MOUNT VERNON — The Mount Vernon YMCA has a new executive director, and Amy Hollaway is the first woman to serve in that position.
Hollaway, who is from Alliance, holds a B.A. in Communication Studies from The College of Wooster and an M.A. in Communication from The University of Dayton. She has worked for the YMCA in various capacities, including senior director of residence and financial development at the Ann Arbor, Mich., YMCA; director of purchasing and properties at the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit; and director of finance and adult programs at the Dutchess County YMCA in New York state.
Most recently, Hollaway was the executive director of LEAD Inc., a nonprofit organization in Muncie, Ind.
“But I missed the Y,” she said of her return to the organization.
Hollaway said she received an interesting welcome to Mount Vernon. She drove here from Muncie during the Sept. 14 windstorm, an adventure she called “surreal.”
“I arrived the night of the windstorm, but it was nice to see how the community came together,” she said. “Even that night people were out helping each other. That was really nice to see. You might not think that was a nice welcome into the community, but it was, because I got to see what the community is all about. I’ve had a very warm reception here.”
Serving in her first position as a YMCA executive director, Hollaway said Mount Vernon’s Y is somewhat smaller than the others at which she worked, but the facility and programs are similar.
“[Here] I supervise the full-time staff, relate to the board, do fundraising, oversee the financial workings, oversee programming, risk management, quality control and setting a vision for the Y along with the board,” she said.
That vision will become clearer over time, as Hollaway gets to know Knox County and as she and the board of directors work together.
“Every Y is different in the way it can respond to the needs of the community,” she said. “The idea of setting a vision for the Y will happen as I get to know the needs better. I’ll be working with the board and staff to see where this Y wants to be.”
Hollaway said she hadn’t thought about being the first woman director until that fact was called to her attention.
“It’s exciting to be the first,” she said. “There was a time that the YMCA was all male. But times have changed. In fact, all the full-time staff here are female. The beautiful thing is that the motto of the YMCA ends in ‘for all.’ The Y is all-encompassing. Everybody is welcome at the Y.”
Hollaway said she is looking forward to meeting more Knox Countians.
“If people would like to stop by and meet me, visit and say hello, that would be nice,” she said. “They can come by anytime they want to.”
