JANICE HIGGINS

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Hello Craig,

I hope this newsletter finds you well and thriving in the New Year! The YMCA Alumni community continues to grow and we are excited to share updates, highlights and upcoming events with you.

Our recent YMCA Aumni Reunion-at-Sea was nothing short of spectacular.  From January 26 – February 2, 2025, 123 YMCA Alumni set sail from Galveston, TX to the western Caribbean with port stops at Roatan, Honduras; Costa Maya and Cozumel in Mexico, connecting with old friends and making new ones.

The reunion program included a General Session with updates from CEO Mike Cefone of Y Retirement, Suzanne McCormick, President/CEO of YMCA of the USA, and YMCA Alumni President Phill Morgan. Nancy Reece of the Weatherford Chapter received the F. William Stahl Award, our organization's most prestigious honr. 

Our members, friends and family explored breathtaking excursions, from snorkeling in Roatan to cultural tours in Mexico. A farewell champagne luncheon included a "We Remember" celebration of those who have passed away since the last reunion.

A big thank you to everyone who joined us and made this trip unforgettable! For those who missed it, don’t worry, plans are in the making for the next reunion in 2027 to be hosted by the Central Region Chapters, as well as the 175th YMCA anniversary celebration in 2026 in New Orleans.

Janice Higgins, President

McBurney-Morse YMCA Alumni Chapter

Photo: Janice and Bruce Higgins on the Reunion Cruise.

APRIL 16, 2005

SEE YOU IN THE CITY

Mark your calendars for our next McBurney-Morse Alumni Chapter gathering, April 16, 2025, at the new Y Retirement office, 177 Avenue of the Americas, FL 16, New York, NY 10036-2714 in New York City. Details will follow shortly. Be sure to stay connected by reading The Connection and Going Places newsletters and visiting the YMCA Alumni website and Travel Club website for ways to connect, travel and serve.

MEET OUR MEMBERS

TATSUO AND EMIKO HONMA

Our chapter has some very special members, including Tatsuo and Emiko Honma from Japan. Here is their fascinating story in their own words We are so happy they have been active chapter members since they retired. Tatsuo turned 93 in February.

People felt a strong need to work together at the World Urban YMCA conference in Brazil in the late 1970s. The Greater NY YMCA wanted help from the Tokyo YMCA in order to serve the growing Japanese business community in New York. February 1, 1979 became the first day of the international partnership between Greater NY and Tokyo, Japan.

Tatsuo Honma, who had established many successful programs in Japan as Executive of Tokyo Central YMCA, was chosen to take on this project. Prior to this mission, he and his wife Emiko had two years of experience in Hawaii at the YMCA and YWCA, respectively. 

At first, the Sloane House YMCA in NYC could not recruit a bilingual secretary to assist Tatsuo’s work. Emiko stepped in as a volunteer. Tatsuo and Emiko organized a “Coffee Break” program to assist Japanese mothers with cultural issues they might encounter in everyday life in the States.

They helped run college counseling and testing for high school juniors and seniors looking to attend U.S. universities. Tatsuo also ran a popular women’s fitness class. They held potlucks to share various cultures, and put out a regular English newsletter to share the purpose of their work with non-Japanese participants. 

They went on to found the Tokyo-Frost Valley YMCA partnership, which created summer camp programming for children from 1st to 12th grade. The program included four, two-week sessions, including a popular sports camp and counselor-in-training program. Over 25 summer camp leaders participated annually. The goal was to train leaders to work with children and help them develop bilingual skills. Tatsuo and Emiko trained over 600 young adults who are now in the real world doing wonderful work. 

In time for the Partnership’s15th anniversary, they built a Friendship House at Frost Valley, which would provide a residence for the Tokyo Partnership Director and a Japanese tatami room, where they held Japanese culture-sharing programs for visitors.

During Frost Valley’s August Family Camp, Tatsuo and Emiko invited talented people from Japan to teach various workshops, which were always very popular. All of the partnership’s programming was done to create mutual cultural understanding. After 18 years of leading this effort, Tatsuo retired at 65 and passed the baton to new directors chosen by the Tokyo YMCA. The program's efforts continue today, even through the challenges of the pandemic. 

The partnership's success would not have been possible without the strong support of the late Halbe Brown and his board of directors. Tatsuo and Emiko continued to volunteer for over a decade after their retirement, working with the Friendship House to create new opportunities to build mutual understanding and traveling to Japan annually to run leadership trainings, workshops, and lectures throughout the country.

To their surprise, they were inducted into the Frost Valley YMCA Hall of Fame in 2011. They were the first Japanese people to receive the honor. 

At first, the partnership program was designed as a three-year project. After the first year of operations, Tatsuo decided that this international effort needed to continue.

In 2020, the partnership celebrated 40 years. Tatsuo is not bilingual, but it did not bother him. His mission was to do what he could to serve others. At 93 years old, Tatsuo often dreams of being a young YMCA worker who wants to help people. We are so grateful to enjoy the fruits of our labor after planting the seeds that helped young leaders grow.

Now, they are in the real world, contributing to making this world a better place. We see the fruits. We are so thankful.

STRATEGIC PLAN APPROVED

BY CHUCK AINSWORTH, YMCA ALUMNI VP/EAST

YMCA Alumni President Phill Morgan announced the completion of the organization's strategic and operational plans. A Strategic Planning Task Group began its work in January 2024.

After working through various stages of planning development involving approximately 45 people (chapter presidents, committee chairs, partners, and the YMCA Alumni Board), the board approved the strategic plan on July 11, 2024. 

