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Grand Canyon Chapter

September 2021

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A great leader to be missed

Prescott K. Johnson (1930-2021)

By Jim Lipscomb

I was shocked when I was notified my longtime friend and YMCA colleague had suddenly died in Green Valley, Arizona with one of his sons at his side.

I first met Pres in 1958 at Springfield College where I was completing a Master's Degree and he was in his first YMCA job. After that, we would see each other at various YMCA functions until he went to South America for the International Division of the YMCA of the USA.

We became very close family friends after he joined the West Region YMCA staff. Pres stayed with my family for three months until he could have his wife join him. While living with my family, he learned there is a difference in raising boys and girls. His room was next to my teenage daughter.

We did many things that built our friendship over the years, like training for and running the San Francisco Marathon, many golf outings and trips to places of interest in the West.

Pres demonstrated what it was to be a Christian and showed it in his work as a consultant to YMCA staff. This continued after retirement as he helped found the World Fellowship of YMCA Retirees (WFYR) and became its first volunteer President. He was proud of his and his wife Dee's role in founding a church in their retirement community.

He was known and loved around the YMCA world. It was demonstrated to me by the many foreign visitors who, while visiting our offices, would share their many experiences with Pres.

He was a Pro’s Pro in every sense of the word and I feel fortunate to have been his friend and colleague these many years. He will be missed by so many.

Greetings!

"It’s summertime and the living is easy

Fish are jumping and the cotton is high

Your daddy’s rich and your

mama’s good looking

Hush little baby

Don’t you cry

Hmmmm"

This is the famous aria that opens Porgy & Bess, George Gershwin’s opera. We love the tune and it makes us think of wonderful summer days. We hope all of you are well and enjoying a busy season with picnics, fresh air, vacations or whatever is happening in your corner of the Grand Canyon Chapter.

We are staying pretty much at home this year. Just when we thought the pandemic was winding down it decided to start up again with the Delta variant. So we are once again wearing masks and paying particular attention to social distancing and staying out of crowds.

Dave has been doing lots of home improvement projects which are needed for our 60-plus year-old adobe home. And Marian has been organizing special projects for the hospital Spiritual Care Department and also working with YMCA Alumni details especially for our chapter.

We are very blessed to have a new Membership Chairman: Charlotte Waters. Char worked for the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region and lives in Colorado Springs. Some of you may have heard from her already as she welcomes our new members and keeps track of our chapter membership. Welcome Char. We are so glad to have you aboard.

We have not had anyone heading up the Northern Arizona Cluster which includes Phoenix and North. We were contacted by Bob Shelton who lives in Goodyear and volunteered to try to put a luncheon together for Arizonians. Bob sent out a survey and it looks like he’ll be organizing something for this fall. Stay tuned.

The Southern Arizona Cluster headed by John Brooks had a lunch meeting in July at the Tohono Chul gardens in Tucson. We were able to attend and saw many of our chapter members there. On a sad note, only days after seeing Pres Johnson at that luncheon, he passed away. May he rest in peace. A good and faithful servant.

You most likely have read about the YMCA Alumni National Service project with the Sioux Nation. Our own Bill Moss is a member of the project Standing Committtee. If you are interested in volunteer opportunities on the service project, please contact us. We know we have members who may be donors to the Sioux YMCA or are involved in other ways.

YMCA Alumni Reunion '22 is set for Jan. 12-15, 2022 in New Orleans. If you haven’t signed up yet we hope you do. See story below.

As we finish up summertime and move into the fall season may you all stay healthy and well and may we see each other again soon

Marian and Dave

Marian and Dave Bolton, Co-Presidents

John and Ann Brooks spent part of his birthday month of June traveling through the Colorado mountains. They drove home to Arizona through New Mexico and spent some time with Dave and Marian Bolton.

Don and Joyce Deal have moved from Colorado to Arizona. Their new address is 7900 North La Canada Drive, Apt # 2127, Tucson, AZ 85704.

Southern Arizona Cluster members enjoyed lunch together at the Tohona Chul Bistro in Tucson in July. Those attending were John and Ann Brooks, Pres Johnson, Craig Altschul and Peggi Simmons, Cris Ciasca and her husband Al, Don and Joyce Deal, Dave and Marian Bolton (photo in Marian's letter above).

Craig Altschul and Peggi Simmons are heading into the 48th consecutive year of ca+a, their writing and editing business, now based in Sahuarita, Arizona.

Welcome Charlotte Waters as

our new membership director

"I am so happy and honored to be part of our YMCA Alumni chapter. For over 15 years I’ve served as either a volunteer or the Chief Healthcare Strategist for the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region. Y service is in my heart and the people I worked with during my leadership tenure are absolutely the best people, hands down.

"My 30-year professional career is in healthcare, primarily strategy and hospital administration and where I remain now. I live in Colorado Springs with my life partner, Tom, and our rescue dog, Theodore. I have three grown children, two of which had their first jobs at the Y, one for seven years and one for five.

"My hobbies and interests when I’m not working include reading, traveling, biking (spent two weeks biking through Myanmar, SE Asia in December, 2019 with a friend), pickleball, cribbage, quilt design and making, spending time with friends and family, volunteering, enjoying local foods, and relaxing on the patio with a glass of wine or craft beer." -- Char

Reunion details

Early Bird registration closes Sept. 30 for Reunion '22

Be sure to register for YMCA Alumni Reunion '22 in New Orleans Jan. 12-15. Early birds are eligible to win one of ten $100 bills to be used during Dinner with Friends evenings. No worries over registering. Your fee is totally refundable and hotel rooms may be cancelled up to 72 hours in advance. Join us in The Big Easy.