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Bobbie Wagner, former director of the Rockbridge Area YMCA, has been named the new chief executive officer of the Alleghany Highlands YMCA in Covington.
Wagner has been serving as the executive director of Hull’s Drive-In since June. Hull’s announced Monday that current board member Rhianna Schlief will become the acting executive director effective Jan. 1.
Wagner will also begin her new job with the Alleghany Highlands YMCA that day, succeeding Jennifer F. Unroe, who is retiring at the end of the year. Wagner will be working with Unroe through the end of December to ensure the leadership transition is seamless.
“We are extremely pleased to announce the hiring of Mrs. Wagner,” said Aimly Bartley-Sim mo n s , president of the Alleghany High lands YMCA board of directors. “She brings a wealth of enthusia sm and exuberance to the position along with a keen knowledge of YMCA inner workings.”
An Alleghany County native, Wagner graduated from Alleghany High School in 2007.
“I am thrilled to return to my roots in this new capacity to serve the Alleghany Highlands,” Wagner said. “The YMCA has been part of my life since I was a child growing up in the area. I spent many afternoons playing basketball at Boys Home in the original YMCA location, which later in life led to an 11-year career with the YMCA.”
Wagner served as the executive director of the Rockbridge Area YMCA for nearly seven years, from June of 2016 until January of this year, when she was dismissed from the position by the board of directors of the YMCA of Virginia’s Blue Ridge, which incorporates several YMCA branches in the valley, including the one here in Rockbridge County.
During her tenure at the Rockbridge Area YMCA, Wagner led the organization to growth in wellness, child care, membership and youth sports. She was also instrumental in establishing an early learning center at the local YMCA. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was at the forefront in developing wellness programming and emergency child care. She also helped establish enrichment centers for children during school closures in locations such as churches, a hotel and even a local restaurant.
Following her dismissal from the Rockbridge Area YMCA, Wagner was appointed the executive director of the Hull’s Angels, a nonprofit organization that oversees operations at Hull’s Drive-In theater. She will continue to work with the organization to ensure a smooth transition and will assist with capital projects at the drive-in in 2024.
“Working with the Hull’s Angels organization has been a rewarding experience,” Wagner said. “I am grateful for the board, staff team and incredible support we have at the drive-in.”
Following Wagner’s announcement that she would be stepping down as the Hull’s Angels executive director, the board unanimously voted to appoint Schlief to the role of acting executive director.
“While we are saddened that our time with Bobbie is drawing to an end, we are eternally grateful for everything she has done for Hull’s during her tenure, and know that she will continue to do great things in this next chapter of her life,” said Kevin Merrill, board chair of Hull’s Angels. “We’re also very enthusiastic about Rhianna stepping into the executive director role and continuing to build on the post-COVID momentum that we built into our 2022 and 2023 seasons.”
Schleif originally hails from Alleghany County, and moved back to the area in 2022 following six years of employment abroad in education, teaching at American schools in Chiang Mai, Thailand and Warsaw, Poland.
She is also the founder and executive director of the Blue Ridge Outdoor School, a Lexington-based summer and after-school outdoor recreation program for elementary age children, which will be opening a preschool outdoor program in the fall of 2024. Shlief resides in Buena Vista, along with her husband Ben and their three daughters.
“Hull’s Drive-In has a special place in my heart,” she said. “Not only from my childhood, but my late father passed his love for Hull’s to me and I have a lot of fond memories of spending time with him there. I am looking forward to working with Hull’s Angels to keep thriving and moving forward. Hull’s Drive-In is a community icon and I want to ensure that it stays that way, along with a great staff team and board of volunteers.”
