THE FOLLOWING IS A NEWS – GAZETTE STORY BY JENNIFER BAILEY
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DANVILLE — A Cleveland native has been hired as the new Danville Family YMCA chief executive officer/executive director.
The YMCA announced Friday that Laura Floyd, currently serving as the executive director of the YMCA of Greater Hartford in Hartford, Conn., has accepted the position and will begin on Aug. 6.
She replaces retiring leader Linus VanderWyst.
Danville YMCA board president Adam Harmon said the board is thrilled to have Floyd on board.
“Hiring for any position this important is a challenging process, and we are blessed to have found a great fit in Laura. She has the mix of experience, fundraising, community collaboration, and strategic planning that we were looking for, and I’m looking forward to working with her,” Harmon said, through a press release.
Floyd has had many positions throughout her 34-year career with the YMCA and says the Danville job has her excited about the future.
“I’ve seen first-hand how much of an impact the YMCA can have and the role it plays in creating our future leaders,” she said.
Floyd began her YMCA career in her hometown of Cleveland as a determined single parent, taking an entry-level position that would help her provide both income and activities for her young family.
“That first role…the YMCA, saved me,” she said.
In Cleveland, Floyd worked her way up, eventually becoming the executive director of the Parker Hannifin Downtown YMCA in 2012. In 2017, she took over the YMCA of Greater Hartford, where she has presided over strategic direction, operations and fundraising for the past seven years.
She has invested in higher education along the way and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Chancellor University and a Master of Business Administration degree in nonprofit management from Springfield College. In her free time, she enjoys golf, working out, and spending quality time with family.
A welcome open house will be planned for a later date.
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