Bruett Named New Permanent Executive Director of Bob Freesen YMCA in Jacksonville

By Benjamin Cox on July 31, 2024 at 10:10am

The Bob Freesen YMCA Board of Directors have announced the appointment of Joyce Bruett as the new permanent Executive Director.

Bruett comes to Jacksonville after having served as the Associate Executive Director of the Danville Family YMCA. Bruett brings an education background and has also served as youth and high school swim coach at various school districts in East Central Illinois.

YMCA Board Chair Heather Leonard says that it was an extensive and lengthy process to fill the permanent position. Y-USA helped the board along with a local committee to select a person earlier in the year after putting together the initial application. Leonard says that it was an arduous task of finding the right candidate: “It didn’t work out the first time unfortunately. That was very painful. Y-USA launched a second search with us because we were just really committed to making sure we had the absolute right fit. We went through the application process again and had another 16 new, unique applicants compared to the first round. We brought in 5 of those for Zoom interviews; and then, we brought in 4 for a 2-3 day, depending upon each candidate’s schedule, to meet with staff, they toured the grounds, they met with our endowment committee members, board committee members, and then, they were given a month to prepare a presentation addressing what the Y does for the community just from their experiences and what they had gleaned from their visit. They were also asked in the presentation about what they think some of the first steps they would take, key people they would work with in the community to help build the Y. It was a very strategic process. We wanted to be sure we had the absolutely right person.”

Bruett will start on the job on September 2nd. Leonard says that their will be a community meet and greet later that week for Bruett to get a chance to introduce herself directly to the community: “We have decided to hold a meet & greet on September 6th for the community to come and get to know her. It’s from 4-6PM. We are going to have some light refreshments. Board members will be introducing her to community leaders in an effort to give her a good picture of community needs and help her address those community needs. We want to stay relevant in the community, and I think that requires regularly engaging with the community and knowing what the community actually wants and how we can best provide those services.”

Bruett is replacing Mary Henry, who retired after 18 years at the helm in February. Vice President of Maintenance and Grounds Jared Maggart has been serving as interim director during the search. He will return to those duties once Bruett assumes her official duties on September 2nd.