Heart of the Valley YMCA announces new president and CEO
The YMCA said Gray will take over on August 11. The organization said Gray brings over 30 years of experience with the YMCA from various posts around the country. He most recently served as CEO of the Bath Area Family YMCA in Maine, but has also served in leadership positions in Maryland, Florida, Tennessee and Kentucky.
Madison County BoE approves bid for construction of new middle school in Hazel Green
'Rob is a transformational leader with deep experience in mission-driven leadership andoperational excellence,' Board Chair of the Heart of the Valley YMCA Jared Sharp said. 'His commitment to collaboration, innovation, and community building makes him theideal person to lead our YMCA into its next chapter.'
The YMCA said that while in Maine, Gray led the organization's post-COVID recovery and growth efforts and increased membership by 48 percent, and launched a $6 million capital campaign.
'I am deeply honored to join the Heart of the Valley YMCA, an organization with a stronglegacy of strengthening communities in North Alabama,' Gray said. 'Together with thestaff, volunteers, and partners, I look forward to advancing the Y's mission to put Christianprinciples into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all.'
The new CEO comes as Heart of the Valley YMCA has recently dealt with several issues. In August of 2024, the organization filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing mortgage debt from the Hogan YMCA in Madison. The bankruptcy led to the YMCA selling Camp Cha-La-Kee in Guntersville.
The organization also announced the closure of its Downtown Huntsville location in April, saying that its lease with Huntsville Utilities expires on August 31. Heart of the Valley YMCA said that the closure has nothing to do with its bankruptcy and is entirely due to the expiration of the lease. The organization told News 19's Emily Moessner at the time that it was looking for other spaces downtown and is committed to continuing to serve the area.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Fight continues to save Main Street Station in Hobart from wrecking ball
The owner of a long-shuttered, 151-year-old building deemed unsafe by the city of Hobart and scheduled for demolition is making one last-ditch effort to save it so he can reestablish his bar. In an email Jimmie Batalis' Portage-based attorney sent to the Post-Tribune, Patrick McEuen said he and Batalis filed an appeal with Hobart Building Official Steve McDermott asking him to rescind the July 5, 2023, demolition order imposed by the city. The Hobart Board of Public Works and Safety at its February 19 meeting awarded a $40,631 contract to C. Lee Construction Services of Gary to complete the demolition within the next month or two. McEuen, on behalf of Batalis, asked McDermott 'to modify the demolition order dated July 5, 2023, to permit John Cantu an opportunity to present plans to renovate the building.' McEuen also sent a purchase agreement, apparently signed by Cantu, that said, 'John Cantu has agreed to purchase Main Street Station 235 Main Street Hobart IN 46342 for $100,000 on contingency of the building not being demolished by the City of Hobart.' 'Jimmie Batalis understands that Mr. Cantu will pursue a restaurant/bar operation, and my (sic) intend to renovate the single-family apartment dwelling upstairs,' the appeal said. McEuen also attached a 2022 opinion from Porter-based James F. Gianni & Associates engineer Mark Stern that said, 'It is our opinion that the building is structurally sound and capable of sustaining code-compliant structural loads required for a retail/mercantile operation on the first floor and a single-family residential apartment on the second floor.' That letter was submitted to the Lake County Superior Court's Civil Division during hearings on the matter. 'We have based this opinion on our observations made at time of inspection; specifically, that no distress of structural members was observed,' Stern's letter said. 'The frustrating part about it is that the City never heard evidence in July 2023 to confirm the claim of the former Building Commissioner, Mr. McDermott, that the building is unsafe,' McEuen said in an email. 'We have an engineer's report to refute the claims of the former Building Commissioner showing the building is structurally sound. Privately, every politician from the Mayor on down admits the building is not unsafe, but either they have an insider who wants it, or they just don't want Jimmie Batalis to own it. 