The Y logo starts appearing at local branches

EVERETT — The Y’s member service desk is a busy place. People making time for midday exercise Monday didn’t notice a small change.

Behind the desk, member service representatives Sarah Berglund and Colby Hudson answered phones and fielded questions. They also wore new shirts.

Wit

h a bold logo — “the Y staff” — shirts are among the first visible signs of a change coming nationwide.

A month ago, on Jan. 2, the YMCA of Snohomish County rolled out the new logo in accordance with a new brand strategy announced last summer by the national organization. At the Y’s Everett branch, business cards, shirts and a new rug near the entrance show the look of things to come.

“It’s going to be a new visual identity,” said Scott Washburn, president and chief executive of the YMCA of Snohomish County. “We’ve made the conversion internally, on uniforms and letterhead. We’re still working on the final phases — exterior signage.”

It isn’t the end of the YMCA, which will be used with specific locations. The YMCA of Snohomish County will remain as the local nonprofit’s name. Referring to the organization as a whole, it’s now “the Y” — although the national office remains YMCA of the USA.

The switch to “the Y” simply makes the vernacular official. “It’s the way people have referred to us for 100 years already,” said Colleen Temple, director of marketing and communications for YMCA of Snohomish County.

Temple said some people, upset by the change, see it as “dropping the C.” The YMCA is an acronym for Young Men’s Christian Association. “We have to educate people,” Temple said. The organization welcomes all people, but its mission still includes the “C” word. It says, in part, that the Y has “a mission to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build a healthy spirit, mind and body for all.”

Washburn said Y organizations around the country were given about 18 months from the July announcement to complete the change. “We are an early adopter,” he said. The national organization isn’t footing the bill.

In Snohomish County, with Y branches in Everett, Marysville, Mill Creek, Monroe and Mukilteo, Washburn estimates the change will cost $150,000. About $15,000 to $20,000 of that has been spent revamping the website.

“We do this out of our own resources. We’ve been healthy financially, and we reserve funds for special needs,” he said. “The big things were signage, vehicle wraps and the website.”

Website changes reflect a new emphasis on three main aims of the Y: youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Under those categories are programs that have served families here for generations, including swim lessons and camp. There are also newly highlighted goals, among them education, leadership, volunteerism and giving.

Ted Wenta, YMCA of Snohomish County’s vice president of operations, said Monday that almost 90,000 people in our county were touched by Y programs last year.

“It used to be a swim and a gym,” Washburn said. “That really is not a current or accurate view of what we are about. This change starts a conversation about the difference we make.”

Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460, muhlstein@heraldnet.com.