Heather Small Joins YMCA Staff as New Fitness Center Coordinator

The Auburn-Lewiston YMCA is pleased to announce that Heather Small has joined the staff as their new Fitness Center Coordinator. This position is responsible for assisting in managing all aspects of the fitness center with a high emphasis on customer service, attracting new members and retaining current members. Small will also manage and develop programs related to community outreach and national YMCA.  She will also manage personal training programs and the YMCA’s corporate wellness program.

Small, of Auburn, attended ELHS before obtaining a B.S. in Health Science from Keene State in College in 2007. While at Keene State she also worked in the campus gymnasium as facility supervisor, fitness specialist and group fitness instructor. She has a long history at the Auburn-Lewiston YMCA dating back to 1988 when she attended the Happy Hearts fitness program for children run by Tish Caldwell, who is the Y’s wellness coordinator and will work closely with Small. She swam on the YMCA/YWCA Twin City Swim Team for four years while also on ELHS swim team, being named captain her last two years of high school.

YMCA Childcare Director, Mary Jipson Perry, was a workshop presenter at the recently held YMCA EXPO  - National Childcare Conference held in Anaheim, California. Jipson Perry presented a 90-minute program titled ‘Measuring Quality in Child Care’ to hundreds of YMCA childcare providers from all over the country.

YMCAs collectively are the largest non-profit childcare provider in this country. Jipson Perry founded the Auburn-Lewiston YMCA’s program in 1990. They now serve over 300 children daily with their two nationally accredited childcare centers. The Daisy Garden site is located at 96 Campus Avenue in Lewiston where it provides childcare for employees of Sister's of Charity Health System, with some slots also available for the general public. The Auburn childcare facility is located at the YMCA at 62 Turner Street in Auburn.

The YMCA of Auburn-Lewiston is offering a Lifeguard Certification Course to be held starting Monday August 20 and ending Friday August 24 (or Saturday, August 25 if needed). The classes and combined pool time will be from 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

There are several prerequisites for this course including a 300-yard swim and a minimum age of 15.

Upon completion of the course the lifeguard certification and first aid are good for three years. The CPR expires after one year.

The course fee is $210 and includes all materials. Class size is limited to 10 students. Registration is at the YMCA at 62 Turner Street in Auburn.

There also may be space for those needing to recertify in CPR, or LG/First Aid.

More information is available by calling the YMCA at 795-4095.

 The Auburn-Lewiston YMCA will be holding a Red Cross Water Rescue course on Saturday, August 25, 2007. This course provides individuals with the information and skills necessary to prevent, recognize, and respond to aquatic emergencies. The course also prepares individuals for aquatic emergencies by teaching them how to protect themselves while teaching others. (This course is not a lifeguard certification course.)

         The target audience for this class is police officers, firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, camp personnel, childcare workers and school teachers.

         There are no prerequisites for the course but the participants must be comfortable in chest-deep water. The course will last for four hours from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. If participants chose to watch the optional video at the end it will add an additional 20 minutes to the course time.

         The class will be limited to 10 participants. The $50 fee for the class includes all course materials. Participants must register and pay at the YMCA prior to the day of the class.

For more information this program or any of the programs at the YMCA, stop by the YMCA at 62 Turner Street in Auburn, call them at 795-4095

YMCA Board and Staff Honor Jim Lawler with Jim Lawler Day on October 18th, 2006

Executive Director Jim Lawler with staff and family on Jim Lawler Day

The Auburn-Lewiston YMCA Board of Directors and staff honored Executive Director Jim Lawler for his more than 25 years of service to the organization by proclaiming Wednesday, October 18, 2006 as “Jim Lawler Day.”

Jim has been at the helm of the A-L YMCA since 1987 when he was named executive director. At that time the YMCA was in a dire financial condition. With Jim’s passion, hard work, ethics and sensible business approach, the YMCA began a transformation. He had a unique ability to seek new forms of revenue while meeting the needs of the community and the goals of the organization. He was able to bring the YMCA to being the healthy, community-minded vibrant organization it is today.

When Jim was named executive director in 1987 he was hampered by the economy going into a recession, Lawler promptly began assembling what many consider to be the best YMCA staff in the state of Maine. Since that time he has been able to introduce a wellness center, start group exercise classes, start childcare services, remodel the entire 3^rd floor into a Teen Center/childcare/yoga/office area, update the building with new wiring, roof, windows, flooring and paint, while continuing to develop and expand the YMCA’s Camp Connor on Range Pond. He has also expanded the youth sports program to include baseball hitting and field hockey. Under his direction the YMCA now utilizes state of the art membership recognition systems, high speed internet and provides detailed information on services at their website.

Prior to taking over the top staff position at the YMCA Jim also held positions as a Camp Connor Counselor, Camp Connor Director and Health and Fitness Director. As a child he came to the Y on a regular basis and was an outstanding youth basketball player.

He graduated from ELHS in 1970 and then attended the University of Southern Maine where he received a BS in Recreational Management. Lawler has served and is currently serving on numerous community related boards and has received many professional certifications.

Jim is married to the former Pandora Vasiliauskas and they have one son, Benjamin, who recently graduated from UMO with a BS in Marine Sciences and now lives and works in Portland, ME. 

The YMCA invites everyone to stop by the YMCA anytime and give your regards to Jim. We all know he’s got many more years of service left and many goals to accomplish before he begins spending time on his other two passions, walking the beaches of Florida and reading James Patterson novels.

The Auburn-Lewiston YMCA Board of Directors recently drafted and adopted a resolution acknowledging the efforts and accomplishments of the YMCA childcare staff for their pursuit in providing the highest quality childcare center. The YMCA’s Auburn childcare center recently received official notice of their accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the nation's leading organization of early childhood professionals.

YMCA Board president Beth Shea awarded the resolution to Mary Jipson Perry, YMCA Childcare Director, and added “Congratulations! You are to be commended for providing a high quality program for young children and their families at both of your childcare centers.”

This past July the YMCA’s Daisy Garden childcare site in Lewiston also received national accreditation from NAEYC. Daisy Garden is located at 96 Campus Avenue where it provides childcare for employees of Sister's of Charity Health System, with some slots also available for the general public.

NAEYC created its accreditation program in 1985 to set professional standards for early childhood education and to help families identify high quality childcare education programs. To earn NAEYC's accreditation, a program conducts a self-study to determine how well it meets the standards. After necessary improvements are made, the program is observed by independent, professional validators, and then reviewed by a national panel. Programs are accredited by NAEYC for a five-year period.

Parents of children in an accredited childcare program are eligible for a double childcare tax credit. “The tax savings is a huge financial benefit for the families in our program,” Jipson Perry advised.

The Auburn Childcare facility is located at the YMCA at 62 Turner Street in Auburn. For information on the Auburn YMCA Childcare site contact Mary Jipson Perry at 795-4095. For more information on the Daisy Garden site please contact Lisa Anctil or Kate Hiss at 753-4832