THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 7, 1997 TAG: 9701070221
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KIA MORGAN ALLEN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 94 lines
V. Wayne Orton had some big undertakings when he vowed to help the Hunton YMCA regain its footing after years of financial trouble.
The rust-colored center on Charlotte Street - which once struggled with money problems and left a debt of more than $116,000 when taxes weren't paid - now claims more than $1 million from corporate and private donations in its bank account, Orton says.
Now the new chief executive officer, who took on the towering task about five months ago, basks in the reality that his small gains as CEO are helping in a big way.
Some of the funds will go toward carpeting the center, adding new furniture, establishing a toddler program, and renovating the heating and ventilation system.
Outside, there's landscaping, the building has been painted, and in the back a wall once riddled by graffiti is also completely crimson.
Orton projects that these and other initiatives will re-establish the 100-year-old facility as a central point of play for Norfolk youths. Orton, 52, is a product of the inner-city Effingham YMCA in Portsmouth.
But Hunton's newest claim and what Orton, a former Portsmouth city manager, hopes will be its biggest draw, is a theater arts company inside the center.
Designed as an incentive to attract 14- to 17-year-olds courtesy of a $9,000 community incentive grant from the United Way, the theater company will be a place where children can sing, dance and act.
Orton said the 14- to 17-year-olds are more ``at risk'' and are the toughest demographic group to retain at the Y. He'd like them to use and recognize it as a recreational and social outlet.
Orton is also looking to employ a part-time, state-certified teacher who can work with the children at the Y to help them become more competitive in school.
However, even though prospects look good in the first stages of redevelopment, the Y is not yet financially in the clear. But since Orton took the helm last July to help Hunton retain its status as the oldest independently black-run Y in the nation, things aren't as hazy as they used to be.
``We are developing a mission statement, our vision goals and objectives, but our biggest challenge still remains economic,'' Orton says.
``I'd like to see our private membership account for 40 percent of our revenue, and right now, it's not.
``There are more opportunities out there to stabilize our revenues and be less dependent on large corporate donations.''
So far, the Y has received $12,000 from private donations, and support from backers like the United Way which awarded Hunton an additional $900,000.
AT&T contributed $7,500 and the Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded a $191,000 toddler grant.
The HUD grant will be used toward providing child development activities for toddlers while their mothers seek job training and employment.
Central Fidelity loaned Hunton $165,000 for renovations and other improvements. And when Golden State Warriors basketball star Joe Smith, a Norfolk native, was in town shooting hoops with the youths, he made a private donation of $2,500 toward new lighting in the Hunton Y's gymnasium.
These and other donations correlate with Orton's pursuit to develop programs like the theater company, where youths can come for personal, spiritual and mental development.
``We are focusing on reading, writing, science, computer programs, literacy. . . whatever we need to do because they (the kids) are not coming in numbers like they should,'' Orton said.
``We want them here instead of hanging on the street corners.''
And to give the Hunton kids better alternatives to the streets, the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority gave Hunton $13,500 to start a drug elimination program.
Still, the biggest setback is, Orton says, ``I don't believe enough people know that we are here.
``I still get people who say, `Wayne, where is that?' or, `I thought it was closed.' ''
Although Orton has devoted much of his energies to business - heading the center and handling finances - he hasn't forgotten to cater to the kids.
``Hi, Mr. Orton,'' says a little girl with a big smile who pokes her head into his office, interrupting his conversation.
``Hey, you eat all the turkey up?'' he asks jokingly, Thanksgiving still in their minds.
``I know what you want. You want to eat some candy,'' he says as the girl heads for the jar full of treats on his desk.
``They're all my buddies,'' Orton says.
And it's cheerful faces like hers that pop through Orton's door every day that make him say, ``I have no regrets.''
``I feel a great sense of purpose and a growing sense of accomplishment as CEO.'' ILLUSTRATION: V. Wayne Orton, former city manager of Portsmouth, is
helping the Hunton YMCA in Norfolk regain its footing after years of
financial trouble.
The center on Charlotte Street, once debt-ridden, now claims more
than $1 million in the bank. It is embarked on a number of projects.
L. TODD SPENCER
The Virginian-Pilot