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Gift
Celebrating Putnam Ford and the Place Family gift to the Regional Community YMCA are (L to R) Mary and Rick Place, Betty Hale, and Ronald P. Coderre. Courtesy photo.
PUTNAM — Putnam Ford is the latest in a growing list of businesses and individuals who are getting behind the Regional Community YMCA. Putnam Ford and the Place family recently made a “leadership gift” to the proposed Y.
Swimming has always been an important part of the lives of the Place family of Putnam Ford. It’s because for this and other important reasons, the family and the business have stepped forward in support of the Regional Community YMCA.
“Putnam Ford is a big part of the northeastern Connecticut community. It’s our feeling that a YMCA will greatly enhance the quality of life in our area by providing services for people of all
“The Regional Community YMCA will be a great place for kids to have swimming lessons. The competition pool, in time, will provide a venue for schools to use the facility. It will also help us to combat accidental drowning, which is often preventable if kids understand water safety,” said Mary Place.
“We’re so pleased that the Place family and Putnam Ford have made a leadership gift to the campaign. Their support is an indication of the value they place in the Y as a family oriented program and the importance of water safety especially for youngsters,” said James O’S Morton, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Hartford.
When completed, the Regional Community YMCA will feature a competitive pool as well as warm water zero entry pool for elderly and handicapped individuals. It will also have a gymnasium, fitness area and teen center. Construction of the 50,000 square foot facility is expected to be cost about $13 million. More than $9 million has been raised, through a $3 million gift from the Newell D. Hale Foundation, $3.745 million from a grant from the state of Connecticut and nearly $2.2 million in community support as part of a $2.5 million campaign. The amount of the leadership gift was not disclosed.