'The city is so hell-bent on tearing down a perfect historical building, they are acting as if the Petition does not exist. In fact, an asbestos inspector went through the building on Monday, June 30, and made sure to tell Mr. Batalis he did not feel unsafe in the building at all. So, we are left with a city fighting a person, Jimmie Batalis, not a city fighting for the safety of its citizens or the appearance of its downtown. With the eyesore on Main Street known as the former Bright Spot, the city has other problems more important than tearing down an iconic building at taxpayer expense.' Hobart City Attorney Heather McCarthy issued a statement on behalf of the city, reiterating the city has held multiple talks with Batalis about renovating or rebuilding on the property because Batalis – not the city – owns it. 'Beginning in June of 2022, the investigation began regarding complaints that the building was unsafe,' the City's statement said. 'The City provided over a year for the owner to address the ongoing issues with the building prior to issuing the initial demolition order. 'The initial Demolition Order of the Unsafe Building Hearing Authority was issued July 5, 2023. Additionally, the Lake County Superior Court granted two orders for the City to proceed with the demolition. 'The majority of building owners bring their buildings into compliance after being notified of an investigation. In this case, despite the owner being represented by multiple attorneys and the Unsafe Building Hearing Authority granting numerous hearings and opportunities, the building was never brought into compliance.' Batalis, who was paroled in December 2023 after serving 16.5 years of a 57-year sentence for the May 2003 murder of 28-year-old Jason Nosker, said previously he believes the city is against his plans because he is a convicted felon. Nosker was the boyfriend of Batalis' ex-girlfriend, and they were threatened repeatedly by Batalis before he shot into their bedroom window while they were asleep, according to court records. Nosker was paralyzed from the waist down before dying of his injuries. Batalis' sentence was handed down before the state of Indiana required those with high-level felonies and murder convictions to serve at least 75% of their sentence. Batalis said the property went into probate after his father and brother died while he was in prison, and the unsafe building issues started during that time. 'They (city officials) are coming up with every little excuse to tear the building down because they don't want me there,' Batalis said. Lake Superior Court Civil Judge Stephen Scheele on March 8 ruled in favor of the city of Hobart, the Hobart Board of Works and former Hobart Building Official Karen Hansen against Batalis and his business partner, Harold Killian, the Post-Tribune previously reported. In the building case, Scheele found 'no genuine issue as to the fact that Plaintiffs failed to file a timely complaint for judicial review as required by the Indiana Unsafe Building Law,' the city 'is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on Count I of Plaintiffs' Complaint for Judicial Review,' the judge wrote. The court also found that the city 'did not violate Plaintiffs' procedural or substantive due process rights,' he wrote in the judgment. Batalis and Killian previously offered to put $60,000 into renovating the building, but Huddlestun said that isn't enough to make the building habitable. The Board of Works originally set 235 Main St. for condemnation at its July 5, 2023, meeting after at least a year of trying to get the owner's representatives to repair it, the Post-Tribune previously reported. During that meeting, a local contractor appeared before the board with attorney Dana Rifai, who said Batalis had given him limited power of attorney to act on his behalf while he was in prison. Since the contractor's company wasn't licensed with the city to do work at the time, he told the board he reached out to Tak Construction, which is licensed to work in Hobart, to do the work with him acting as the project manager — a move the board immediately shot down, the Post-Tribune reported. The contractor then said he had a copy of a report that says the building is structurally sound, a point which Hansen disputed, the Post-Tribune reported. The building's east wall needs to be replaced, plus the owners failed to maintain it, she said at the time. Additionally, the owners did have a Hobart-licensed contractor lined up to do the work at one point, but that contractor claims they never got a deposit from the owner, Hansen said. Former Hobart Fire Chief Randy Smith added that there have been two fires at the building, and as it stands now, he would not allow his firefighters to enter the building if there were a third, the Post-Tribune reported. The Lake Superior Court Civil Division on May 23 denied Batalis' motion for summary judgment, a temporary restraining order and for hearing on preliminary injunction saying, among other things, that the Indiana Unsafe Building Law grants the City 'all requisite authority to enforce and carry out its July 2023 demolition order, according to the ruling.'
