Midway YMCA Executive Director honored for dedicated service

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Article and photo by MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN

A routine board meeting at the Midway YMCA ended with a big surprise for Executive Director David Dominick last week. Exiting the meeting, he walked into the lobby and was greeted by fellow employees, friends and supporters from across the Twin Cities. It was the culmination, board member Glen Gunderson said, “of one of the very few well-kept secrets at the YMCA.”

YMCA 14Photo left: Board member Glen Gunderson (left) was in charge of the “covert mission” that resulted in a commemorative bronze bust of Midway YMCA Executive Director David Dominick (right). The mission was so secret, it required code names and surreptitious communication to keep Dominick from finding out.

With independent funds raised outside of the YMCA, Lutsen, MN sculptor Tom Christiansen was hired to make a bronze bust of Dominick. The gathering was organized to honor Dominick, and to unveil the sculpture of him that will stand permanently in the YMCA’s entry way.

“I am completely surprised and speechless,” Dominick said at the unveiling,

Others, however, had plenty to say.

Erika Schwichtenberg of Ally People Solutions, said, ”David is a tireless member of our board of directors. I’ve known him for years through leadership work in the community. He has been actively involved in the St. Paul Sunrise Rotary Club, the Midway and St. Paul Chambers of Commerce, and the St. Paul Midway Lions Club.”

“In the 13 years he has been executive director of the Midway YMCA,” Schwichtenberg continued, “David has been inspiring, fearless even, in asking for what he thought this community needs. David’s vision is this place - not just this beautiful, new building, but the sense of community we have here.”

Dominick’s partner Joe Keenan echoed that, saying, “David has the natural gifts of leadership, and he especially loves urban work. People may not know that he’s a former mayor of his hometown, Muncie, Indiana, and that he was elected at the tender age of 31.”

According to the Muncie Star Press, Dominick was “a mayor for the whole community. He revitalized community events ranging from the Muncie Black Expo to the local Soap Box Derby. Two ground-breaking events happened during his term in the early 90’s: the city voted in its first African American deputy mayor and selected its first African-American police chief.”

When Dominick took the job of executive director, he was told the old Midway YMCA building would soon be torn down. In the 13 years it took for that to happen, Dominick and his staff were able to clarify their vision of what the new building would become.

There’s an art to balancing practical visioning with good old-fashioned fun, and Dominick understands that. When demolition of the building was finally imminent, YMCA members were given crayons and markers to draw on the walls and were allowed to bring their dogs to the pool for a final swim.

As part of the sculpture dedication, board member Lowry Smith (a YMCA member since 1962) said, “David epitomizes friendly service and leadership. There is no one person who has been so deeply involved in the evolution of our YMCA as David Dominick, and for that, we are extremely grateful.”

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