Silver Bay Spring Bay Windows 2024

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Our Mission & Impact

6 Nurturing Spirit, Mind, and Body for All Fostering Relationships

Strengthening Communities

Special Olympics NY Athlete Leadership

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Benevolent Fund

10 11 12 Living our Mission Events to Look Forward To Reiki at Silver Bay 24th Annual Golf Tournament

15 Milestones

OUR MISSION: To foster relationships, strengthen communities, and nurture spirit, mind, and body for all.

OUR IMPACT: Because of Silver Bay YMCA, connections between people and family are stronger. People are more connected, respectful and caring. They have the confidence to develop to their full potential and to positively impact the communities in which they work and live. As a result, communities are more dynamic, inclusive and diverse. As stewards of Lake George, we inspire people to be stewards of the environment while they are visiting our magnificent campus and in their home communities.

NURTURING SPIRIT, MIND, AND BODY FOR ALL OUR MISSION

I can’t think of a better embodiment of “Our Mission” than the Pastoral Respite Program at Silver Bay. This program exists to serve others and allow people to enjoy quality time with family, have a reprieve from everyday life, and be refreshed - common themes provided by all five respite programs.

I have a deep connection and appreciation for the Pastoral Respite Ministry as a former respite guest and a current member of the Spiritual Life Department. Through guests’ comments, I see and hear how our mission is lived out daily.

The Outward Impact: Fostering relationships: During respite, people can grow and deepen the many relationships in their lives - with God/Spirit, with family - and reflect on what those relationships mean to them.

Strengthening communities: Guests reflecting on how they spend their time can help them become better co-workers and stewards of their environment and prepare them to face challenges in our everyday world.

The Inward Impact: Nurturing Spirit: When our lives get chaotic and busy it’s easy to put our needs aside. Respite programs offer people calmness and peace to reflect on what is happening inwardly and intentionally take time for self-care.

Nurturing Mind: To deal with stressful situations, sometimes we need to gain another perspective. This can occur by reading a book, talking to a Spiritual Life staff member, or simply sharing stories with others staying in the respite program.

Nurturing Body: Hearty meals give us the energy to enjoy hikes and activities, getting our bodies moving in the fresh air. Time to slow down, rest, and heal is what our bodies need.

For All: All departments are important to meeting our mission and have an impact on the respite guest’s stay. In fulfilling the mission for others, we are in turn fulfilling it for ourselves: being strengthened and nurtured. While we can enjoy all aspects of our mission individually, the beauty is that they all fit together; each piece contributes to the whole. They and we are all connected.

Marge Anderson Spiritual Life Assistant

Marge Anderson

FOSTERING RELATIONSHIPS

OUR MISSION

Feeling the warm sunshine on your face, breathing in the cool mountain breeze as it sweeps across the lake, making memories with loved ones as you experience the activities and programs at Silver Bay YMCA. All of these are things that we may take for granted at times but can be extra special moments

for those who participate in our respite programs.

Our respite programs are a big part of the mission of Silver Bay YMCA. The Cancer Respite Program, Military R&R Program, Foster and Adoptive Family Retreat, and Vacations Made Possible all exist to support the community and provide families with a place to relax, connect, and heal from whatever they may be going through.

The individuals and families who participate in our respite programs are allowed to experience Silver Bay at no cost because of our wonderful donors. Because of you, a mom undergoing cancer treatment gets to spend quality time with her children, a husband who has recently returned from active duty gets to reconnect with his wife, a family who has foster placements can experience a getaway together, and a couple

who has been under financial pressure can experience a vacation at Silver Bay.

The time together to rest, relax, and renew their spirit is much needed and we are always excited to grant these opportunities to those who apply for our programs. This is just one of Silver Bay’s efforts to foster relationships, strengthen communities, and nurture spirit, mind, and body for all.

If you or someone you know would benefit from participating in our respite programs, please visit https://silverbay.org/respite/ to find out more.

Shealy Williford Development Assistant

Shealy Williford

STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES

OUR MISSION

I grew up summering all my life in Hague. But my family was a “Yacht Club” family. Yacht Club was our family’s community and social life for generations, those were my life-long friends. “Bay” families know what I’m talking about. Silver Bay provided the same very rich community fabric for you that Yacht Club did for us. And though we shared residency in the same town, we didn’t really know each other. Our summertime lives were completely fulfilled north and south of Pine Cove.

