Youth Development at Silver Bay
BE MORE OPEN
BE MORE KIND AND GET OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE
HELP PEOPLE GET INTERESTED IN ATHLETICS
TALK TO PEOPLE MORE AND DO STUFF OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL
GET OUT MORE AND BE WITH THE COMMUNITY
PLAY SPORTS WITH FRIENDS
Silver Bay YMCA Ticonderoga Teen Center Inspired me to...
CONNECT WITH OTHER PEOPLE AND FRIENDS AND PLAY GAMES
TRY MORE THINGS
KEEP WORKING HARD
BECOME A LEADER AND HELP PEOPLE OUT
Youth Development is a key component of the Y’s mission and Silver Bay’s commitment to serving our local community. In addition to seasonal children’s programs such as summer Child Watch and Silver Camp held on Silver Bay’s beautiful lake shore campus, we also operate two programs in nearby Ticonderoga for year-round residents of the region. Jackie Palandrani, long time Silver Bay Youth and Teen Director, has taken a new role as Education Director and spearheaded the opening of the Ticonderoga Community Early Learning Center this past fall. This new program provides much needed childcare for infants, toddlers, and
preschoolers in the area. Silver Bay’s Ticonderoga Teen Center and Silver Camp have now been passed to us, Kathleen Leonard and Jason Waddell. As former campers and camp counselors under Jackie, we are proud to continue supporting Silver Bay’s Youth and Teen programs as they grow.
The Silver Bay YMCA Ticonderoga Teen Center is a free drop-in program for teens serving Hague, Ticonderoga, Moriah, and Putnam. Approximately 180 teens make use of the program each year, some dropping in for special events such as dances or our annual New Years Lock In, others arriving nearly every day after school. Teens can access homework help, free snacks and meals, a basketball gym,
computers, video games, ping pong, pool, air hockey, and much more. We offer a busy monthly calendar with arts and crafts, sports, and cooking and baking activities to engage teens and teach life skills. We cannot overstate the impact that this resource has on our local teens by providing them with a safe space to have fun with their peers, get support from trusted adults, develop social-emotional skills, and simply be themselves.
Youth and Teen / Camp Coordinator
Kathleen Leonard Teen Center Supervisor
Quality childcare for youth ages 6 weeks to 5 years old
I highly recommend TCELC. They go above and beyond at making it accommodating for your child! Everyone is very friendly and helpful!
We love the Ticonderoga Early Learning Center! Mrs. Bush, Sam, and Meg are so great with our son and all the kids! They plan fun learning activities, and we love having the daily updates. We feel like they are our second family and wish they had options for our older kids too because they never want to leave after we drop them off.
All the staff have been wonderful and take great care of our daughter. She loves going to daycare, and it’s so nice to know she’s comfortable and having fun while we’re at work.
Rebecca McNamara
The Benevolent Fund of Silver Bay underwrites the expenses associated with providing these vital programs to help renew and refresh families and individuals in these special circumstances.
Cancer Respite Program
Foster & Adoptive Family Retreat
First Responders Respite Program
Military R&R Program
Please give generously to support Silver Bay’s respite programs.
Camp at Silver Bay shaped my life in ways I’ll never fully be able to explain. Every summer, from the time I was a young child until I was 17, I returned to camp. It was a place where I felt independent, where I made lifelong friends, and where I encountered incredible role models in my counselors. The experience broadened my concept of play and taught me the value of teamwork, planning, and leadership.
In fact, my first job was as a counselor at Silver Bay. It was
there that I learned how to lead, work together, and create meaningful experiences for others. Camp was a stabilizing force in an ever-changing world, a place where I always knew I could rely on my friends, the traditions, and the activities like the 4th of July parade and capture the flag. These moments were the bedrock of my childhood, providing me with firm footing as I faced life’s challenges.
Camp also pushed me out of my comfort zone, forcing me to try
things I may not have liked. It’s in those moments of discomfort that true personal growth happens. For me, Silver Bay holds the deepest connection I have outside of family, and it continues to inspire my work as a documentary filmmaker. I love exploring what other people’s deep connections are in their lives. For me it’s Silver Bay.
