THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 23, 1995 TAG: 9507230045
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY JENNIFER CHRISTMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SOUTHERN SHORES LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
Donn Snyder, a retired businessman and mayor from New Jersey, says he wasn't always outgoing.
``I was very, very shy as an adolescent,'' he says.
But one thing changed that for Snyder - the YMCA.
``The YMCA is what drew me out of my shell,'' he says. ``It gave me leadership experience and skills and gave me confidence.''
As a member of the YMCA's Junior Leaders Club, Snyder participated in gymnastics and calisthenics. This was a personal challenge for Snyder, who says he ``wasn't built like a gymnast.''
``It was something I had to conquer,'' he says. ``It taught me persistence.''
And Snyder thinks that the Outer Banks could benefit from the organization as well.
Since he moved to Southern Shores from Westfield, N.J., 16 months ago, Snyder has met with community leaders and residents to discuss starting a beach branch of the YMCA.
On July 31, a meeting for people interested in starting an Outer Banks YMCA will be held at 7:30 p.m. at Kill Devil Hills Library. Directors from other YMCAs will attend to answer questions about the organization.
The YMCA will conduct a two- to three-month demographics study to determine the feasibility of a center on the Outer Banks. Building a YMCA would be costly and would have to be paid for by local memberships and business and community donations.
``In coming down here, I decided that there has to be something to do - not just fishing,'' Snyder says. ``One thing that the Outer Banks does not have is a place where everyone comes together. I decided I would spend the next 10 years of my life trying to start a YMCA.''
The YMCA was started in London in 1844 and spread to Montreal and Boston by 1851. Today the international organization has more than 2,000 branches, camps and centers in the United States alone.
But Snyder is quick to point out that the organization is not simply a recreational center.
``The symbol of the YMCA is a triangle - it represents the body, mind and spirit,'' Snyder says. ``Their programming attempts to condition each of these three components of people.''
The organization's acronym stands for Young Men's Christian Organization, but Snyder says the group is open to everyone.
Leo Antonucci, a member of the Kitty Hawk Town Council, is another YMCA enthusiast. Antonucci says a YMCA worker in Portsmouth helped him turn his life around as a teenager, and he would like to see the organization come to the Outer Banks.
``I wasn't the nicest kid in the world - I wasn't really bad, but I was mischievous,'' Antonucci says. ``I was hanging with the wrong crowd.''
A YMCA worker pulled Antonucci aside, told him he was headed in a bad direction and offered him a job handing out towels.
``This man took interest in me, and he straightened me out,'' Antonucci says. ``It was a turning point in my life.
``I would think that a YMCA on the Outer Banks could help people the way it helped me.'' by CNB