I want to thank each of you who spent from a few weeks to decades delivering the Mission of the YMCA of the Rockies to our members. Your passion and dedication is sincerely appreciated.
Kent Meyer, President/CEO
YMCA of the Rockies
Each year, hundreds of college students come to the YMCA of the Rockies to work while enjoying the Rocky Mountains. Many of our staff alumni tell us working at the Y was a life-changing experience.
Between 1950 and 1970, Executive Director Walter Ruesch personally hired every staff member at the YMCA of the Rockies. He was more than the “boss.” Ruesch took a personal interest in the young people he hired to serve the Y’s members. Some of the young people he mentored took key leadership positions at the YMCA of the Rockies.
In 1970, one of the college staff Ruesch had originally hired as seasonal staff took over responsibility for personnel at the Estes Park Center. Gene Garris had learned the importance of hiring quality staff. For the next eleven years, Gene hired seasonal and year round staff at the Estes Park Center. Like Walter Ruesch, he had the knack for hiring the best staff and selecting a few for leadership roles.
Walter Ruesch retired in 1980 after thirty years of service to the YMCA of the Rockies. After he passed away in 1986, the Y established the Walter G. Ruesch Scholarship Fund to benefit seasonal staff.
Gene Garris continued his career with the YMCA eventually becoming Executive Director in 1987. In 2001, he retired after thirty-seven years of service to the YMCA of the Rockies. After he passed away in 2002, the Y established a scholarship fund to benefit the children of staff members.
Each year, seasonal staff and children of staff compete for these scholarships. Along with proof of college enrollment, the students submit an essay about their work experience at the Y, any volunteer experience they have and extra-curricular activities they enjoy, a description of their financial need, and their career-path and goals.
Scholarship recipients are selected with the assistance from Snow Mountain Ranch and Estes Park Center human resource directors and the President/CEO.
In 2008, seventeen students received $500.00 scholarships for their college education. The funds are sent directly to their college or university.
We feel that the Ruesch/Garris Scholarship Program helps to attract quality young people to work at our Y. The small scholarships we offer help the young people decide that they can afford the great experience of working at our Y.
Every year, we receive far more requests than can be funded. I invite all of you, our alumni, to support the scholarship program so that future generations of college students can grow through their work experience at the Y. Please consider contributing to the Ruesch/Garris Scholarship Fund through the YMCA of the Rockies Alumni Association.
