By Sue Loughlin
TERRE HAUTE — Former Terre Haute Parks Superintendent Greg Ruark has been hired as the new executive director of the Terre Haute Family Y.
He will begin his new duties Dec. 15, said Tom Jones, the Y’s board president.
“We were thrilled to find someone within the community that understands Terre Haute and kind of knows the lay of the land and would be willing to come on board and help us get the ship righted,” Jones said.
Ruark replaces Don Morris, who left “on good terms” in October after only four months on the job.
Last week, Jones said that that the Y is experiencing some financial difficulties. It needs about $800,000 in annual revenues to operate, but this year, he anticipated revenues will be only about $650,000 to $700,000.
Also, because of the economy, some people have stopped attending the Y and paying membership fees because they may not have the disposable income, he said.
“We’re going through a whole process of evaluation of all programs and what we are doing,” Jones said last week.
From 2004 to 2008, Ruark was superintendent of the Terre Haute Parks and Recreation Department. Prior to that, he was director of athletics at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, where he also had served as men’s soccer coach and director of intramurals.
Presently, he is director of coaching for the Vigo County Youth Soccer Association and a part-time assistant women’s soccer coach at DePauw University.
Jones said Ruark has experience working with programming, staff and budgets. He has met with Ruark to provide him with the background on the Y’s status and financial difficulties.
Soon after Ruark begins at the Y, he and the board will develop short-, medium- and long-term plans and establish priorities.
Because of the financial difficulties, the Y is not able to offer much in the way of compensation, Jones said, but as the Y’s financial situation improves, so will the director’s compensation. “It’s kind of an incentive-based thing,” Jones said.
Ruark said he doesn’t know all the details of the Y’s fiscal situation but he’s looking forward to the challenge.
Based on discussions he’s had with board members, the Y’s problems “are correctable issues and I enjoy solving problems,” Ruark said. “I’m going to go in there, roll up my sleeves and see if we can’t get things turned around.”
Among his first priorities will be to meet staff, learn their responsibilities and gain their perspective on what works and what doesn’t work at the Y.
The goal will be “to try to spark some interest in getting people back inside the building,” Ruark said. That could mean enhancing existing programs and adding new ones.
He also wants to meet with those who use the Y to get their thoughts on the facility and its programs.
Ruark also hopes to increase the Y’s visibility, and one of the ways he’ll do that is through a newsletter that he hopes to make available electronically.
Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.
