When the executive director of the Wilmington Family YMCA left six years ago, board member Dick Jones stepped up to the plate to lead the organization that was chartered in Wilmington in the 1880s. Six months later, Jones decided to switch careers after serving as the vice president of strategic planning at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, to take the lead at the Wilmington Y permanently.

Now, the 50-year-old who just completed his first triathlon in September at the Wilmington Family YMCA triathlon at Wrightsville Beach is looking at ways to continue to lead and grow the organization. “This past year has been our largest increase in membership over the past two or three years,” Jones said. Membership has grown from 3,000 to 9,000 members over the past five years, he said.

“Even though the economic times are difficult for families, people are spending some money on themselves and their families to be involved in exercise together, classes together, programs together,” he said.

While many local families travel farther than the 12 minute driving distance recommended by YMCA National to the single location on Market Street, Jones and the board of directors are exploring options to expand.

“As we begin to develop branch operations, we want to try to reach those communities where we have a lot of people coming to us. That would be the first logical step. Then we start to think, how do we start reaching people who can’t come to the Y today, but would like to be here,” he said.

He has received several offers from downtown developers, including The View on Water Street, who want to build a satellite YMCA gym downtown. But, a satellite facility might better serve the community if it is placed closer to members, who live outside the downtown area.

“When I think of locations that might be right for a YMCA – down by the Monkey Junction area, Leland area, up near Hampstead – are clearly some, and the northern part of New Hanover County,” Jones said. But, first a small committee of community members from a specific area would need to step up and lead the development of a new satellite YMCA.

“We don’t want to go out and borrow money to build a facility. We want to raise money for the programs and to raise money for the building,” Jones said. A local steering committee would also help identify a specific location for the building, develop programs and raise funds for the facility.

“The [national] Y USA tells us that they would want a steering committee to raise about $500,000 in a community before a YMCA starts. That would ensure the sustenance of the programs that you bring to that community for at least three years,” he said. “I think that’s probably right on target.”

Fundraising has been a key challenge to the development of additional satellite YMCAs in the area. Over the past couple of years, Jones has met with two steering committees in Hampstead and Brunswick County. “A lot of interest, but the timing wasn’t quite right for everybody to bring up bricks and mortar out of the ground,” he said. Instead of building a physical site, they partnered on creating after school programs at some of the area schools first. Programs are the way to build effective and affordable community buy-in, according to the national organization. Currently, the Wilmington Family YMCA runs about a dozen after-school programs at various school sites in New Hanover and Pender Counties.

In January the local YMCA will open the Kids Zone, a kids-only fitness area in its upstairs facility on Market Street. The organization will also begin managing Camp Kirkwood, which is about 5 miles north of Burgaw in the town of Watha, to provide outdoor education for young people.

Meanwhile, the board and Jones are waiting on the sale of a piece of property owned by the local YMCA and are still in the preliminary stage of discussing when and where a new satellite branch will be.