Local YMCA Picks A New Director

SOUTHINGTON – Mark Pooler, an operations director at the Southington-Cheshire YMCA, will become its leader when longtime executive director John Myers retires in December.

YMCA officials announced their choice Tuesday morning. Pooler has worked for the YMCA since 1990, and for years he led Camp Sloper, the YMCA’s outdoor center on the Southington-Berlin border, off East Street.

Myers will retire on Dec. 31 after 21 years at the helm and 31 years with the YMCA.

YMCA board members said dozens of people from across the country applied for the job.

Pooler said the Southington-Cheshire YMCA “plays an instrumental role in strengthening the foundation of our communities.”

He noted some challenges facing the Y, including “investing in our flagship programs, Membership, Child Care and Day Camp, so we can continue our great work in youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.”

The Southington-Cheshire YMCA started in 1928. At the end of September, it had 11,886 members between the two branches in Southington and Cheshire. The majority of members are from those two communities.

The YMCA, begun in the 1840s in England, has 2,700 local organizations in America that serve 22 million youths and adults yearly across the country.

Worldwide, the YMCA serves more than 45 million people in 119 countries.