Mark Weber’s rising star which received a tremendous boost when the YMCA of Benton Harbor-St. Joseph collaborated and eventually meshed with the YMCA of Niles-Buchanan is soaring higher with a new agreement that places him in the interim role at the helm of the Y serving the greater South Bend, Indiana community.
The combination of Benton Harbor, St. Joseph, Niles and Buchanan had already created the YMCA of Southwest Michigan following exploratory collaboration a couple of years ago. Now, Weber’s team has revealed that the YMCA of Michiana and the YMCA of Southwest Michigan have entered into a Management Agreement to explore the sharing of resources and services in order to strengthen the YMCA mission in each agency’s respective communities.
The Boards of Directors at both organizations have authorized the partnership, which is effective immediately, in a bid to focus on operational efficiencies, program collaboration, capital fundraising, and the evaluation and development of strategies to better serve the communities involved.
Bill Cerney is Board Chair at the YMCA of Michiana. He says, “With the recent leadership transition, our Michiana Y Board determined it was in our best interest to explore increased collaboration with the YMCA of Southwest Michigan.” He adds, “Mark Weber, CEO of the YMCA of Southwest Michigan, has done a great job leading their organization and we’re excited to have Mark and his team assisting our team through this management agreement while we evaluate the benefits of sharing resources to better serve all of our communities.”
During the Management Agreement, YMCA of Southwest Michigan CEO Mark Weber will serve as interim CEO for the YMCA of Michiana. Since Mark joined the Y in 2012, he has more than doubled the Southwest Michigan YMCA’s resources and community impact. Both Boards will continually evaluate the collaboration throughout the Management Agreement and determine next steps.
The YMCA of Michiana, Inc. serves more than 25,000 people throughout the Michiana region. It is a non-profit 501(c)(3) community service organization, which responds to critical social needs by drawing together the collective strength of community leaders and YMCA volunteers. They have been a part of the community for 130 years.
The photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market.com shows the YMCA of SWM building in Niles and is courtesy of the YMCA of Southwest Michigan.
