A former Guelphite who supported the Guelph Y in his youth, is returning to the city to become the new Chief Executive Officer of the YMCA-YWCA of Guelph.
Geoff Vogt starts his new role Jan. 16.
In an interview from Vancouver, where Vogt was helping the Vancouver YMCA complete its strategic plan, Vogt said he’s excited to return to the city he called home as a boy and where his parents still live.
He said there’s great symmetry in his new appointment since it was a co-op placement with the Guelph Y when he was in high school that changed the direction of his post-secondary studies.
“I thought I was going to be a teacher until that co-op placement at the Y in my last year of high school,” he said. “That’s when the Y was on Speedvale Ave. I was introduced to the concept of leadership outside of sports and that led me to take Health Studies at Brock University.”
He went from Brock to Ball State University in Indiana as a graduate assistant, then to Simon Frasier University in its recreation program and then to Western University in London, Ontario as director of recreation.
“Then I stumbled into the Y again,” he said, first as a board member and then hired on in 2008 as vice president with the YMCA of Western Ontario.
The job in Guelph came along at a time when he was looking for other challenges, he said.
“The opportunity in Guelph just felt right,” he said.
David Merkley, chair of the Guelph Y’s board of directors, said the former CEO Jim Bonk announced he was leaving in the spring and wrapped up his term in August.
He said the Y has strong programs for its members, but it really wants to partner with other social agencies and community benefit organizations to strengthen support or fill gaps for citizens. This could include programs for teens, for new immigrants, for seniors or for people out of work.
“It’s not any one thing. We’ll leave it to the new CEO to figure that out,” Merkley said. “But we’re ramping up our outreach programs. We want to become the go-to place in Guelph.”
Vogt said his first task will be to meet with community leaders, understand what the Y currently offers and see where there are synergies.
“I’m very excited to get inside and understand what the Y means to the community. More than anything, this is about making Guelph the best community the Y can make it be,” Vogt said.