Fast forward many years and I have a much different appreciation of Silver Bay YMCA. For one thing, I live here year-round now, and in the offseason, it’s all about entertaining ourselves. We’ll drive an hour for a decent meal, so 3 miles south to use the gym, go to programs, attend meetings, dine in the off-season, and walk the road regularly is routine. The biggest benefit? I have Silver Bay friends!

While walking with a friend in February, there was a family sledding on the hill behind the

Chapel and having the best time – up and down that hill as fast as they could. We struck up a conversation to find out that they were visiting for several days as part of the Pastoral Respite program. They had come from Florida and the children had never seen snow. They were amazed that they had never heard of Silver Bay before a friend told them about the program. They asked, “How could such a magical place be such a well-kept secret?” Seeing the beautiful lake, charming accommodations, quaint chapel, and magnificent campus through these fresh eyes reminded us to keep that magic fresh in our own hearts. Special things happen here.

YMCA is known worldwide as a place for everyone; a place of community gathering, traveler sanctuary, and youth development. Silver Bay has an amazing summer season that embodies these values but I’m most excited to see new outreach and off-season programming, both on and off campus, to connect year-round residents and travelers to the amazing

Donna Wotton

recreational, cultural, and youth development resources available through the Silver Bay YMCA. Sharing that Silver Bay “magic” with the neighboring communities will build an even stronger, inclusive fabric and an exciting, connected future for Silver Bay.

Silver Bay Member

Donna Wotton

SPECIAL OLYMPICS NY ATHLETE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL’S EXPERIENCE AT SILVER BAY YMCA

The Capital District Athlete Leadership Council (ALC) with Special Olympics NY hosted a team building event in September of 2023, and Silver Bay was the perfect location! We chose this incredible spot as it had everything we needed (and more!) to accommodate us. Our council wanted to have a team building experience that was outside of the norm- no office, outside of our daily routine and just plain fun (but space to do some work too). Our experience was more than we could have imagined!

Our main goal was for our group to get to know each other, practicing leadership through teaching our favorite sports. We started with Liza Ambrosini’s favorite sport, tennis, on well-kept courts, then onto Mindy Iaqunita’s favorite sport, basketball, on a cool

classic indoor court. After some classroom learning time in a spacious cabin set up with all the IT we needed, our group then went on a nice hike led by Erik Viscardo on trails that were accessible and manageable. Tom Mooney and I exhausted everyone with a HIIT workout back inside that awesome gym and the crew got to relax canoeing out on the lake while getting to know more about our athlete leader Will Smith.

Later in the evening our team got to play shuffleboard and got to know athlete leaders Ernie Dillon and Kevin Brown. I also can’t forget the great lunch and dinner we had; the buffet had something for everyone. We also had the pleasure of sitting lakeside at a private campfire, chatting while making smores, when saw the most beautiful stars across

the clear night sky. With all this activity, we all crashed early in our rooms centrally located right in the Inn.

The diversity of facilities was perfect for our group, and we cannot say enough about the friendly staff- how accommodating but not in our way- which is very impressive. What an incredible group event at Silver Bay YMCA.

Thank you very much for this opportunity!

Matthew Graham

Special Olympics NY Athlete Leadership Council Member Intern

BENEVOLENT FUND

Please give generously to support Silver Bay’s respite programs.

Cancer Respite Program

Foster & Adoptive Family Retreat

Military R&R Program

Vacations Made Possible

The Benevolent Fund of Silver Bay will underwrite the expenses associated with providing these vital programs to help renew and refresh families and individuals in these special circumstances.

In 2024, a generous anonymous donor will match your gifts in order to jump-start this new fund at Silver Bay and make these programs sustainable long into the future.

LIVING OUR MISSION

OUR MISSION

CANCER RESPITE PROGRAM

By providing temporary respite to patients and their immediate families at no cost, the Cancer Respite Program at Silver Bay YMCA provides these individuals the opportunity to enjoy an escape from the anxieties that accompany a battle against cancer.