Mack Woodruff Emmy Award Winning Cinematographer & Co-host of
Rogue Trip
My YMCA journey began at age 11 when I joined the Silver Bay after-school program, followed by several summers at Silver Camp. By middle school, I had joined the Youth and Government program, which sparked my passion for civic engagement and community development. I quickly learned firsthand the power of the Y to build confidence, foster meaningful connections, and create opportunities that shape futures for young people.
Growing up in a small town, I could never have imagined the experiences that Silver Bay YMCA would provide – opportunities to not only “just be a kid” but also to develop lifelong skills that continue to guide me today.
In 2017, I officially began my YMCA career, and I have not looked back since. Words cannot describe how rewarding it is to work for the very organization that helped shape the person I am today. The Y has always felt like home, and I am forever grateful to Silver Bay YMCA for opening doors that changed my life.
Paige Hughes Binfield is a 2012 graduate of Ticonderoga High School. She currently serves as the Director of Development for the YMCA Alliance of Northern New England, supporting 25 local YMCA Associations in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
Paige Hughes Binfield Director of Development YMCA
Alliance of Northern New England
The students of District 3 Youth and Government pose for a group photo at Silver Bay YMCA.
Youth and Government (YAG) is full of intelligent students that come together to learn about how our government works, along with providing a safe space for them to create their own laws in order to make a difference in their communities. Silver Bay kindly opens up their space for delegates to have district meetings in order to prepare for the big conference in Albany later that year. They provide us with a warm and open space where legislative delegates can practice presenting their bills and judicial delegates can work hard on their briefs.
In Youth and Government, students have an option of what branch they would like to participate in: Judicial, Legislative, or Press, as well as Committee Chair and Presiding Officer positions.
During my first year of YAG, I chose to be in Press because it combines all of my interests of writing, editing, interviewing, and taking pictures, but little did I know that when I attended my first district conference, I was going to immediately fall in love with the program. As a Press delegate, I enjoy listening in on bill presentations and
interviewing separate bill groups to get a better understanding about what changes they want to make in society.
Aside from the fun party that is held at the end of each yearly conference, one of the best parts about Youth and Government are the conversations that I have had with young delegates who strive to make a difference in their communities and the lifelong friendships that I have made.
Hannah P. Youth & Government Participant
It’s been more than a few trips around the sun (probably more than 40) since I counted down the days to early August when I would be reunited with friends, many of whom I count as best friends to this day despite seeing them only once a year. For a week we would forget about where we came from, friends from home, and just about everything else to live our best lives for a week as Woozles, Chippies, Eagles or Falcons.
On the surface, the children’s program seemed simple yet it never failed to deliver amazingly fun days, kickball in the field, Olympic events in the shadow of the gym, hikes to Jabez pond, canoe trips, playing Skipper Mac on the dry docked Silver Spray, reaching the raft at slim point, hide and seek in the auditorium, overnights to Odell,
and of course massive capture the flag games that sprawled campus from VanBuren Bay to the council ring – a game which probably reached beyond campus a few times and lives on as one the most epic childhood memories I have.
What was it that made these experiences so memorable and the friendships so deep and long lasting? The ingredients were all there – spectacular natural beauty, space to roam, terrain offering challenges mental and physical. Looking back it is clear that our leaders, while adults but not too far from our own age, were the sauce that put it all together to make the magic happen. To this day I can still recall many of them by name. They brought an enthusiasm that made a simple march to
They kept us safe, made sure everyone was included, and while laying out the ground rules at the same time let us feel free.
At the end of the week I faced the Saturday morning drive back over Tongue Mountain towards home in Pennsylvania. I was filled with a bit of sadness, and a longing for the year to quickly pass by to return again and pick up where summer had just left off. Funny thing is I still get that feeling each time heading south over Tongue Mountain to this day.
