STAFF INDUCTEES

QUENTIN R. MEASE (1908-2009)

His career spanned from 1939 to 1976. He started with the YMCA as an Executive for the Crocker Street YMCA in Des Moines, Iowa. From 1948-1976 he was Executive Director to the Houston South Central YMCA, located in the historic Third Ward community as part of the YMCA of Greater Houston. Quentin was a founding member and first President of the Houston Area Urban League. He helped orchestrate the purchase of YMCA Camp Holden, the Houston YMCA Camp for Blacks. He co-sponsored, with the late Leo B. Marsh, the first Southwest Region YMCA Inter-Cultural consultation at Houston YMCA Camp Holden in 1955 (an early desegregation initiative for the National YMCA). In the 1960’s, Quentin became a primary agent for peaceful desegregation and led the forces that allowed Houston to avoid the racial violence experienced by other U.S. cities at the time. In 1967, he conceived the first YMCA Black Achievers Program at the South Central YMCA which later was adopted as the national YMCA Black Achievers Program.

Quentin was considered a pillar of the community right up until his death at age 100. He was looked at as a visionary who was not hindered by race, age or demographics. He lived the YMCA mission!

TRACY STRONG (1887-1968)

Tracy Strong began his YMCA career as Boys Work Secretary for the Seattle YMCA in 1909. In 1923, he joined the Boys Work staff of the World Alliance and in 1926 was appointed World YMCA Boys Work secretary. In that position he was active in developing the International Older Boys’ Camps. Strong took a leading role in the War Prisoners Aid Program at the outbreak of World War II where he supervised the distribution of educational, recreational and religious materials to six million
prisoners in 30 countries. He was decorated by the French, Polish and Belgian governments for this work. He retired as General Secretary of the World Committee in 1953 and was later appointed field professor of YMCA history at George Williams College.

YMCA HALL OF FAME 2013 Inductees