For more information silverbay.org/respite or scan the QR code

FOSTER & ADOPTIVE FAMILY RETREAT

Silver Bay YMCA provides a space where families who are fostering or who have adopted children can come at no cost to spend quality time as a family. Through the Foster and Adoptive Family Program Retreat, experience the beauty and calming effect of Silver Bay and go home feeling refreshed, renewed, and inspired!

MILITARY R&R PROGRAM

Understanding the unique challenges that members of the military and their families face, Silver Bay YMCA provides temporary respite to US Military personnel and their families at no cost, giving these individuals the chance to reconnect with their loved ones and enjoy a reprieve from the stresses associated with their service and everyday life.

PASTORAL RESPITE PROGRAM

Silver Bay’s Pastoral respite program is open to individuals who are actively serving in any form of faith-based ministry. These individuals are welcome to bring their immediate families when they join us for a respite stay.

VACATIONS MADE POSSIBLE

As part of Silver Bay YMCA’s mission to have a positive impact on our community, we are pleased to offer the Vacations Made Possible Program, which provides families with an opportunity for rest and renewal.

REIKI AT SILVER BAY

OUR MISSION

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that promotes mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health, by tapping into an unlimited supply of “life force energy.”

We went to Silver Bay for a Reiki retreat in 2014 with great anticipation. As new Reiki Masters, we were looking forward to being with other Reiki practitioners, and delighted that we were going to be in the Adirondack Mountains and back at Silver Bay after many years of being away. My husband John and I had fond memories of working at Silver Bay many years before as staff of the National Wildlife Federation during their Summit Conferences there. We found Silver Bay just as beautiful and welcoming in 2014 as it had been when we were younger. The peaceful energy of the mountains and lake, and the smiling Silver Bay staff reminded us of why we had loved being in this magical place.

Over the next few years, John and I founded a ministry called

Ripple Effect Spiritual Therapies and we felt compelled to host our own Reiki retreat. Fast forward to 2021 when John and I began looking for a venue to host the retreat, we remembered Silver Bay. As soon as we called Silver Bay and started making plans for the first Northeast Reiki Retreat to be held there in 2022, everything fell into place. Our first retreat was a huge success! Everyone loved the program, the atmosphere and the beauty of Silver Bay. Silver Bay’s mission to, ”foster relationships, strengthen communities and nurture spirit, mind and body for all” is felt as soon as we enter the grounds. And since Silver Bay’s mission fits so well with our goal to offer a retreat that stimulates your mind, refreshes your body and feeds your soul, it is a perfect match!

Now, we can’t seem to get enough of Silver Bay. When we are there, we don’t want to leave and when we are not there, we start making plans for our next visit. Now we have two retreats each year at Silver Bay, we rent one of the houses for a family vacation, and we take advantage of the solace offered by the ministerial respite program.

Thank you Silver Bay for being all that we need a welcoming place where we can rest, have fun, be rejuvenated and feed our soul.

Rev. Heidi Kowalchyk

Silver Bay Member

Heidi & John Kowalchyk

SILVER BAY YMCA

24TH ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2024

Join us for a day of golf, fun, and friendship at the 24th Annual Golf Tournament! The day will feature good food, gift bags, player prizes, a $25,000 hole-in-one prize, and a chance to win $5,000 by sinking a single putt. Our raffles will follow the event and will help support the Silver Bay YMCA’s Youth Programs and Community Outreach Programs. Mark your calendars now!

REGISTRATION OPENS: MAY 11, 2024

Visit https://silverbay.org/golf-tournament/ for more information on the tournament and how you can become a sponsor!

MILESTONES SILVER BAY

Joan Bowen

Passed on February 28, 2024

Age 91

Joan and her husband Al enjoyed spending summers with family at Silver Bay and Arcady Bay in these cherished communities. Joan was a high-achieving student and dedicated educator with a lifelong love of learning. In 1970, she began a career of more than 30 years at the Horace Mann School, where she held both administrative and teaching positions. Mrs. Bowen served as the Head of the Math Department, Head of grades 11 and 12, Division Head of grades 7 through 12, Assistant to the Head of School, and Interim Head of School, making her the first Headmistress in Horace Mann’s history. Horace Mann still commemorates her each year by awarding the Joan Brady Bowen Prize to an outstanding Mathematics student.