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
The Trump administration has begun garnishing wages of student loan borrowers in default. These are the benefits businesses can offer employees to help with their debt
A few years ago, it seemed like the dream of widespread student debt forgiveness was alive and well. And although the hopes of millions of borrowers across the country have since been dashed, there are moves that employers can make to help workers toiling under the burden of defaulted loans and garnished wages. Student loan borrowers were able to take advantage of a repayments pause when the COVID pandemic began in 2020, but that expired in September of 2023. That same year, the Supreme Court struck down then-President Biden's decision to cancel up to $20,000 in debt for qualified borrowers. And in May of 2025, a five-year reprieve for student loan borrowers who were in default on their loans expired. That means that collections are now in play, and the Department of Education can garnish wages, tax refunds, and federal benefits. 'Resuming collections protects taxpayers from shouldering the cost of federal student loans that borrowers willingly undertook to finance their postsecondary education,' the Department of Education (DOE) wrote in a statement late April. 'There will not be any mass loan forgiveness.' This isn't just a problem for an unlucky few. Around 20.5% of student loan borrowers have a payment that's past due by 90 days or more, according to a TransUnion analysis. And around 5.3 million defaulted borrowers will get a notice from the Treasury Department that their wages could potentially be garnished, according to a May statement from the DOE. Workers of all ages have already been struggling for years with student loan repayment. But the latest move from the Trump administration has made the issue even more urgent. There are several different ways that employers can help their workers with student loan repayments, including through retirement benefits, educational assistant programs, and paid time off exchanges. Fortune sat down with benefits experts, who say that while offering these benefits do come with challenges, they can go a long way toward improving employee financial wellbeing. 'Business leaders can't ignore this financial pressure anymore,' says Jeremy Yonan, VP of total rewards at job site Indeed. 'Student loan debt isn't just a personal challenge, it's actually a business imperative because the ripple effect comes up in every corner of the workplace.' Many workers burdened by student loans face a tough financial tradeoff: either reduce their debt or invest in their future. That means they often miss out on contributing to their retirement plans, and their employer's valuable contributions. The Secure 2.0 Act of 2022 aimed to fix that problem. Companies can take the funds they'd use to match employee retirement contributions and instead use them to help them pay off student loans. 'When companies offer a contribution into retirement savings in connection with their student loan payments, they are helping to protect the financial future of those employees who are largely sidelined and sitting out of their primary benefit that they offer, which is the retirement match,' says Laurel Taylor, CEO of Candidly, a financial wellness company. Financially, this process is easy for employers because the money is essentially repurposed so it doesn't cost businesses extra to provide the benefit. But few employers are currently taking advantage of it because of the administrative burden. Only 11% of Candidly customers have launched the student loan retirement match in connection with secure 2.0. Benefit, according to Taylor. Goldman Sachs Ayco, an arm of the bank that specializes in workplace financial planning, says that while 31% of their corporate clients offer student loan assistance, only 10% do so through retirement. As the student loan crisis becomes more dire, however, we might see more businesses offer the benefit to their workforce. 'When employees start to see their wages garnished, it might lead some companies to accelerate adoption on the 401(K) side if participation is high enough,' says Kris Battistoni, VP of compensation and benefits solutions at Goldman Sachs Ayco. Companies that offer employees a certain number of days of paid-time off may want to consider a program that allows workers to exchange their unused time and dedicate those funds towards paying off student loan debt. The benefit is that it costs the employer itself very little, as they have already budgeted that time into their balance sheet. The drawback is that it can come with administrative burdens, because HR managers have to comply with a variety of state laws around what employees can and can't do with their PTO. There are, however, a variety of B2B businesses out there tailored to handle services like these. Businesses should also be aware that critics of these PTO exchanges argue that they incentivize employees to disregard work-life balance, which could lead to additional stress and burnout. The program also won't work for companies with flexible or unlimited PTO. 'The PTO model is interesting, because the biggest criticism that we've seen and heard and had had conversations with employers about is it sort of diminishes quality of life,' Stacey MacPhetres, senior director of education finance for EdAssist by Bright Horizons, which helps employers manage education benefits, tells Fortune. One of the easiest and most impactful ways to provide help to people with student loans is offering them financial counseling services. Student loan borrowers often have more than one loan in play at a time, with different interest rates and timelines. That can make it hard to figure out exactly how much of one's paycheck should be allocated toward paying off the debt, and which loans should be prioritized, says MacPhetres. 