The Fry Family YMCA on 95th Street has a new Executive Director, who’s just now entering her third week on the job.
“It was not intimidating at all to come here, I actually grew up about 15 miles from here and had a lot of time in the Naperville Area in my youth, lots of friends, I played travel sports over here, and one of the things that I’ve always admired about this community is the strong sense of community and family that Naperville has,” said Stephanie Kuzelis, Executive Director at the Fry Family YMCA.
COVID-19 Precautions
That sense of community support certainly came in handy for Kuzelis when starting at her new position, especially during a global pandemic, when operations have to be more careful than ever before.
To combat COVID-19 the facility is wiped clean every hour and a half, and employees and members of the Fry Y are required to wear masks at all times, unless exercising.
“I was lucky enough that all of the precautions were already set up by the YMCA of metro Chicago. The team has been extremely supportive in pushing down all of those measures to the centers, so my role is ensuring that all of those COVID precautions and sanitizing procedures were done appropriately at the center level,” said Kuzelis
Leadership Into the Future and Beyond
Kuzelis hopes to provide leadership throughout the pandemic and beyond, bringing over 20 years of education and management experience to the job. With her credentials and a strong team already in place, she’s optimistic about what’s to come.
“When you work at a place like the Fry Family YMCA in troubled times like we’re in right now, one of the nice things about working here is the people that I’m surrounded with. They are extremely supportive, understanding, compassionate, and here for our members so, what’s not to love about the Y?” said Kuzelis
The YMCA hopes to open the rest of their centers as safely and as soon as possible. The Fry Family Y’s next step will be offering lap swim, starting on July 15th.
Naperville News 17’s Ryan Skryd reports.
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