Warren, East Liverpool YMCAs to share CEO and support staff

By Jordan Cohen

WARREN — The Warren/Trumbull YMCA and its counterpart in East Liverpool will share the same chief executive officer and support staff.

The new CEO for Warren is Robert O’Hara, 42, who will continue as executive director of the East Liverpool Area Family YMCA. O’Hara formerly served as program and operations director for the Warren Y from 1987 to 1996 before moving to East Liverpool.

“We’re bringing in someone who knows our YMCA,” said Bill Beinecke, chairman of the board of trustees. “We needed an experienced senior director, and he’s a good fit.”

O’Hara said the two YMCAs began exploring a shared-services agreement six months ago after an advisory committee recommended the hiring of a senior director to redevelop long-range plans. He revealed that the Warren Y had considered a similar arrangement with the Youngstown YMCA, which he said did not indicate any interest in the plan.

O’Hara said his previous experience in Warren and his understanding of the community were important factors in the decision to go forward with shared services with East Liverpool.

“We found synergy, and having known the facility and community before, I could start immediately,” O’Hara said.

The new CEO said the agreement will last for one year and will be reviewed by the board of trustees to see if it should continue.

O’Hara said several other YMCAs in the region have similar shared-services agreements such as Lake County, which provides its CEO for Ashtabula, and Canton, which does the same for Alliance.

O’Hara plans to spend one day a week in Warren and the remainder in East Liverpool and a satellite facility in Steubenville. Asked if one day is sufficient for the needs of the Trumbull facility, the CEO responded that his support staff will come to Warren when needed to provide assistance in finances and accounting, program development and marketing.

“As we help the staff here and work with the board to set the vision for the Y, our load should lighten over time,” O’Hara said.

Beinecke said the only costs to the Warren Y will be monthly expenses that O’Hara or the staff incurs, but that cost won’t exceed $2,500 a month,

“With the challenge of selling the Eastwood facility and deciding whether to upgrade our building or do something else, we thought we should have someone with experience to help us through this process,” Beinecke said.

Wendy Marvin, who had been serving as interim director, said she recommended O’Hara to the executive committee of the board of trustees. Marvin said she will continue as Warren Y director with responsibility for day-to-day operations.