REGISTER TODAY

Remembering Marshall Fields at Christmas Time
No Christmas season was complete without a visit to Marshall Field’s, the city’s Grande Dame of department stores. We will trace the store’s beloved holiday traditions, including the Walnut Room Christmas tree, the holiday window displays, the toy department, Cozy Cloud Cottage and the Christmas catalog! An Organ Concert will be held in the Old Central Church after the show. Fee includes choice of meal, gratuity and admission. Registration closes Wednesday, November 3.
Date: Thursday, November 18
Time: 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
Location: Jacob Henry Mansion, Joliet
Cost: $48
REGISTER TODAY

C.W. Avery Family YMCA

Fab 50 Bowlers
Join the Y for some bowling fun! We bowl every other Thursday at Plainfield Lanes. For $6, you will receive rental bowling shoes and bowl two games. Free to register. Please register at Membership Desk the Monday before so we have a head count. Payment will be taken on the Thursdays that you attend at the bowling alley.
Time: Thursdays from Noon-2 p.m.
Dates:
September 2, 16 and 30
October 14 and 28
November 11
December 2 and 16
Cost: $6 per session
REGISTER TODAY

Fab 50 Walkers
Come join us for an outdoor walk every Tuesday and Thursday. Program is weather permitting.
Location: Various, meet at the C.W. Avery Family YMCA
Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:15-9 a.m.
Cost: Free and open to all

Fab 50 Social Hour
Join this social group that meets weekly for fun and fellowship.
Location: C.W. Avery Family YMCA
Time: Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m-12 p.m.
Cost: Free and open to all

Morris Community YMCA

Fab 50 Social Hour
Join this social group that meets weekly for fun and fellowship.
Thursdays: 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Cost: Free for Facility Members/$5 for Community Members

Fab 50 Walkers
Come join us for an outdoor walk every Tuesday and Thursday. Program is weather permitting.
Location: Various, meet at Morris Community YMCA
Time: Tuesdays 9-10 a.m.
Cost: Free for Facility Members/$5 for Community Members

Galowich Family YMCA

Join us as we enjoy fun activities to maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle. Recreation time is geared toward all interests, fitness levels and abilities.
Time: Wednesdays from Noon-2 p.m.
Cost: Free and open to the community

 

 

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