Borchers steps down from YMCA CEO position

By Michael Dashiell • February 5, 2020 1:30 am

A new year has brought new leadership for the Olympic Peninsula YMCA.

Less than a month after YMCA of Sequim executive director Kurt Turner left this position for a YMCA job in Texas, Olympic Peninsula YMCA CEO Len Borchers announced his resignation.

Borchers, who worked at the YMCA since 2006 and held roles including Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer and finally Chief Executive Officer since 2015, stepped down from his CEO role on Jan. 24.

“I am honored to have been a part of the YMCA and help it expand across the Peninsula,” Borchers said in a press release last week. “Everyday the Y helps hundreds of people maintain and improve their health and provide a safe place for kids after school. We are all better because the YMCA is here.”

In a later interview, Borchers said he’s planning to retire.

YMCA representatives said Borchers was instrumental in the opening of the YMCA of Sequim in 2016 after the Sequim Aquatics and Recreation Center (SARC) closed in November 2015.

Borchers said taking on Sequim was a boon for the YMCA.

“Getting Sequim going, that was the biggest growth spurt we’ve ever done,” he said. “It essentially doubled the organization.”

“Len had a broad vision for the Olympic Peninsula YMCA,” association board president Virginia O’Neil said in a press release last week. “He saw ahead to the possibilities of uniting all three YMCAs on the Olympic Peninsula into one family, and his ability to create this vision and drive it forward was commendable.”

Olympic Peninsula YMCA leaders in recent years looked to further develop its Port Townsend campus but found the timing wasn’t right, Borchers said.

“We sort of stepped back from that and left it with the city and county,” he said. “It’s going to be a while years for them to get to the next step.”

The Sequim campus, however, has potential for growth now, Borchers said.

“Sequim is nearing capacity right now; I think there is opportunity to grow that branch, particularly with teenage kids,” he said. “It’ll be up to the board to set that course.”

Borchers has ties to Sequim, coaching Sequim High School’s wrestling program from 2007-2012.

Now the Port Angeles resident is looking at completing a shop on his property, a project he could only get to on weekends, and some international travel with his wife.

Bart is interim

The Olympic Peninsula YMCA’s board of directors on Jan. 29 appointed named Wendy Bart the interim CEO, with her first day effective Feb. 3.

Bart brings more than 30 years of experience to our organization as a leader in YMCA associations across Washington state. In her most recent role, she served as a Senior Vice President and Chief Membership & Health Officer from 2017-2019 at the YMCA of Greater Seattle, overseeing membership and facility management for 12 full-facility branches and two overnight camps.

“Wendy is an open-minded problem solver,” O’Neil said. “I believe she has the skill-set to inspire us and help us take this organization to the next level as a team, although change is never easy. I think I speak for everyone in the Y family to say that we are excited.”

For more information about Olympic Peninsula YMCA, contact Erin Hawkins, marketing/communications coordinator for the Olympic Peninsula YMCA, at erin@olympicpeninsulaymca.org or 360-452-9244, x896.