BY RICHELLE THOMPSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON -- More people have membership cards to the Ralph J. Stolle Countryside YMCA than the city of Lebanon has residents. And on Monday and Wednesday nights, more people use the Y than live in Maineville, Harveysburg and Corwin combined.
It's a busy spot.
This weekend, the Y celebrates the 20th anniversary of its 130,000-square-foot building, which is about the size of a Wal-Mart superstore. An outdoor festival will offer food at 1978 prices, like 25-cent hot dogs. The YMCA is more than a place to work out.
It's the backyard barbecue of the 1990s -- providing a place for neighbors to get to know each other while striving for a healthy lifestyle.
Real estate agents use it as a selling point, and it ranks as one of the county's top 20 employers. It's one of the state's largest YMCAs and in the top 5 percent nationally.
It's quite simply a jewel in Warren County's crown, members say.
"It's brought a lot of people together and draws people into the community," said Gwen South, as she and her husband, Charles, walked a mile around its outdoor track.
The Souths, charter members, call it "a non-snobbish country club."
"There's something for everyone," Mrs. South said.
Part of Countryside's success is its appeal to a wide audience and keeping up with the changing demands, said Walter Griese, a national field consultant for the YMCA of the USA.
When climbing walls became popular, the Y built one in 1997. To keep up with aging baby boomers, the Y opened a senior center in 1995 to cater to those 50 and older. It features more private locker rooms, a separate exercise facility and an indoor pool kept at 88 degrees -- the warmer water soothes aching joints. The senior center now has 1,000 members.
"Sometimes seniors and young people mix very well for short periods of time," said President and CEO Stephen Boland. "But for longer periods, we thought it would be better for seniors to have their own place . . . away from the frantic pace of the rest of the Y."
Countryside also has expanded child care to meet the demands of the second-fastest-growing county in the state.
In the last year, the programs have doubled. The Y now operates 10 child-care sites throughout the county and serves more than 600 children.
As a result, membership has increased by nearly a third in the last two years, up to 15,085 at the end of July. About half of the members are Lebanon residents, while a majority of the rest travel from Mason, Waynesville and other Warren County communities.
It's the only YMCA in the county, although the YMCA of metropolitan Dayton is considering building a satellite facility in Springboro. Cincinnati has 22 branches.
Countryside ranks 116th in membership and 137th in revenue in the nation among those YMCAs who reported their statistics to YMCA of the USA, spokesman Arnold Collins said. There are 980 corporate YMCAs, like Countryside, across the country, and 33 in Ohio.
Now operating on a $3.5 million annual budget, it was conceived in the early 1970s in the dreams of Lebanon resident Ralph J. Stolle. Mr. Stolle saw the need for a large recreation center that would develop character and cater to the mind, body and spirit, said George Henkle, another Lebanon resident who was instrumental in founding Countryside.
"He organized the people and showed them what could be done in a small town by a united effort," Mr. Henkle said.
The first outdoor pool was built in 1976. The current facility opened two years later.
It draws people like Morrow resident Darlene Conner, who joined last week so she and her husband could come and exercise regularly. It also attracts families such as the Nikolaides from Mason. Kevin, age 2, and Eric, age 6, come with mom Laura Nikolaides to check out the playground or stretch their muscles in gymnastics. Countryside "gives families a place to bring their kids," Mrs. Nikolaides said.
For those who can't afford the membership fees of up to $600 a year for families, the center offers assistance. Last year, the center gave out $50,000 in scholarships, Vice President Ann Stengl said.
Countryside has made Warren County "a great place in which to live, work and raise a family," Mr. Henkle said. "Nobody else has anything like it in the whole United States as far as we know of. We think it's the finest one."
