It’s a safe bet to say that there is nobody who was raised in Mount Vernon that doesn’t have a living memory of our local YMCA. After all, it’s been a part of the community for well over a century. As the Young Men’s Christian Association, the Y’s history dates to a time when providing healthy alternatives for mind, body, and soul competed with far less savory attractions for working class men, transient workers, and railroad employees — an alternative greatly appreciated by wives, mothers, and local law enforcement. As the saying goes, “an idle mind is the devil’s playground.”

More than 100 years later, the YMCA has become a more secular and gender inclusive organization whose mission would nonetheless still be recognizable to Skagitonians of our pioneer past: “building a community where all people, especially the young, are encouraged to develop their fullest potential in spirit, mind and body.” To accomplish this mission, the Skagit Valley Family YMCA, now in its new and greatly enhanced location on Hoag Road in Mount Vernon, has expanded its reach both demographically and geographically to include families (young and otherwise) throughout the Skagit Valley.

Meet Dean Snider

When we look back on our communal life in 2019, one of the high points of the year will undoubtedly be the opening of the new YMCA facility. It will certainly be a memorable experience for the organization’s executive director, Dean Snider. Dean joined the Y organization in June of last year following a 30-year career in college athletics. Since 2005 he had served as the director of athletics for Whitman College in Walla Walla, and was previously a volleyball coach at Whitman, Western Washington University, and Trinity Western University, coaching both men’s and women’s teams over the years.

Having grown up in Langley, British Columbia, Dean’s move to the Skagit Valley has been a “homecoming of sorts.” As he describes it, “I’ve always been a west coaster. We loved our time in Walla Walla, but from a spiritual standpoint I’m drawn to mountains and the sea. The mountains at your back and the sea in front of you is good feng shui — and that’s the Skagit Valley.”

A few months ago, following our completion of the Skagit Valley YMCA’s signage (which included that of the adjoining Skagit Regional Medical Center physical therapy clinic), we took advantage of the lull before the storm of grand opening to speak with Dean about the past, present, and future of the organization he now heads, and whose roots run deep in our community. He was gracious enough to answer the following questions.

What is the history of the YMCA in the Skagit Valley?

It started in 1911, and at that time it was what was called a ‘railroad Y’. What the Y has done since its beginnings in London was to fill a need in the community. It started as a healthy alternative to the rough lifestyles of transient workers. This was a railroad town where workers could have something healthy to do, thanks to the YMCA.

How has the Y evolved in the Skagit Valley?

Coming here in the midst of a major campaign to make this new facility possible, I’ve been introduced to a lot of people who have a long-time “Y story”: their grandparents brought them here. Like Walla Walla, the Skagit Valley is a community with generational ties as well as an influx of new people coming into the community that are changing its face. As such, the Y senses the new needs and is looking for ways to include more people. With this iteration in 2019 we have an opportunity for a whole new generation of folks who can write their own “Y story” and have it be a new reflection of the diversity that is in this community.

Will the Y skew younger?

The Fulton Street building served this community for a long time. What we did really well was serving adults and seniors through services like our Active Older Adults (AOA) program, which for years has been run by our staff member Ingrid. Families just love it! Our Y has done a really good job in serving that group, and in serving children through camps and childcare programs. But what we haven’t focused on as much is the 15-35 year old age range. In “Y speak” we call them the “change makers,” and that is the smallest aspect of our membership traditionally, but one that I think will significantly grow.

How do you envision the new Y enabling that shift?

First, we have an attractive space that will draw people. Our capacity to offer more swimming activities will help us grow our youth population, as will our ability to offer a teen center along with our new gym. If you want an aerobic workout, we’ve got you covered. But if you want to lift a lot of heavy stuff, we’ve got you covered there as well. On top of that, we are hiring a volunteer coordinator whose sole job is to look for ways to involve our members in volunteerism in the Skagit Valley. The Y will clearly benefit from that through sports and camps, but the larger task for that person is to be a liaison with the broader community. That will allow the Y to serve in a new way, as a conduit. As our membership grows, we can engage more people with an attractive 60,000 square foot facility. The previous Fulton location was around 15,000 square feet.

Looking ahead five years, what is your vision for the Y?

We have worked hard to get this building up, open, and operating smoothly. At the same time we engaged our staff and Board in the strategic planning process and have completed our roadmap for the next three years. We have identified four Strategic Imperatives: 1) Ensure Sustainability, 2) Engage a Reflective Practice, 3) Ensure a Sense of Belonging for Everyone, and 4) Grow our Service Footprint. We have several strategies for each imperative and a strategy screen that will allow us to evaluate opportunities that emerge along the way.

My leadership style is not to drag people along with my ideas but rather to engage the community and collaborate with them to build our Y vision. Our Board and staff have had many conversations with community leaders from across our valley. As a result, we have developed a path forward. This building is one aspect of who we are. I think, however, the community needs us to grow our footprint in childcare, and we need to offer more childcare opportunities for families. Right now, we are one of the largest childcare providers in the county, but there is a shortfall for roughly 2,000 children who lack available childcare opportunities! Oasis (a facility that provides a safe environment for teens) addresses a major need in our community, but right now it serves as an emergency shelter, which kids need as respite. But it would really be great to offer transitional housing for kids as well. Once teens become 18 we aren’t licensed to serve them any longer, so how can we continue to help those kids? A transitional housing program will provide a more stable platform from which these courageous young people can launch into independent adulthood. These are a couple of areas where we know we need to grow.

What is the most important thing people should know regarding the Skagit Valley Family YMCA?

We are here for the whole Skagit Valley: one Y serving one Skagit. There are several communities in our valley, and we have an opportunity to help bring them together as we evolve from being seen as the “Mount Vernon YMCA” to the Skagit Valley Family YMCA. It’s in bold letters on our new building…thanks to Meyer Sign & Advertising!

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