Fellowship of Distinction inductees Darcy McKeough, John Lawrence and Chair Jennifer Wilson  during the Wall of Distinction reveal at the Chatham YMCA, October 24, 2016 (Photo by Jake Kislinsky)Fellowship of Distinction inductees Darcy McKeough, John Lawrence and Chair Jennifer Wilson during the Wall of Distinction reveal at the Chatham YMCA, October 24, 2016 (Photo by Jake Kislinsky)
Chatham

YMCA Honours Local Backers

Two men who played an integral part in getting Chatham-Kent its new YMCA will be remembered in the halls of the building for years to come.

Former local president John Lawrence and former MPP Darcy McKeough are the first members on the Chatham-Kent YMCA's Wall of Distinction. The two were first inducted into the organization's Fellowship of Distinction back in 2014, but the honour is now on display in the front lobby of the Chatham location.

"It feels really good to have it here in Chatham," says Lawrence during the reveal Monday. "It's nice to be honoured by the larger Y [in Sarnia], but it's particularly special to be honoured by our local Y."

Lawrence was a YMCA board member from 2002 to 2010, being involved in the merger of the Sarnia and Chatham YMCAs. In 2011, he became the Campaign Coordinator of the Chatham-Kent "Building Our New Y" Capital Campaign.

McKeough's father was a founding member of the Chatahm-Kent YMCA, and he served as Campaign Chair of the Capital Campaign in 2009. There he helped secure $8-million in provincial and federal funding for the local Y.

He was humble after the unveiling, pointing around the new building on Courhouse Lane, explaining that is what truly needs to be celebrated.

"What's important is watching those kids through the window, that's the great thing," says McKeough. "That's the satisfaction."

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