Paul Nasrani Founder of Adirondack Creamery Ice Cream & Silver Bay Trustee
Bristol High School’s Writer’s Voice Project is a writing, public speaking, leadership program that is in its 28th year of bringing creative teen students from Bucks County, PA to the Silver Bay YMCA. For these students, the Silver Bay experience is learning they have never known before. While schoolmates are in the brick and mortar, the Writer’s Voice Project students are building cooperative skills on the ropes course, hiking trails up to Uncus Cliff and Jabes Pond, walking to Slim Point to describe the intensely cascading quiet of Lake George, writing verse at the Boathouse inspired by the incredible scenery of Lake
George, and sharing original, artistic reflective expression in a culminating coffeehouse setting. Bristol’s students bond through their shared activities and feelings which truly edify their souls and amplify their voices. The idea of the Writer’s Voice Project, born from former Executive Director at Silver Bay YMCA Mark Johnson, organized by Bristol High School teachers, and guided by a published poet, continues to amplify the brilliance of young writers. For Bristol High School’s WVP students, their time in Silver Bay is high school defining, mind awakening, and life changing.
Ron McGinn
Bristol High School Writer’s Voice Project
224
Kids enrolled in swim lessons
111 Teens at Teen Center
$220,000 Value
16 Scholarship Campers in Silver Camp $6,700 value
216 Silver Camp Attendees
20 Children enrolled in the Early Learning Center
152 Foster and Adoptive Respite Program Participants
In 2024 Silver Bay YMCA’s Youth Development programs cost over $370,000 to operate. These programs directly benefit Ticonderoga and its surrounding communities.
These Include:
• TICONDEROGA TEEN CENTER SUPPLIES
• CHILDREN’S PROGRAM SUPPLIES
• TICONDEROGA COMMUNITY EARLY LEARNING CENTER SUPPLIES
• BUS TRANSPORT
• OPEN PATHWAYS
These programs would not be possible without your support. GIVE TODAY!
These program offerings are:
• SILVER BAY YMCA
TICONDEROGA TEEN CENTER
• TICONDEROGA COMMUNITY EARLY LEARNING CENTER
• SWIM LESSONS
• SILVER CAMP
Gar-Wood Nordenholz
Burwell
Passed on October 17, 2024
Age 96
A long-time Silver Bay Member and Donor.
Following high school graduation, Gar enlisted in the Air Force as a communications officer. Once discharged, he went to work fulltime for the business his father started – the Rails Company – and spent summers out with the rail gangs installing rail fasteners. When his father passed on, he was appointed president.
While in the military, he married Mariana Hiser in October 1951, with whom he had four sons. The favorite summer family vacation spot was Silver Bay on Lake George, NY. With the help of his friends in the community and at Silver Bay he became an accomplished and competitive tennis player.
Gar made time to mentor and counsel his sons. He put his sons to work Saturdays and during school vacations at the family business. He also participated in YMCA camp-outs and YMCA birthday pool parties, house and yard maintenance activities, motor boating, amateur radio, tennis, scuba, and winter ski trips.
Reed Close
Passed on November 23, 2024
Age 90
A long-time Silver Bay Member and Donor.
After graduating from High School, Joan left home and went to Buffalo, NY to attend the Buffalo General Hospital School of nursing. Upon graduation as an RN, she worked at Buffalo General Hospital. Joan later attended The University of Buffalo School of Nursing, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing and was promoted to become a Nurse Manager of a floor at the hospital.
Joan met her husband Donald at Foursquares, a young adult group sponsored by First Presbyterian Church of Buffalo where she also met a fantastic group of lifelong friends. Don and Joan were married in 1961.
After Don passed, Joan traveled to many countries with friends and a local tour group. In 2024, Joan traveled to visit with Jim and family in Cincinnati, with Carolyn and the family at Lake George in the Adirondacks at Silver Bay YMCA, and to West Valley for her 90th birthday and a Reed family reunion. Joan’s love of travel and her family never faded
Wife of the late Donald L. Close; dear mother of William D. (Fiancée
Michele) Close, James A. (Jayne) Close and Carolyn E. Close; sister of Kay Goetz, Dale Reed, Carol Bryndle, Caren Frank, and the late David Reed; grandmother of Russell, Jordan, Taylor, Connor and Kristin. Joan was an incredible person and a friend to all.
Michael J. Coleman
Passed on March 13, 2025
Age 81
A long-time Silver Bay Member and Donor.
Coleman started his career as a general assignment reporter for his hometown newspaper in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in 1963 and was promoted to city editor and then managing editor there.
