Kyle Cronk, the president and CEO who has led the South Sound YMCA since 2015, will retire at the end of year closing out 38 years with the YMCA.

The South Sound YMCA announced the retirement Wednesday, July 15, in a press release.

Board of Trustees Chair Anthony Brock said the organization will launch a nationwide search for Cronk's successor, facilitated by YMCA of the USA, with a new leader expected by January 2027.

Cronk arrived in Olympia in 2015 after serving as president and CEO of the Olympic Peninsula YMCA, where he converted the Sequim Area Aquatic Center into a full YMCA branch. In the South Sound, his tenure has been defined by expansion, youth programming, and equity work that shifted the organization's internal culture.

$13 million raised in 13 months

One of Cronk's earliest and most visible accomplishments was the Shelton Family YMCA. Working with Mason County community leaders, Cronk helped raise $13 million in 13 months to build the 23,000-square-foot facility at 3101 North Shelton Springs Road.

The Shelton Y serves nearly 8,000 Mason County residents each year.

"When the community invested in their education by passing the bond, it told our board that we needed to look at Shelton," Cronk said in a June 2020 ThurstonTalk article about the project. "Something good was happening there."

The capital campaign drew support from Mason County residents, Thurston County businesses, state grants, and regional philanthropic organizations. The City of Shelton was also a partner, and Mason County donors generated more than half the total funds raised.

Middle school programs and equity work

Cronk also expanded middle school programming partnerships with schools across Thurston and Mason counties, building on work he began at the Seattle YMCA with Seattle Public Schools.

He has described middle school as the moment "where kids decide who they're going to be," and said the goal is ensuring young people have caring professionals around them.

His anti-racism and multicultural organizational work has become a defining piece of his legacy. Brock, the board chair, said in the announcement that under Cronk's leadership, "being an anti-racist, multicultural organization is who we are as a YMCA."

Finances and what's next

The board said in its announcement that the South Sound YMCA is in the strongest financial position in its history. Over the past decade, the organization has sustained operating surpluses, strengthened reserves, and purchased two properties in north Thurston County.

The South Sound YMCA operates three locations: Briggs Community YMCA and Plum Street YMCA in Olympia, and the Shelton Family YMCA in Shelton. The organization has served the region for more than 120 years.

Brock is leading the search committee, with the board targeting January 2027 for a smooth leadership transition.