Maria Crosman

Passed on December 11, 2023

Age 75

As a dedicated and caring teacher at George School in Newtown, PA, Maria taught Religion and Health for 39 years. She also ran the community service program at George School for many of those years. She and the kids spent summers on Lake George at the Silver Bay YMCA Conference Center, where she kept herself busy including a decade as a summer Chaplin. Maria retired

in 2014, but never lost her love of spending time with teens and young adults. She was a member of Southern Adirondack Friends Meeting and a recorded minister in New York Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends. An accomplished baker, knitter, quilter, and crafter, friends often noted Maria was always busy working on a project of some kind; she taught and assisted others in their projects as well, using that time as a way to help connect with others. Her love of horticulture led her to be a Bucks County Master Gardener. Maria and her husband Alan were avid Square Dancers for over 33 years.

Paul Wayne Duggan

Passed on December 29, 2023

Age 77

Paul’s passions also included spending time at Silver Bay Association (SBA) on Lake George, New York with family and friends. Paul’s visits to SBA started as an infant with his parents. He worked there as a summer employee, was married at SBA, was president of Counsel for two terms, and spent his final vacation there last summer with his wife, Alice, and children, Jenn and Chris. Paul enjoyed volunteering at SBA where he put his expert carpentry skills to use. Paul also spent countless hours on Lake George sailing his sailboat.

Robin L. Eastham

Passed on December 26, 2023

Age 38

Robin was born in Milwaukee and attended Shorewood Public Schools. She had complex medical challenges all her life but persevered. Robin liked ball sports and started playing tennis before she was tall enough to see over the net. In her teens, Robin enjoyed archery and playing baseball. Robin was an avid computer gamer, Dungeons and Dragons player and Star Wars fan. She maintained gaming friends from many places.

Virginia M. Geils

Passed on December 28, 2023

Age 96

Virginia (Miner) Geils, Emp (Lifeguard) 1944 and 1945, passed away on Dec. 28, 2023, at Stamford Hospital with family by her side. She was 96. Born in Albany, NY, she graduated from Albany Academy for Girls and then also Mount Holyoke College. She met John Geils, the love of her life, here at Silver Bay. Her joy was giving to others. At 50 she earned a Masters Degree in Social Work and worked for the Town of Greenwich managing senior living and volunteering programs. Ginny is survived by her sons, John and wife Pat, Bill, and Geoff. John predeceased Ginny on May 14,2016.

Karen Grace (Olsen) Goodwin

Passed on February 23, 2024

Age 71

Karen spent several summers working at the Silver Bay YMCA Conference Center in upstate New York. At 9:00pm on July 4th in the summer of 1974, she first met the man she would marry, Kevin, 14 years later.

Karen enjoyed her dedicated involvement with both Walk to Emmaus, where she had the pleasure of serving as a Lay Director for a Women’s weekend and Marriage Encounter, where they were the regional Finance couple for years. When her husband got involved with national parts of the United Methodist church, she became his important helping hand. Karen was a lifelong Methodist and was a member of the Hockessin United Methodist Church since getting married and joining Kevin in Delaware, where he was employed by DuPont.

Arthur Carpenter Hatfield

Passed on December 2, 2023

Age 89

After a military career alongside his twin brother, Sanford, and 36-year career at General Motors Acceptance Corp., Arthur and his family made their year-round home in Hague on Northern Lake George NY. He was an active member of Northern Lake George Yacht Club for over 50 years serving as Purser for 10 years and is the only member to have served twice as Commodore. He was an active member of Kiwanis for over 25 years serving a term as President, as VP of Kiwanis Club of Ticonderoga Scholarship

Fund, as well as assisting with the Backpack Program, Golf Tournaments and other Club activities. He also served on the Hague Zoning Board, Streetfest Committee and President of the Pine Cove Beach Association for many years.

Arthur was an Elder of the Greater Consistory of the First Reformed Protestant Dutch Church in Schenectady prior to joining the Catholic Church and becoming a communicant of St. Mary’s Parish in Ticonderoga. He faithfully attended Men’s Prayer Breakfast at Silver Bay Association led by Rev. Bruce Tamlyn.