More detailed work began in the fall with point persons recruiting Goal Area Task Group members for each of the four areas of focus: Membership Development, Leadership Development, Program Development, and Infrastructure Development.

The responsibility of each task group was to determine the action steps and timeline for accomplishing each of the emphasis areas of each goal. The Operational Plan was completed in December 2024. The YMCA Alumni Board approved the Strategic and Operational Plans at the January 9, 2025 board meeting.

Fulfilling our mission and achieving the vision of YMCA Alumni through the accomplishment of strategic plan success measures will be critical for equipping chapter leadership, engaging members, providing meaningful program opportunities, and strengthening our organizational infrastructure. The entire plan can be read by clicking on the Resources section of our YMCA Alumni website.

THANK YOU, KURT

BOB HASTEDT IS OUR NEW TREASURER

I am happy to announce that Bob Hastedt has agreed to become our Treasurer for the second time. He replaces Kurt Kaboth who has served several years. Thank you, Bob and Kurt. --Janice

IN MEXICO WITH ISC

BY BONNIE MAIRS

YMCA Alumni International joined a small team of YMCA Alumni members on a study trip to Tijuana, Mexico, organized by the International Service Corps. We went to learn how the Mexican YMCA is responding to the flow of refugees and asylum seekers at our southern border.

It now manages three shelters for unaccompanied youth who reach the border but are unable to enter the USA. We met with six kids aged 11 -17 from El Salvador, Guatemala and Haiti. They will stay an average of three months, though one girl had already been there a year.

The shelter has housed Russians, West Africans, and children from many other Latin American countries. Imagine being 11 years old and alone at the border. The Mexican Y is doing an excellent job. It has a psychologist and a social worker on staff, and volunteer lawyers help with the children’s legal issues. Most children hope to be reunited with a parent or relative already in the U.S.

Some of my assumptions about border issues have changed. I thought most people walked through Central America to our southern border, but today, many come to Tijuana by air. I had thought most were poor, but one girl had teeth braces, which to me indicates middle class.

Why are she and her 17-year-old brother seeking asylum? To keep from being recruited into a gang? We were told not to ask personal questions. Thanks to the YMCA, they are just kids in trouble who have found a haven.

The Tijuana shelter can serve up to 24 youth in two large rooms with bunk beds.

We played bingo with them and had a pizza party. I peeked in the girls’ room. It was neat as a pin, and then I realized that these kids came with almost nothing. Several of our group had arranged donations of tee shirts and sneakers for them.

We took them to Walmart, thanks to Debbi Zvanut of the Central Atlantic Chapter, who raised funds for this purpose. They chose a basketball, water gun, underwear, sweatpants, hair gel, and headphones… all things teens want. They go to school, hang out in their bunk rooms, shoot baskets on the shelter's back wall, and wait for their situations to change. But what better place to stay, where people care for you? This trip put a human face on the immigration issue for me. Kids and their parents should be together.

While in Tijuana, our group also painted walls and washed exercise balls in the Y’s sports and community centers. We met with Mexican Y leaders and staff from the San Diego YMCA, who have formed a border coalition to support the shelters and work on common issues. Our group will continue to meet to find ways to help the Mexican Y’s great work.

Currently, there are International Service Corps opportunities for YMCA Alumni volunteers to share their skills in several international YMCAs. The Czech Republic wants help in program planning, teaching English, and organizing STEM programs; it also has two camps. The Tijuana, Mexico YMCA needs help planning a capital campaign. The Y in Uruguay wants a Spanish-speaking volunteer who can help with swimming and STEM training. Visit the Service page on our YMCA Alumni website for more information.

WFYR INTERNATIONAL ZOOM

FOCUS ON MIDDLE EAST YMCAS

The next World Fellowship of YMCA Retirees (WFYR) Zoom will be held on Wednesday, May 21. It will focus on YMCAs in the Middle East. Watch for a log-in in The Connection.

Bridges, the WFYR email newsletter, is free to all Y alumni. If you want to keep up to date on YMCA Retirees worldwide, sign up for Bridges by sending your name and email Ken White.

The next WFYR conference will be held in conjunction with the World YMCA Council meeting in Toronto in July 2006. Those interested in attending should contact Jerry Prado Shaw.

YMCA ALUMNI TRAVEL CLUB

2025-2026 ADVENTURES

June 17-July 3, 2025:

Land of the Midnight Sun ocean cruise on Emerald Princess hosted by Patrick and Jan Murphy (Schreiner Chapter).

Oct. 20-Nov. 3, 2025:

Ancient Adriatic Treasures ocean cruise on brand new Viking Vesta hosted by Craig Altschul and Peggi Simmons (Grand Canyon Chapter).

June 5-12, 2026:

Alaska: The Last Frontier ocean cruise on Celebrity Edge hosted by Jean and Bert Bock (Weatherford Chapter).

Photos: Norway Land of the Midnight Sun (June 2025); Ancient Adriatic Treasures (Oct. 2025); The Last Frontier (June 2026).

Watch for the March 15 issue of Going Places. Lots and lots of news is coming.

CHAPTER LEADERS

MCBURNEY-MORSE

President: Janice A. Carthens

Vice President: John Hedbavny

VP/Membership:

VP/ National Service Project: George Painter

Treasurer: Bob Hastedt

Past Co-Chair: Chuck Ainsworth

Newsletter Editor: Bonnie Mairs

Click on name in red to send email.

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The mission of YMCA Alumni is "to provide opportunities for members to Connect, Travel, and Serve while nurturing worldwide Christian fellowship."