by David Chapman
Staff Writer
When the YMCA of Florida’s First Coast needed a new chief executive officer for its multiple facilities in Northeast Florida, they didn’t have to look far.
In fact, they didn’t need to look outside their own doors.
Paul McEntire, who has served as vice president, chief operating officer and president for the organization for the past nine years, recently had the interim tag lifted from his title and is now the permanent CEO for the region.
He takes over for former CEO Trigg Wilkes, who resigned to move closer to his family in Nashville.
“I’m happy and excited to be a part of this organization,” said McEntire. “Jacksonville on the national scale is at the very top.”
More than just a gym, the YMCA of Florida’s First Coast consists of 18 facilities and 65 program locations throughout Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties and has a staff of about 1,350 people. With an emphasis on Christian principles to help strengthen the spirit, mind and body of children and families, the YMCA’s nationally form the largest non-profit in the country.
The organization’s headquarters are in Chicago, and that’s where McEntire got his first experience with the YMCA as a pastor for two suburban churches after graduating from The University of Illinois with a degree in Business Administration and earning a Master of Divinity (a professional degree) from The Southern Baptist Theological Society.
“The YMCA intrigued me,” he said. “With my business background, I wanted to take on a different role within the organization.”
So he did, moving to Southwest Florida with his family, where he used his business skills to help revamp the local association’s image in the community through strategic leadership. The association’s operating budget grew from $1.7 million to $2.6 million during his tenure, and he also spent much of his time developing and replenishing YMCA staff.
From there, it was on to Northeast Florida for new challenges. He worked with branch operations, facility and staff development and marketing for the local organization. During his nine-year tenure, the organization more than doubled its operating budget, from $14 million to $32 million.
His main priority as CEO is a new challenge, a recently implemented long-term health and wellness plan set up by the board of directors for the entire chapter.
The “Vision for 2020” plan is a three-pronged strategy that includes themes of balanced health, strong families and accessibility for all to YMCA programs and services.
“It’s going to be a collaborative effort, but I’m excited and I know we’ll be able to achieve it,” he said.
The plan was implemented in January and will be the main focus for McEntire and the rest of the YMCA staff in the coming months.
All three points have consistent themes of serving under-resourced communities while working with outside partnerships and a continued effort to develop and align staff, volunteers and facilities throughout Northeast Florida.
It’s an ambitious goal, but one that McEntire believes will prove successful even outside the doors of YMCA facilities.
“We are going to continue to be a wellness provider throughout the community,” said McEntire. “We don’t have to go and build new facilities to help people. We can bring help services to people.”
Though a CEO, McEntire isn’t behind a desk with stacks of paperwork all day. He is constantly in motion and says it comes with the territory.
“I’m a pretty energetic and active guy,” he said. “I would say I am in the office maybe 40 percent of the time.”
The other 60 percent or so he’s dropping by the facilities across the region, attending board meetings and other functions. He said he manages to visit each facility about once a month.
“There is no typical day for me,” he said. “You’ve got to expect the unexpected to pop up.”
Though often on the go, he said he does set aside time for his family. He will be celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary this year with his wife, Brenda, and has two daughters, Becca and Robin.
And though he hopes to retire in Jacksonville, he still has work to do to continue making the YMCA Florida’s First Coast chapter one of the more prestigious in the nation.
It currently ranks in the mid-30’s, he said, but in time he wants to improve on that figure.
“The organizations in places like New York, Chicago and the bigger cities are large,” he said. “But I definitely think this chapter will be in the top 20 over time.”