Arthur enjoyed the friends of Pot Luck Dinners, Wednesday morning coffee, morning Yoga and being “Patriarch” of Pine Cove. He was an avid skier until age 80 enjoying weekly trips to Bromley with the Innkeepers. He loved helping people and could often be found building, repairing or refinishing furniture and toys. He was especially moved by the privilege and opportunity to attend a North Country Honor Flight to Washington DC with his veteran son Brian.

Raymond Lee

Passed on March 8, 2024

Age 98

He was born in 1925 in his family’s laundry in New Haven, founded by his great grandfather, a builder of the Transcontinental Railroad. Ray earned a penny per ironed shirt and waited tables in their family’s New China restaurant in the shadow of Yale. He served in the 38th Infantry “Cyclone” Division, known as the “Avengers of Bataan”, as an Army medic,

including in the battle for Clark Airfield in the Philippines, and ran a field hospital lab treating injured and malaria-stricken US soldiers and Japanese prisoners. In 2021, he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation’s highest civilian honor, for his service, one of four surviving Chinese American WW2 vets able to attend the national ceremony in DC. Ray Lee went to UConn on the GI Bill and fell in love with Ivy Chun Lee. Ray rose professionally through the ranks at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, from visiting doctors’ offices with new products, to leading the company’s marketing efforts in Asia. He paved the way to bring infant formula to China. Ray Lee loved family, sports, his country and good Chinese food.

Ivy Chun Lee

Passed on January, 2020

Age 95

Ivy grew up in NY Chinatown, became Coca-Cola’s July-August 1944 Calendar girl, enrolled in college against her father’s wishes, and got her MSW from Smith College. She married Raymond Lee and the two were partners and pioneers, building lives and careers, usually as the only minorities where they lived and worked. She counselled families in Lower Merion School District and learning and behaviorally challenged students at Don Guanella School, retiring at age 82.

Douglas W. Olcott

Passed on February 3, 2024

Age 55

Doug came into this world on June 29, 1968 in Ticonderoga, NY, to the late Raymond Olcott and his mother, Ida (Stacy) Jordon. He

graduated from Ticonderoga High School and immediately enlisted in the United States Army, where he proudly served two tours. Upon returning home, Doug pursued various occupations, with his current position being a waiter/ bartender at Blue Water Manor in Bolton Landing, NY.

When Doug wasn’t working, he frequently indulged in his passions, such as golfing as a member at Cronin’s Golf Resort, participating in Poker games, and embracing life to the fullest. His infectious zest for life deeply impacted his family and friends, who will dearly miss him.

JoAnn G. Wickman

Passed on October 5, 2023 Age 81

JoAnn was passionate about the arts, particularly music. A member of Holy Spirit Lutheran Church

(later Grace and Holy Spirit), JoAnn sang in the church choir, occasionally as a soloist. She also sang in the Choral Union at SUNY Cortland. JoAnn regularly attended symphony and opera performances throughout Central New York, and was a decades-long subscriber to Syracuse Stage. She thoroughly enjoyed excursions to New York City and Toronto to attend various musicals.

For over 50 years, JoAnn was committed to improving the lives of Cortland residents. She participated in an outreach program at the county jail, helping inmates learn to read. For several years, she was chair of the Community Services Board, overseeing services for mental health, developmental disabilities, and alcohol/substance abuse. She was a founding member, chairperson, and organizing force

for the establishment of Cortland Area Communities That Care. For almost 20 years, she helped to organize and promote the Arts at Grace, a free concert series for the community held at Grace and Holy Spirit. In addition, she was a contributing member of several local organizations, including AAUW, Rotary, Ladies’ Literary, and the YWCA. She was frequently recognized for outstanding dedication and leadership in her community.

JoAnn’s reach extended beyond her adopted hometown of Cortland. She maintained numerous lifelong friendships with classmates from high school and college. She spent summers at Silver Bay YMCA of the Adirondacks, and served on the Board of Trustees. She and her husband also traveled extensively around the world.

EVENTS TO LOOK FORWARD TO

4TH OF JULY

CONCERTS

EVENINGS OF DANCE

BITES AT THE BAY

87 Silver Bay Road

Silver Bay, NY 12874

www.silverbay.org