Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 3, 1995 TAG: 9502030083
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT LENGTH: Medium
Russ Merritt hadn't even been announced yet as the director of Franklin County's first YMCA program Thursday morning, but he didn't let that stop him.
Merritt, 44, has a reputation for a relentless work ethic. So he wasn't about to let an enthusiastic crowd of movers and shakers who showed up for the announcement leave without his taking advantage of the situation.
Those in attendance were asked to submit their names and addresses to start a mailing list. ``We'll be contacting you,'' said Merritt, who is resigning as executive director of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce to begin his new job April 1.
He publicly accepted the YMCA post Thursday during a news conference at the Comfort Inn.
An ordained minister, Merritt left a Florida pulpit five years ago. A short time later, he arrived in Franklin County to lead the chamber, which was floundering at the time, according to the organization's current president, Lynn Ward.
``The chamber had to take out a loan to pay its bills,'' she said.
But using his ability to spark people to action, Merritt was successful in bolstering membership and making the chamber an integral part of the community, Ward said.
``There's no greater gift the chamber can give to the Y than our executive director,'' she said.
The president of the county YMCA, Abe Essig, said initial plans called for a national search, but Merritt - who was working closely with the committee through his position with the chamber - quickly became an obvious choice for the job.
``To go national would have been a waste of time,'' said Essig, who is founder and president of Ronile Inc. in Rocky Mount. ``Russ has the contacts in the county, and he's self-motivated.''
Case in point: Merritt serves on 16 local and regional boards and commissions.
``I don't think he sleeps,'' added Ward, who also said the chamber quickly will form a search committee of its own to find Merritt's replacement.
Merritt, a Roanoke native, said he will pour the same energy into his newest challenge. He said he will visit new YMCAs to get ideas for the Franklin County Family YMCA - which must meet national YMCA guidelines with its provisional charter to become certified.
Merritt said the guidelines include providing a diverse list of activities. The county YMCA will use existing sites to conduct those programs, but Merritt hopes to secure the membership base and financing to build a YMCA facility by the end of 1996.
Suzanne Cooper Plyler, retired chief executive officer of Cooper Wood Products Inc. in Rocky Mount, will head the YMCA's finance committee. Plyler estimated that $4million to $5million will be needed for construction of a new facility.
The Roanoke architectural firm of Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Mattern already is working on preliminary designs, Essig said.
One of Merritt's first tasks will be the orchestration of a fund-raising campaign to run from April 1 to June 30.
The bottom line, though, said Merritt, is the reality that Franklin County now has a YMCA program.
Franklin County Administrator Macon Sammons, who was involved in the 18-month effort to secure the charter, said:
``It's been a thrilling experience for me to see leaders in this community rally around this project. I was driving home Monday night, and a good feeling came over me. I realized that no one could stop this, even if they wanted to.''
Memo: NOTE: Shorter version ran in Metro edition.