THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 3, 1996 TAG: 9607030466
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KIA MORGAN ALLEN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 68 lines
The Hunton YMCA has turned to a former, longtime Portsmouth city administrator for help in retaining its status as the oldest independently black-run Y in the nation.
On Tuesday, the Hunton Y announced that its new chief executive officer is V. Wayne Orton, a product of the inner-city Effingham YMCA in Portsmouth who rose to become Portsmouth city manager.
Before his family, board members, news media and friends at the rust-colored building on Charlotte Street, Orton said there is a need for membership growth, equipment and volunteers. The Y now attracts some 230 kids.
``Who would stand back and not be excited about working in an African-American facility that's been open more than 100 years?'' Orton said.
The Hunton Y has struggled with financial problems in recent years - and at one point did not pay taxes, leaving a debt of more than $116,000.
A place where many black Norfolk youths congregate and play, Hunton faced the prospect of merging with the larger, predominately white South Hampton Roads YMCA in 1994 as a matter of financial survival. But Hunton has decided to continue its effort to remain independent, with Orton as its chief executive, replacing Reginald Towns, who stepped down from the position last year.
And there is now a financial reason to hope that the Hunton Y can survive.
It has recently found support from backers like Central Fidelity Bank, which has loaned Hunton $165,000 for renovations and other improvements, according to Michael Glenn, assistant vice president of community investment.
``They needed a working-capital loan to allow them to make improvements to the building, to increase marketing efforts for membership and to help them plan their next 10 years,'' Glenn said at the Y after Tuesday's announcement.
With planned renovations - interior painting, new carpeting and outside signs - Orton pledged to devote all his energiesto improving the Y.
``I want to help the Hunton Y stabilize, regain its footing, prosper and grow,'' he said Tuesday.
He also intends to focus on developing programs where youths can come for personal, spiritual and mental development. Orton said he plans to meet with local pastors in an effort to form a Christian youth organization designed to strengthen character among black youth.
``We would like to bring Christian principles to this organization,'' he said - and would like to get back to the days when there were group Bible studies at the Y, originally started by the Young Men's Christian Association.
The Hunton Y was founded in 1875, when a black man attending a YMCA convention in Richmond asked delegates to consider forming a YMCA for blacks. A Bible-study group of black men in Norfolk was asked to take on the task.
The group operated for nearly a decade as the Negro Y until William Alphaeus Hunton became general secretary. Thereafter, the organization became an independent YMCA.
In his remarks Tuesday, Orton also said there is an urgent need for drug-abuse services and related programs.
The new CEO plans to get involved with public housing tenant groups to address community concerns. Orton also said he would like to loosen his tie and work hand-in-hand with youths in the Hunton building.
Orton became director of human services and social services for the city of Portsmouth in 1981. In 1990 he became the city manager, retiring from that position in 1995.
``I would like to mold those skills,'' he said Tuesday, ``to help the Y realize dreams.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by CHRISTOPHER REDDICK, The
Virginian-Pilot
V. Wayne Orton, once a member of the Effingham YMCA in Portsmouth,
was announced Tuesday as the Hunton Y's CEO. by CNB