By: Tracy McCormick-Dishman
The McArthur Family YMCA’s capital campaign has officially reached $1 million, and for the community that has rallied behind this effort, it is a milestone worth celebrating.
“Reaching that first million is a big step,” said Melissa Yuchasz, district executive director for the McArthur Family YMCA and YMCA at Wildlight. “We still have a ways to go, but this is absolutely something to celebrate.”
The campaign, which carries a $3 million goal, will fund a significant expansion and renovation of the 29,000-square-foot facility at 1915 Citrona Drive in Fernandina Beach. Plans include a new state-of-the-art group exercise studio, a covered walkway connecting the main facility to the new studio, a new multi-generational space, a family locker room and an expansion of the existing parking lot.
Getting to this point has not been a straight road.
A Y born from vision, and a broom closet
The McArthur Family YMCA traces its roots to 1978, when banker Phil Floyd moved to Fernandina Beach from North Carolina and noticed the community had no YMCA. Through a partnership with First Coast YMCA in Jacksonville, the organization took shape. The inaugural executive director, Shelly Wilmes, began in March 1987 with an office that was, as board member Ray Cline recalls, essentially a supply closet next to the pool at the city’s recreation center.
From those humble beginnings, the Y grew. A pivotal moment came when Jan Brogdon was named executive director and she and Floyd reached out to Maybelle McArthur, whose generous donation covered the cost of the land at Amelia Park. A capital campaign funded construction, and the facility was dedicated in 1998.
Today, the McArthur Family YMCA serves more than 5,900 members and 2,000 program participants annually across programs that include youth sports, swim lessons, afterschool care, summer day camp, the LIVESTRONG at the YMCA cancer survivorship program and Enhance Fitness for fall prevention. The Y has never turned away a family because of finances, with more than half of McArthur Y’s members receiving financial assistance.
Then came Betty Berkman
For years, plans to expand the aging facility stalled, and COVID-19 dealt a further blow to momentum that was already stop-and-go.
The turnaround came from a deeply personal place. In August 2023, the Y accepted an extraordinary financial gift from Betty Berkman in honor of her late husband, David, who died Sept. 3, 2021, after a 10-year battle with lung cancer. For more than 60 years, David Berkman had built a successful real estate business in the Southeast and gave back generously to the communities he called home.
“Anything that had to do with kids and families, David was always right there,” Betty Berkman said.
Her gift reignited the capital campaign. In January 2024, the gymnasium was dedicated in David’s name. The David Berkman Gymnasium now bears his legacy on its walls, a fitting tribute to a man who believed in the power of community.
A team effort crosses the million-dollar mark
Reaching $1 million has been, as Yuchasz describes it, a genuine team effort. A dedicated steering committee of Kassy Sjuggerud, David Black, Barb Gingher, Bob and Kay Tetu, Ray Cline and Jen Schoening has kept the campaign alive and moving forward. Donors at every level have played a role, and naming gifts have been received from Kassy and Steve Sjuggerud and Mary Jane Rafferty.
“This was a collaborative effort,” said Yuchasz. “Celebrating the volunteers is just as important as celebrating the milestone.”
“Olivia Smith, senior development director for First Coast YMCA, has been a key point of contact and support throughout the campaign,” continued Yuchasz.
The vision ahead and how you can help
Construction cannot begin until the campaign reaches $2.4 million in pledges with $1.5 million cash in hand. The Y has also launched the LegacyFive Society, inviting community members to give $5,000 per year for five years for special recognition on the Capital Campaign Donor Recognition Wall.
Pioneer and legacy donors, those giving $25,000 or more, are especially needed to push the effort to its next milestone.
To learn more or to contribute, contact Melissa Yuchasz, district executive director, at MYuchasz@fcymca.org or 904.261.1080.