'It's incredibly beneficial to offer, not just the monetary contribution, but expert coaching behind the scenes to make sure that those funds are being applied in the most expedient way, based on what the employee wants to accomplish,' she says. Student loan education is just as important as the ability to pay off the debt, experts say, especially if planners can help employees refinance their loans to get a better interest rate. That kind of personalized assistance can not only help with student loans, but also ease worker anxiety around their finances. 'From recent grads and mid-career professionals to parents helping get through college, having that personalized care for different life stages can provide real short term relief,' says Yonan. 'It's not just about the case investment, it's also about education.' Employers have long been able to help workers fund their education through educational assistance programs. Businesses are allowed to contribute $5,250 per employee per year towards tuition, books, or supplies, or courses. But in 2020, the program was expanded to include the ability for companies to put this money towards paying off student loan debt, according to the IRS. Many employers have questions about how they can make sure the money is being used as intended. That's because employees mostly self-certify that they've spent the money on loans, and businesses need to find an efficient way to verify that without invading privacy in the process, says Jonathan Barber, VP head of compensation and benefits solutions, at Goldman Sachs Ayco. 'I think companies thus far are uncomfortable with it because they want to verify that they're actually doing something to pay off the debt and not just giving employees funds.' Under current law, the program is set to expire at the end of 2025, according to the IRS. But experts that Fortune spoke with are confident that the program will be made permanent through legislation later this year. This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Major housing markets finally rebounding as buyers gain upper hand in unexpected cities
Housing inventory in a significant number of major metropolitan areas hit levels higher than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from The real estate marketplace said nearly half of America's 50 largest metros had real estate markets whose number of active listings as of May had surpassed pre-pandemic levels. The ten metro areas that had the largest jumps in active inventory from their averages in 2017-2019 all posted double-digit percentage increases, according to Housing Crisis Deepens As 47 Major Metro Areas Now Require Homebuyers To Spend More Than 30% Of Income Eight states had representation among the ten areas that identified as having the "most dramatic improvement in active inventory," with Texas claiming three spots within the top-five. Denver stood out as the metro with the largest increase in active housing inventory from pre-pandemic levels, seeing a 100% jump, the report said. linked the surge in inventory to factors like increased construction and the time homes remain on the market. The city serves as the capital of the Centennial State. Read On The Fox Business App Austin is located in Central Texas. Inventory in the metro was up 69% in May from where it stood before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The real estate marketplace pegged Seattle's change in active inventory at 60.9%. More than 780,000 people call the city home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In the Dallas-Forth Worth area, inventory rose 55.5% from pre-COVID, the report said. Homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area carried a median price of $440,000 in May. San Antonio's active inventory posted a 58.3% jump from pre-pandemic levels, per The metro areas of San Francisco, Nashville, Orlando, Las Vegas and Tuscon rounded out top-10 when it came to having notched the "largest gains" in inventory. Their increases compared to before the pandemic ranged from 53.5% for San Francisco to 23% for Tuscon, according to the real estate marketplace. Top Five Buyer-friendly Markets Offer Price Cuts And Increased Inventory "In general, we're seeing strong inventory reboards in metros that have built more in the last 6 years," Chief Economist Danielle Hale said in a statement. "This milestone underscores both the importance of enabling housing construction and the growing divide in housing conditions across regions, where some markets are rapidly normalizing and others remain stuck in low-supply dynamics." The national housing market appears to be moving towards being a "buyer-friendly" one, according to The U.S. had over one million homes on the market in May, a level that the U.S. hadn't climbed above since the winter of 2019, a separate June 5 report found. Small Real Estate Investors Reach Record Market Share, Now Dominate 59% Of Investor Purchases In March, the real estate marketplace said the U.S. was contending with a supply gap of about 3.8 million homes. Supply and affordability have been two major issues that many homebuyers have been dealing with in recent article source: Major housing markets finally rebounding as buyers gain upper hand in unexpected cities Sign in to access your portfolio
