After nearly six years at the helm, Jimmy Woodruff will retire in December from his role as executive director of the Frank P. Phillips Memorial YMCA.
“I can’t stress enough how honored and blessed (I feel) to be able to sit in the chair here and lead the Y and see this whole organization from a perspective that only the leader can see it through,” Woodruff told The Dispatch on Tuesday. “The last six years of my life, I could probably say (have been) the best six years of my life, working here and being able to be a part of the YMCA.”
With Woodruff leaving at the end of the year, Board Chair Penny Bowen said the board of directors has already initiated the search for the facility’s next leader. Applications will be accepted until Oct. 10, and the board hopes to have an applicant selected by the end of November.
Once the application period closes, YMCA of the USA will vet candidates against the board’s qualifications before sending the top applicants for an in-person interview with the board.
Bowen said a survey sent to community stakeholders yielded a handful of key skills and abilities the board hopes to see in a new director, including fiscal management, fundraising and the ability to improve operating performance, build and lead staff, develop a strategic plan and position the Y as a partner for community change.
“Those will be the key directives in deciding what applicants make it through the first round, whether they qualify (to move forward) or not,” Bowen told The Dispatch.
While the search is nationwide, Bowen said the board would be “thrilled” if a qualified local candidate applied.
The job description lists the salary for the role between $85,000 and $100,000. Candidates should have a minimum of 10 years of senior management experience at a YMCA or a comparable organization and also have the ability to develop innovative programs, among other criteria.
“This person has to be well rounded,” she said. “The person that runs the Y has lots of talent because you’re wearing the hat of public relations, fundraising, of facilities management, of team management. So It’s a big role, and it takes a special person.”
Regardless of who it is, Bowen said the new director has big shoes to fill when they take the role in January.
“(Woodruff) has done an excellent job on facility maintenance and getting our facilities taken care of (and) everything well managed there,” she said. “He’s going to be greatly missed.”
Leading through challenges
Woodruff started as director at the Y in January 2020, just months before the COVID-19 pandemic. Leading the organization through the unprecedented crisis is one of his proudest accomplishments during his tenure.
“I was having to do that while I was learning this role at the same time, so it was very challenging,” said Woodruff, who started the role after a 38-year career in retail. “That’s one thing I’m really proud of, the way we were able to guide the YMCA through that and how it affected us in a lot of different ways, financially and with membership and program losses during that time.”
The Y in 2025 operated on a $1.6 million budget with a staff of eight full-time employees and 80 part-time employees. The organization will finish the year with no outstanding debt, another accomplishment made under Woodruff’s tenure.
Serving as director, Woodruff said he’s developed a unique perspective on the Y’s role in the community and the kind of work it takes to make an impact. One of his favorite memories from his tenure was celebrating the Y’s centennial anniversary last year.
“It was the time leading up to that and all of the stories that people told and the engagement that we had with members of the community about what this YMCA meant to them over the years in their life,” he said. “That period of time was real special.”
Woodruff also noted the partnerships he has helped strengthen during his time as director with other organizations dedicated to meeting needs in the community.
While he’s looking forward to catching up on some projects and spending time with his grandchildren, Woodruff said he looks forward to seeing the next director carry on those relationships.
“I just want the next leader of the Y to continue to find ways to make a positive impact in the community and to help people,” he said. “If we can identify the need, if we know we’ve got the facility and we’ve got the resources and the knowledge to do it, we need to do it. I would just encourage that person to … want to do as much as they can in the community to bring awareness to the Y and help people.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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