
DATE: Sunday, October 26, 1997              TAG: 9710240276

SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER      PAGE: 03   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: CLOSE-UP 

SOURCE: Scott McCaskey 

                                            LENGTH:   73 lines

CHARLES E. HARRIS CHESAPEAKE RESIDENT IS THE HEAD OF AREA'S YMCAS

For Charles E. Harris, the YMCA has been a way of life. For nearly three decades, Harris has been affiliated with the Y in some capacity. For the past eight years, he has been the president and CEO for the YMCA of South Hampton Roads.

``I started doing fieldwork placement for the Y in Nashville as a graduate student,'' said Harris, 50, who lives in Great Bridge. ``I had no idea that 28 years later I would still being working at the Y.''

After finishing his masters of divinity in religion and theology at Vanderbilt University, Harris, who is originally from Chicago, spent 12 years in Nashville as a branch executive. He then moved to Memphis to become vice president of operations in that city, and onto Richmond in the same capacity. He came from Richmond to Norfolk in 1989 to assume his present position, and liked what he saw in Chesapeake.

``I toured a lot of areas in South Hampton Roads, and kept getting advice on how great the schools were here and what a quality place Chesapeake was to live,'' Harris said. ``I have three children, so it all came together in Great Bridge. I particularly like Great Bridge because you have the advantage of small-town living in a metropolitan community.''

As head of the Y for South Hampton Roads, Harris says his duties are to guide the Y to new levels of service. He noted that the Y now has nine area branches and has rapidly grown from an annual budget of $2.7 million in 1989 to $13 million this year.

``We serve more than 55,000 people here,'' Harris said. ``And it's not just our physical-education programs and youth sports. We are probably the largest licensed day-care provider in the area. We serve about 2,000 kids every day.''

Although his office is in downtown Norfolk, Harris spends a lot of time at the other branches. And those numbers could grow.

``We're collaborating with Chesapeake General Hospital to see about maybe providing some hospital educational services through local Ys,'' Harris said. ``Right now we're doing a market-research study on the program. We may build a new facility in Chesapeake.''

The Y's CEO also said the organization is looking at starting a new branch and camp on the Eastern Shore near Silver Beach.

Full name: Charles E. ``Chuck'' Harris

Birthdate: December 17, 1946

Occupation: President and CEO of YMCA of South Hampton Roads since 1989

Hometown: Chicago

What brought you to Chesapeake? Opportunity to serve as president/CEO of the YMCA of South Hampton Roads

Marital status: Married to Cindy for 26 years

Children: Hillary, 21; Emily, 18; Paul, 9

Pets: A Bichon Frische dog named Doogie

Hobbies: Woodworking and sailing

Perfect day off: Sailing with family and friends on the Chesapeake Bay

Favorite restaurant and food: Locks Point, crab cakes