Gannett transferred Coleman to Port Huron, Mich. in 1977 to become that paper’s metro editor. Four years later he returned to Saratoga Springs as the newspaper’s publisher.
After retiring from the newspaper in 2007, Coleman remained active, assisting with a number of community organizations and non-profit groups and serving on the boards of the Brevard Zoo, The King Center, Ron Jon Surf Shop, the Florida Bank of Commerce, Dentsply International of York, Pa., the Freedom Forum and the Newseum in Washington, D.C. He also founded and operated Cool Media Consultants in Brevard.
Coleman is survived by his wife of 60 years, Mary Louise (Natale) Coleman; sons, Mark and Christopher Coleman; and two grandchildren. He was predeceased by his son, Michael J. Coleman, Jr.
Ruth Goewey Haase
Passed on August 11, 2024 Age 90
A long-time Silver Bay Member and Donor and a member of the Silver Bay Council.
Ruth Goewey Haase, 90, of Jamesville, NY passed away Sunday, August 11, 2024 at her home. Ruth was born December 16, 1933 in Irvington, NJ to the late Galen T. and Carolyn T. Goewey. She graduated from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA with a Bachelor of Science Degree and a double major in Elementary and Art Education, and was a life-long Sister of Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority. She was an active member of Ocean Grove Auditorium Choir, in New Jersey, participating in Sunday Morning Worship, their annual Ocean Grove Auditorium Festival and their Summer Sacred Concerts. She was a member of Ocean Grove Ladies Auxiliary, where she was a summer bazaar volunteer. She cherished Silver Bay YMCA, where she participated in watercolor classes and was a member of the “Mozart Singers” summer concert series. Ruth will be forever remembered as a gifted watercolor artist, featuring scenes from Silver Bay on Lake George, NY. She was a true artist and her talent was beautifully displayed in her sewing, needlepoint, embroidery, counted cross stitch, knitting, crochet and macramé projects.
Jules F. Halm
Passed on November 13, 2024 Age 93
A former Trustee, Silver Bay Council member, volunteer and long-time Donor.
Jules F. Halm {93) of Harrisonburg, VA, and formerly of Silver Bay, NY and Essex Fells, NJ. Jules was born and raised in Roseland, NJ, and went on to receive a Bachelor of Science in Administrative Engineering from Lafayette College in June 1953, subsequently working for both Bethlehem Steel and the CurtissWright Corporation. Following his service as a First Lieutenant, First Rank in the United States Army, Jules returned to Roseland to both raise a family and give back, through volunteerism. Jules next moved to Essex Fells, NJ, and turned his sights toward supporting the Silver Bay YMCA where he served on the Board of Trustees for eighteen years. For most of those years, Jules acted as the Facilities Committee Chair where he oversaw construction projects vital to both the organization’s infrastructure and its ability to serve out its charitable mission. Additionally, he served as the Treasurer of the Board of Trustees for three years, and he was on the Business, Planning, and Capital Priorities and Planning Committees, and the Master Site Planning Task Force.
Jules was truly a fine, yet unassuming man whose dedication to service bettered the communities in which he lived. Above all, though, family came first.
Jules was predeceased by his brother, Joseph C. Halm, Jr.,
son, Joseph (Joe) A. Halm, and granddaughter, Jo Ellen (Ellie) Halm. He is survived by his wife of sixty-two years, Gale Halm, daughter, Suzanne Locke, sonin-law Steven Locke, daughterin-law, Joey Lockwood Halm, grandchildren Abby Halm, Charlie (Mac) Halm, Connor Locke, Ryan Locke, and nieces Candie Halm, Sara Miller, and Carol Calvert.
Joan T. Jacoby
Passed on February 20, 2025 Age 94
A former EMP Alumni, Emp Fellowship member, Silver Bay Council member, Silver Bay Member and long-time Donor.
Joan was born in Manchester, New Hampshire, to Dr. G. Ernest and Mildred Thomas. When she was 15, she met her future husband, Walter, at the Silver Bay YMCA Conference Center, on Lake George in New York. They married in 1952 and honeymooned in South Hero, VT, on Lake Champlain. Both Silver Bay and South Hero would become important places to the family.
