While YMCA membership has rapidly grown to around 4,000 individuals, Lant emphasizes: "The YMCA isn't just another health club that signs up as many people as it can and then hopes you don't show up. Our whole desire is to get people here and keep them here, because we want to make a difference in their lives."

The mission seems to be working, and glowing testimonials are rampant. Santa Ynez Valley News Editor Dave Reynolds now works out at the YMCA several times a week and says: "It's really helped me increase my strength and stamina, and also combats stress." Valley resident Sira Figge has been going to the YMCA regularly since Christmas and proudly reports she has lost 21 pounds as a result. "I'm so tired after work," she says, "but when I get to the Y it gives me energy, and the people there are wonderful. It's like my second home!"

Building strong families is an important part of what the YMCA does, starting with the very youngest. Babies and toddlers who first experience the YMCA through its child care facility quickly become old enough for programs like Itty Bitty Sports, Kung Fu, tumbling, and swimming lessons.

Older kids can take part in sports including water polo, swim team, basketball, flag football, baseball, summer and holiday camps and events. The YMCA also runs after-school recreation and child care programs at all public elementary schools in the Valley, offering homework help, athletics, and enrichment activities.

"My two kids beg to go to the Y," says single parent Lynne Burchardi. "It's one of the few places here in the Valley where we can all go for wholesome, healthy activities." Her family has participated in a wide range of YMCA activities, and Burchardi says the YMCA is: "one of the foundations of our household." Sometimes she takes her kids to the Y's Parent's Night Out, so she can have some time to herself. She's always confident they are safe and in good hands. "The Y teaches kids how to be honest, trustworthy, good people," she says. "They have a great mentoring program, and they really help parents do their job."

Lant believes Santa Ynez Valley parents tend to be very involved with their children.

"I've never been in a community that was so conscious about where their kids are or what they're doing," he says. Nevertheless, he believes there are still unmet recreational needs here. "In today's society, I just think people don't have as much time to spend with their kids or to find good mentors for them," he says. Fortunately, the YMCA has stepped up to the plate to be part of the solution.

The new Hoof & Boots youth equestrian program is a good example of the way the YMCA emphasizes personal development among young people. It's a hands-on, low-ratio class, and Lant says, "The instructor is very good at teaching the kids to take responsibility for the horses." It's all part of the Y's philosophy of building character from childhood onward by promoting caring, citizenship, fairness, respect, responsibility and trustworthiness. "All of these values," Lant says, "are emphasized in some form in all of our programs."

Because schools, churches and other organizations in the Valley also provide activities for young people, the YMCA works with them to assess where the gaps are before developing new programs. "Staying connected with people who can help you make a difference is important," Lant says. It's all part of a collaborative effort he calls Youth Asset Development. It's ultimate goal is a stronger community that helps raise its children.

"Teens have a huge need for quality recreational opportunities," Lant says, "especially those who spend long hours playing computer games after school." The YMCA tries hard to connect with this age group through its P.E. & intramural programs. Lant is proud of Youth and Government, a year-long program for high school students that culminates with a week in Sacramento where teens write bills, role play, and learn how their government works. "The kids get so much out of it," he says. "It gets them involved with politics and enables them to buy into their own future."

The YMCA is now affiliated with the Channel Islands YMCA, benefiting from the support and expertise of this larger organization. "This allows us to spend more time focusing on our members," says Lant, "and not as much on internal work. If we are going to make a difference, we need to be involved with our members to help them create more healthy life styles, provide a social outlet for them, or build character in some way."

Although the YMCA is affiliated, Lant emphasizes that a strong grass roots focus is maintained. "Any money that's raised locally stays here in the Valley," he says. He's talking about the annual Campaign for Youth, which provides scholarships for people who can't afford YMCA programs.

Cindy Stevens, Director of Social and Health Care Services at People Helping People says: "We're very excited about the YMCA's Open Door policy." This allows anyone to apply for assistance from the YMCA. "It has made it much easier for us to help families that need something positive in their lives," she says. The YMCA has especially had an impact on teens, she feels. "It's given them alternatives to some of the negative things they might otherwise be doing."

The YMCA will never be content to rest on its laurels, and will always be looking for ways to improve. A new gymnasium is being considered, along with a children's pool. A program for cancer patients will soon be implemented that will help them regain strength and connect with health and fitness experts. There will be more family programs to encourage families to come together and interact. Lant says: "We're trying to make this place a better community overall."

A portrait of Stuart C. Gildred hangs in the lobby of the YMCA, watching over the comings and goings of the Valley's young and old, its privileged and underprivileged. The YMCA is here for them all. What Mr. Gildred set in motion has culminated in an institution that means much more than the sum of its many parts to the people of the Santa Ynez Valley. The man in the portrait would have been proud.