Welcome to “The Horse’s Mouth” with Tom McManus, a cool, unique talk show where Tom’s guests sidle up to his bar to discuss sports, business and life. Today, Tom sits down with Penny Zuber from the YMCA.
The Y is a nonprofit organization committed to strengthening community by connecting all people to their potential, purpose, and each other. The Y began in Jacksonville in 1908 and is now in 5 counties, offering services in healthy living, youth development and social responsibility.
To learn more, visit https://fcymca.org.
Short company description: The Y is a nonprofit organization committed to strengthening community by connecting all people to their potential, purpose, and each other. The Y began in Jacksonville in 1908 and is now in 5 counties, offering services in healthy living, youth development and social responsibility. As a charitable organization, its services are available to all, regardless of ability to pay. Daily, people from all walks of life come together for a common purpose: to become better in spirit, mind and body.
How do you define success?: Success, to me, is achieving something that directly positively impacts another human being. The Y has shown me that a good life becomes a better life, when lived in service to others.
How has your business changed in the past 12 months?: Like many organizations and businesses, the Y has had to adjust its operations for long term sustainability. The Y has always been agile in responding to emerging and evolving community needs, and redefining member engagement and experience was critical. A Virtual YMCA – offering the same wellness and youth services – in a virtual platform was quickly launched, and contributed to retaining over 75% of our members. Most of our members are seniors, so connecting with them in other ways (virtual, well calls) to help reduce feelings of isolation was key. We see virtual services continuing to be a component of YMCA’s business model.
What do you feel the Jaguars need to do to market their product?: Win.
Who inspires you and why?: I derive inspiration from many sources, but I have 3 constants: (1) God. My faith is simple and i turn to him in my own quiet way often for strength and guidance. (2) My husband, Carl, who has this big personality and not afraid of anything (including expressing his opinion!). (3) My daughters, Savannah and Sarah, who are beautiful, smart, driven and dedicated to family. And constantly reminding me to have fun and not take life too seriously!
What the biggest obstacle you have had to overcome in your business?: The Y is a social enterprise, and derives a majority of its revenue from providing services in person. The shut down and the slow return of our members and participants to the Y has had a huge negative impact to our revenues. The quick response to offering virtual services and redefining YMCA experience has been critical to our sustainability. It allowed us to retain over 75% of our members and continue to offer youth programs in a virtual platform. Consequently, we have been able to recall 50% of our employees and keep valuable talent in the organization. The Y is ready to welcome back our members – especially our active older adults – and is poised to grow with the area!
