(ROCKWALL, TX – September 29, 2015) The JER Chilton YMCA at Rockwall celebrated the official naming of the facility’s new community room during a Board of Management meeting Sept. 22.
The Texas Health Rockwall Community Room, which was added during the Y’s recent renovations and expansion, is a result of an ongoing partnership between the JER Chilton YMCA and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Rockwall. The space will be used to host community outreach programs including educational workshops, lunch and learn meetings, and other health and wellness events.
Brett Packer, Chairman of the YMCA Board of Management, welcomed the crowd and introduced special guests Jim Pruitt, Rockwall Mayor; Cindy Paris, President of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Rockwall; Alma Williams Howard, Chairman of the Texas Health Rockwall Board of Governors; Lance Holmes, Texas Health Rockwall Director of Business Development; Melanie Mayfield, Texas Health Rockwall Marketing Manager; Gordon Echtenkamp, President/CEO at YMCA Metropolitan Dallas; and Bonnie LaVielle, Executive Director of the JER Chilton YMCA.
“We are all about partnerships in Rockwall, and this is a truly great partnership,” said Mayor Pruitt. He praised the Y’s wholesome programming and noted that his daughter enjoys being part of the YMCA cheerleading program. “The Y is always a hotbed of community activity. On behalf of the City of Rockwall, I’d like to thank Texas Health Rockwall and the Y for partnering to make this happen.”
Cindy Paris took the podium and recognized Alma Williams Howard, Lance Holmes and Melanie Mayfield, who joined her from Texas Health Rockwall for the early morning naming ceremony. “We’re humbled and honored to be part of this beautiful facility,” she said. “And it’s not surprising that JER starts their meetings this early in the day. As health care providers and health caretakers, it’s just another item on the growing list of things that Texas Health Rockwall and the Y have in common.”
She added that as Rockwall’s community hospital and health care provider of choice, “partnering with the Y just makes sense. We are aligned in our goals. We consider it a large part of our mission to promote healthy lifestyles and to nurture the mind, body and spirit, just as the Y does.”
With the community room available for outreach programs, Paris said that people living with congestive heart failure, diabetes or other chronic diseases can receive ongoing provisions of care.
Alma Williams Howard added that “it’s about faith, it’s about family, and it’s about health well-being.”
Brett Packer concluded by saying that “the key word is partnership – with YMCA members, with the city, with the hospital, and with the backing of the YMCA Metropolitan Dallas – to make sure we have a facility that is going to be productive for the community for decades to come.”
Gordon Echtenkamp wrapped up the celebration by noting the strong financial position of the Y – calling the beautiful building an important icon for the community, a reflection of the progress made in the community. “The JER Chilton YMCA had less than 1,000 members a year and a half ago, and now we have nearly 2,500. Think about the generations of kids who will be proud members of this facility.”
By Dawn Redig, Blue Ribbon News.
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