Wednesday night, the Washington County Riverboat Foundation held their annual Board Meeting and Grant Award Celebration at the Riverside Casino and Golf Resort. The awards portion of the evening included acknowledgment for monies distributed during the spring awards cycle and the announcements of gifts from fall applications. Washington County YMCA was the benefactor of a $3 million gift from the spring cycle, for their phase two indoor aquatic center construction project. Amy Schulte, CEO of YMCA of Washington County, addressed those in attendance regarding the gift, what it means for the future of the project, and their gratitude for the funding. Schulte shared, “Because of this $3 million grant from the foundation and the support of our donors, we will begin construction of the new indoor aquatic center in 2023, 100 years after the construction of the original Y. Our goal is to have it fully constructed and open in 2024. So we can begin another century of serving Washington County. The new pool will not only carry on 100 years of teaching children to swim in Washington and offering recreational swimming, it will also be an opportunity increase and expand those services in a much larger and fully accessible pool. I search for new words to be able to express our gratitude to the Washington Riverboat Foundation for their generosity. Thank you is truly not enough!”

This gift from WCRF and a recent $100,000 grant from Wellmark, means that the YMCA has now collected $5.2 million of their $7.4 million goal. Phase two plans include a six-lane lap pool, zero-depth entry, recreational and therapy pool, whirlpool, and sauna, with the opportunity to expand competitive swim events in Washington and other swim programs.