Sponsored by: JoAnn Wine & Associates
Written by Audrey Sochor
As soon as you step through the doors of the Blue Water YMCA, a cacophony of sounds echo off the cinder block walls – basketballs hitting the hardwood floor of the courts, the metal gears of exercise machines as they’re put to work, or the smack of hands meeting in a high five and the encouraging voice of Josh Chapman.
Having worked at the Y for eight years in a variety of roles, 30-year- old Chapman is a fixture for many patrons. He’s well known for his energy and enthusiastic welcomes, often by name, and always makes time for the kids and adults.
Those traits, said Denise Brooks, executive director of the Blue Water YMCA, are why some gym-goers have said it’s like stepping into an episode of Cheers when Chapman is in the Welcome Center. His current role is vice president of healthy living and membership.
“I guess the best way to say my role is duties as assigned,” Chapman said. “It really is managing the member experience, so making sure the folks of the Blue Water Area, everybody that comes into the Y, has everything they need. That they can participate in the Y, whether it’s from a place of achieving their health and wellness goals, whether it’s a young person that needs a safe place because they have a tough home life, or whether it’s somebody who has no idea what to do, how to do it and just needs to get started. It’s making sure that by the time they walk in the door they feel the embrace of what the Y is – and it’s strengthening foundations of a lot of the community.”
His journey with the Y started as an intern in the summer of 2010 while he was on break from college. He soon graduated from Central Michigan University with a degree in management and marketing and took a position as an experienced team lead, working everything from the front desk to youth sports to housekeeping and maintenance. Chapman said it’s been a wild ride, but he’s glad to be a part of it. All those experiences help with the “jack of all trades, master of none” role of his current position. No two days are the same, he said, and he could go from fixing a door that refuses to open to giving a tour to prospective members.
“From my staff’s perspective, I remove barriers for them and allocate resources for them, and get out of their way to let them do the good stuff they do, because they make a difference every day. They’re the ones that are working with people, helping them lose weight, being mentors.”
It’s also being passionate about the Y and caring for its members Brooks said. Making a difference for the people and families it serves – something Chapman does. “One of our members hadn’t been in for a while due to some health issues and he took just a minute and sent an email to say hi,” she said. “[It] made a big impact that he noticed.”
The position means he needs to get creative with ideas for new programs or support for members, even if it means not working directly at the Y. Chapman serves on the board of the Blue Water Area Chamber of Commerce as well as the Community Foundation of St. Clair
County’s Complete Your Degree committee, which helps remove barriers so people can finish an associate degree or certification program at SC4. Working at the Y challenges Chapman to constantly learn and improve skills, which makes him a better professional, but he said it’s also made him a better person because the Y’s core values – caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility – are entrenched in everything he does.
Chapman said it has given him not only a platform but also the opportunity to be self-made and meet people he would never have met otherwise coming from his background.
Adopted in Texas by a hard-working single mother, Chapman often said he’s blessed and fortunate to have a supportive family who loves him and always showed up. But, like most kids, while mom was at work he’d look for trouble with his friends. To break that cycle, Chapman started playing basketball with the nonprofit group SONS under the guidance of Tyrone Burrell and Kevin Totty.
Working at the Y has put their mentorship into perspective and has given him insight on every type of person. He remembers sitting in the fitness center watching somebody he knows who had just gotten out of a drug rehabilitation center talking with the CEO of one of the area’s largest employers. Seeing them joking and sharing commonalities gave him hope and perspective, especially today when divisiveness is everywhere.
“I’m a firm believer we’re all ninety percent the same,” he said. “We all want to be safe and we want our family to be successful. It just seems that ten percent of stuff we disagree on is where all of the focus is, and the Y has given me the opportunity to really look at it and say it doesn’t matter.”
Chapman also wants to use his talents to give back. He volunteers at a soup kitchen and occasionally helps with SONS, but not as much as he would like. His time is currently devoted to raising his 2-year- old daughter, Irving, and his 11-month- old son, Apollo.
“Three years ago does not seem that long ago, but, man, it is light years,” he said. “But I got my little girl, my little man, and I love them to death. They are polar opposites, the ying and the yang of all things. She is sassy and a diva already – way too much attitude at two years old. My little guy is just as happy as could be, at everything just smiles – laid back. So it’s been a ride but it’s exciting.”
The collaboration and teamwork it takes to raise children has deepened his relationship with his wife, Judi. They’ve been together since 2011 and were married last summer in a low key ceremony. And like their children, they are the ying and yang of each other, but Chapman said that makes them a better team and he couldn’t do what he does professionally or personally without her backing him.
“My life has gotten a little chaotic these last two years with the additions I’ve had with my family, but any time I get the opportunity, any time I can volunteer or give no matter what the organization is or mission, I try to help. We either are a part of the solution or part of the problem.”
