Oswego YMCA Director Accepts Position in Ohio

Brent Finlay served the Oswego YMCA for four years.

As of Dec. 3, the Oswego YMCA is missing one of its most dedicated members: Executive Director Brent Finlay. Finlay, as he announced on the Oswego YMCA Faceobok page, accepted a position as a new YMCA President in Ohio. "I want to thank everyone connected to our great YMCA and to our special dedicated staff and volunteers all the best in the new year!" wrote Finlay. Special events coordinator for the Oswego YMCA, Shellee McCullum, said currently the Y has an interim team in place to assist with day to day operations until a new executive director is brought on board.  "I will proudly watch as you go forward as your cheerleader as the Y moves on to serving more people and one day in a brand new Y facility!" wrote Finlay.  Finlay had been …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Know Your Neighbor

Fox River Academy Bringing Artistic Appreciation to the Community

Downtown Oswego art installation the latest project for director Karen Kulzer.

Since 2003, Karen Kulzer has worked diligently and passionately to bring art appreciation to the Oswego community. Kulzer is a director and founder of Oswego’s Fox River Academy of Music and Art. Kulzer said the founders specifically chose their Oswego location. “This community needed a community presence for art appreciation. There is a lot of work being done in the schools, but at the community level the town could use more focus," Kulzer said "One part of our mission is to improve the community’s appreciation of the arts. We also work to connect people, building relationships through music and art.” In addition to popular classes such as piano, guitar and voice, Fox River Academy (FRA) brings classes to the community like harp and oboe…

• Photos (6)

Oswego YMCA Hosts First Mayor Prayer Breakfast

Over 100 attend what is to be the first in an annual tradition.

The Oswego YMCA hosted its first ever Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast on Friday morning with plans to make it an annual event. “This is a great event for us all to recharge our batteries and hear some testimonies,” said Village President Brian LeClercq. “My hope is you take away and feel good about your community and then get out there and share that feeling.” The event took place in the YMCA gymnasium, decorated with lilies and flowers from The Garden Faire and serving a catered breakfast for attendees. Previously the Oswego YMCA had done a similar event for Christmas, but this was new for them. “Easter is different,” said guest speaker Tom Beerntsen, the Executive Vice President for the Association Development of YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago. “…

•  1 Comment
• Photos (3)

Brent Finlay

12:00 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012

A big thanks to our sponsors and awesome Pray Breakfast committee members for making it a very special morning. Looking forward to next year!   more ›

YMCA Prayer Breakfast a First For Oswego

Executive director hopes to make first event an annual event.

To members of the YMCA community, an annual Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast is nothing new.  But when the Oswego YMCA hosts its event Friday, March 30, it will be this community’s first. Brent Finlay, executive director, said it was time to bring the event to town for one significant reason. “We just felt it was important to implement the breakfast and have something a little uplifting, so that people might feel a little better about their world and spirituality and spread a little hope,” Finlay said. The YMCA is a Christian organization, and Finlay said the breakfast will allow that aspect go “shine through.” “We don’t beat people over the heads with that aspect of the Y here, but it’s nice to get back to our roots every once in a while,” he …

• Photos (1)
• Documents (2)

The All New YMCA

Making a difference to the region for the last 10 years

The following article was submitted to Oswego Patch by YMCA Excutive Director Brent Finlay. The Oswego Family YMCA began offering services and programs in early 2001 in the Mason Square retail center on Douglas Road. Membership peaked serving 439 members with most Y members individual adults seeking wellness services and group exercise classes along with senior adult programs called Silver Sneakers. The Oswego center was a branch of the Heritage YMCA Group with facilities in Naperville & Aurora led by volunteers and staff delivering programs and services . This was a great start for the YMCA to begin sinking roots into the communities we are serving; however, we knew from the beginning that much more was possible in this wonderful …

• Photos (1)

YMCA Hands Out First Teen Character Awards

37 students were nominated for the Oswego Family YMCA of Metro Chicago’s first Teen Character Awards ceremony.

Ryan Dowd has never started a company as successful as Facebook. He has never climbed Mt. Everest. He has never won a Grammy award. “I’m not particularly successful by some people’s definition of success,” the executive director of Aurora’s Hesed House told a group of students and their families Thursday night at Oswego East High School. “I’m just an adult who still hasn’t figured out he can’t save the world.” But Dowd, the keynote speaker of the Oswego Family YMCA of Metro Chicago’s first Teen Character Awards ceremony, told the 37 students who were nominated they don’t have to grow up. “Not if growing up means giving up on trying to save the world,” he said. The Teen Character Awards were designed to honor those teens between the ages of…

• Photos (1)

A Matter of Character

YMCA Awards Shine the Light on Teens of Character

End of election season brings good news from head of Character Counts!

As the Election Monster settles back down for a much needed break, life has, generally speaking, done the same for us around here. The election notices and window paint have been put away and lawns can be seeded without big signs in the way. As many of you remember, at the beginning of all of this the Character Counts! Coalition issued its press release stating that we would be watching the candidates and how ethically they were running their campaigns; we invited the community to do the same. Now that all is said and done, I am extremely proud of the way our candidates handled themselves, their words, and their overall campaigns all the way through. From the initial filings to the final results, you treated the community's issues and the …

• Photos (1)

Popular Business Expo Today

The Oswego Chamber of Commerce is bringing back its Business & Consumer Expo from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at Oswego High School.

Brent Finlay was so impressed with the 2010 Oswego Chamber of Commerce Business & Consumer Expo, there was no question the Oswego YMCA would be back this year. "We were there last year, and point blank, it is the largest event in the community," Finlay, executive director of the Oswego YMCA, and member of the expo planning committee, said. "We'll be sharing all the good things about the YMCA. It's almost a no-brainer (to have a booth)." Hosted by the Oswego Chamber of Commerce and sponsored in part by Oswego Patch, the event will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at th Oswego High School fieldhouse, 4250 Route 71. Admission is free, and door prizes and a $500 cash prize will be up for grabs to those who register, Steve Hatcher, …

• Photos (1)

Oswego YMCA to Recognize Teens Doing Good Work in the Community

The Oswego Family YMCA of Metro Chicago will honor teens of character this year. If you know a teen worthy of this honor, be sure to fill out a nomination form by March 31.

Brent Finlay has worked with plenty of good teens at the Oswego Family YMCA of Metro Chicago. And now he wants to honor them. That's why the local YMCA, of which Finlay serves as executive director, will this April hold its first Teen Character Awards, designed to honor those teens who model the YMCA's four core values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility "The target teen might not be the AP scholar or the star soccer player. Those kids always receive accolades in the community," Finlay said. "The teens honored here might be the ones working 20 hours a week to help their families make ends meet. "They might be volunteering at their church or Habitat for Humanity or reading to kids in our summer camp. We want to lift up these …

• Photos (1)

Plenty Ways to Get Fit for 2011 Right Here in Oswego

Park District, YMCA, local private gyms all have ways to keep you motivated during that push to keep your New Year's resolution.

If your New Year's resolution is to improve your health, then local fitness centers are ready to help you meet your goals and many are offering special deals. Oswegoland Park District offers a variety of classes with no membership fee and no annual fee. You can try a class for free prior to registering and can also make-up missed classes at no cost. Popular classes that are starting in early January: Current special: $0 joining fee in January, which is a $100 savings for a family and $75 savings for an individual. Lisa Cornelius, Wellness Director, said the YMCA "tries to make it fun!" The YMCA often has theme days and is currently promoting "150 Days to Bathing Suit Season." Popular options: Offering a "Biggest Loser Contest" for January …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)