Family was very important to Joan. She was an amazing, supportive mother and grandmother. She and Walt enjoyed camping, bicycling, sailing, and traveling with family and long-term friends. They also had a lifelong love of playing games, especially bridge.
Joan is survived by her four children and their spouses: Susan Jacoby and Susan Baumgardner, Gail and Dave Orser, Nancy and James Aman, and Russell and Barbara Jacoby; her five grandchildren and spouses: Christopher Jacoby and Zoelle Egner, Matthew Jacoby, Joshua Aman, Timothy Aman,
Beth Aman and Mikael Ellingson, and great granddaughter Anieve Jacoby. Joan is also survived by her brothers, Norman and Donald, and numerous nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her husband, Walter, her parents, and her sister, Carol.
W. Everett Molony, Jr.
Passed on December 8, 2024
Age 82
A former Trustee, Silver Bay Council member, Silver Bay Member and long-time Donor.
Walter Everett Molony, Jr. was born in White Plains, N.Y. After graduating from Plainfield HS in Plainfield, NJ, he attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he was a member of Theta Chi fraternity. He graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture degree and spent six years in the Coast Guard Reserves. He was always proud of the Coast Guard and the work it does.
Although he loved the nine years he spent working as an architect, he was always fascinated by the world of investing. He joined Merrill Lynch where he was a financial advisor for 33 years.
He was on the Board of Trustees of the Silver Bay Association and was the Vice President of the Board of Trustees for the Allendale Columbia School in Rochester, NY. He was an EMT for Pittsford Volunteer Ambulance.
He loved skiing and car racing. Most of all he loved his family.
He is survived by his wife, Lee Molony; His daughters, Laura (Tim) Chevalier, Kristen (David)
Weinbach, Sara (Christopher) Reynolds and his seven grandchildren, Ryan and Kyra Chevalier, Carter and Hope Duncan, Noah, Jonah and Ethan Reynolds.
Betty Joan (Koehler) Noordsy
Passed on March 6, 2025
Age 94
A long-time Silver Bay Member and Donor.
Betty Joan Koehler was the youngest of 4 children born to the late John Peter and Clara Martin Koehler in Ainsworth, IA on December 28, 1930. She enjoyed good times (as well as hard work) with her late older siblings Louis, John, and Julie. She attended Central College from 1948 to 1951 where she received a teaching certificate.
Betty met Harvey William Noordsy at Central College. They married on June 19, 1953, at the United Presbyterian Church, in Ainsworth and then moved to New Brunswick, NJ while he attended Theological Seminary. After his graduation they lived in various places in New York State. She was a full time mother and homemaker while her children were in their school years inspiring them to read, play music and enjoy creative cooking and creative arts. She was a talented seamstress and embroiderer, creating quilts and beautiful stitched wall hangings. She took care of grandchildren several days a week. She loved the outdoors, including bird watching and flower gardening. Summers, she and Harvey have long been members of the Silver Bay, NY community, where family often gathers.
Betty is survived by her husband Harvey; her children John Mark Noordsy (Martha), Douglas Noordsy (and partner Callie Sullivan), and Jeanne Noordsy (and partner Russell Serrianne); her grandchildren Peter (Kristen) Noordsy, Anne Noordsy, Charlotte Noordsy, and Jack Noordsy; and her great-granddaughter Gia Noordsy; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
Maurice L. Rasbeck, ”Morey”
Passed on September 10, 2024
Age 92
A former Trustee, Silver Bay Council member, Silver Bay Member and long-time Donor.
Predeceased by his wife of 59 years Christianna “Ann”, Survived by brothers Leon (Jane) Rasbeck, Dwight Rasbeck, and many nieces and nephews. Morey was born and raised in Wolcott, New York. He attended Red Creek High School and SUNY Oswego before relocating to Fairport, New York. He worked for Fairport Municipal and retired in 1991. He was a long-time member and was a member of the board of The Silver Bay Association on Lake George, actively volunteered with Advent House and School of the Holy Childhood.
Do you have a loved one you would like to be acknowledged in future Bay Windows?
Please email details to: development@silverbay.org
87 Silver Bay Road
Silver Bay, NY 12874
www.silverbay.org
Artwork made by the youth enrolled in our Ticonderoga Community Early Learning Center
