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After months of negotiations to dissolve the partnership between the Rockbridge Area YMCA and the YMCA of Virginia’s Blue Ridge, the YVBR board of directors voted in its regularly scheduled meeting last Thursday to “cease negotiations on relinquishing its Rockbridge territory to another YMCA and to suspend the Rockbridge Area YMCA Advisory Board until further notice.”
Discussions were being held about the Rockbridge YMCA joining the Alleghany YMCA, which operates under its own independent charter. The most recent conversation between the YVBR, Rockbridge, Alleghany and the national YMCA organization, discussing the process of moving forward with the merger between Alleghany and Rockbridge, was held last Wednesday, just two days before the letter was sent.
Christy Harris, chair of the Rockbridge Advisory Board, told The News-Gazette in an email Tuesday that the cessation of discussion on the merger was “very unexpected,” as was the decision to suspend the board.
“My assumption is that they want to see who from the advisory board would even want to remain a part of the board knowing that we were no longer going to be allowed to pursue the separation, which we have been actively discussing for months and thought was supported,” Harris said. “I’m quite sure that VBR would also like to ensure that anyone on a future Rockbridge Advisory Board would also be supportive of VBR and a continued relationship/alliance with them. This would not be the case for the majority of the existing board – or at least the board as it existed as of Friday morning.”
The YMCA of Virginia’s Blue Ridge board of directors sent a letter to the local board Friday morning, informing them of their vote and that the Rockbridge Area YMCA will continue to operate as part of the YMCA of Virginia’s Blue Ridge. No explanation for the decision was included in the letter.
“We recognize that any successful YMCA has its roots and success in connection with its local community, therefore we are committed to seeking out reconciliation and healing moving forward,” YVBR Board Chair Wyatt Poats and YVBR CEO Mark Johnson wrote in the letter. Neither Poats nor Johnson responded to requests for comment on Tuesday.
The board directed Johnson to “stabilize operations and hire a new branch executive with input from local stakeholders.” This direction, the board explained, was to “ensure the highest level of operational excellence and safety are maintained” at the Rockbridge YMCA “for the good of the membership and program participants.”
The negotiations on the local YMCA’s possible merger with another YMCA began earlier this year, following the sudden firing of Rockbridge YMCA Executive Director Bobbie Wagner on Jan. 4.
Wagner had been hired as the Rockbridge Area YMCA’s executive director in June of 2016, a few months after the Y joined the YMCA of Virginia’s Blue Ridge, becoming an official branch of the Roanoke YMCA. During her tenure, she helped start an after-school program, a child care program and a preschool at the YMCA. She was recognized as Citizen of the Year in 2022 and recently served as president of the local chamber of commerce.
“The way this has been handled has significantly damaged the YMCA’s ability to succeed in Rockbridge County,” Rockbridge YMCA Board Chair Christy Harris said in a letter to Poats, sent Jan. 10 in response to Wagner’s dismissal. “Dismissing Bobbie for undisclosed reasons has damaged the YMCA’s credibility with our partners and community and has resulted in an immediate negative impact. Given the close-knit nature of our community, we anticipate impacts to continue in the long term.”
