Carlson named senior program director

Longtime YMCA employee bumped up to new role Hardyston — Rebecca Carlson has been named senior program director for the Sussex County YMCA. Carlson has been with the YMCA as a member since the Hardyston facility opened in 2005. Soon after that, she became a Y swim instructor and then its aquatics director. “Staff and members will agree that Rebecca has always been a great asset to our Y,” commented David Carcieri, YMCA’s executive director. “As aquatics director for the last two years, she’s done an outstanding job in training and developing her staff, implementing safety and quality initiatives and adding and improving programs for not only our YMCA members and swim teams but for the community as well. Promoting Rebecca to senior program director means her expertise, enthusiasm and leadership can affect more people and programs here in Sussex County.” Carlson lives in Hardyston with her husband John Dorney and their three children, Skyler, Blaze and Payden. All are very involved in the YMCA as well as other organizations in the area. As a child Carlson competed on swim teams and has been an American Red Cross lifeguard for most of her life. She has been very involved in the Hardyston PTA, serving two years as president. Before joining the Y, she was as a customer service trainer for Bloomingdale’s, where she managed over eight departments and organized special events. “Rebecca is a leader that understands the YMCA’s mission and its core values: caring, honesty, respect and responsibility,” Carcieri said. “She has made her staff, as well as others at the Y, very comfortable with the concept of member service or what we like to call relationship building. Her staff is service oriented, well trained in safety and extremely competent. Whether it’s a swim instructor talking to his student’s parent about her progress or a program coordinator working with other non-profits in the area such as The Arthritis Foundation or SWIM, Inc., these individuals have the training and confidence to give the community the best our Y has to offer.” Team building In addition to member service, Carlson is a strong advocate of cross training, another feature the YMCA is incorporating in its team building. “To better serve members and to keep our staff happy with more working hours, the other YMCA directors and I share staff where it’s appropriate,” said Rebecca. “For instance, here at the Y you might see one of our lifeguards standing watch on deck one day and the next day leading a water aerobics class or maybe one of our on-site after-school counselors working at Teen Night. Most of our employees are happy to be well-rounded in their knowledge of the Y and it makes fiscal sense too since we’ve already invested in their required Y training.” Carlson said she’s looking forward to the YMCA’s opportunity to grow with the prospect of building more branches in the area. “It’s wonderful to see how well-received we have been to the community since opening five years ago,” continued Rebecca. “There’s a need for us to expand to make more relationships and have more to offer in after-school programs and even work with The Special Olympics if we had more pool space and available times.” For more information on current YMCA programs, call the Welcome Center at 973-209-9622 or visit www.sussexcountyymca.org.