VOLUNTEER INDUCTEES

CAPTAIN THOMAS V. SULLIVAN (1800-1859)

Before the age of thirty-three, Captain Sullivan had been shipwrecked in the Antarctic and attacked by pirates off the coast of Brazil leading to his conversion as a more active Christian in 1833. Taking his message to his community he began what he called a “Marine Mission at Large.” This interdenominational work involved preaching on board ships in an attempt to reach men who would otherwise attend no religious service. He called his interdenominational work “social religion” and when he read about the London YMCA he wasted no time in expressing his enthusiasm for the idea. In December of 1851, Thomas Valentine Sullivan founded the Boston YMCA, the first YMCA in the United States. Sullivan had managed to encourage the residents of cities and towns all over New England to form YMCA groups in their community. Though little detail is known of his life and career, Captain Sullivan can be regarded as the inspiration and driving force for the establishment of the YMCA Movement in the United States.

PETER D. ZIEGLER (1949- )

Peter began his passionate work as a volunteer at his home YMCA, the Kettle Moraine YMCA in West Bend, Wisconsin. He went on to serve as a significant leader of both the National YMCA Fund and the YMCA Retirement Fund. As Vice Chairman of the National YMCA Fund Peter played a key role in the governance restructure and also provided guidance to many local YMCAs regarding their endowment investment policies.

Peter’s most impactful contributions may have been as a Trustee of the YMCA Retirement Fund. After the 9/11 attack on New York City, he provided prudent counsel and support during recovery as financial markets responded in unprecedented ways. Then, in 2002, the IRS challenged the unique church plan status of the YMCA Retirement Fund, threatening its ability to continue providing the same benefits that it had for the prior 80 years. In response, and with the full support of all of the Fund’s Trustees in partnership with Fund CEO John Preis, as Chairman of the Board, Peter led a public policy campaign amongst YMCAs nationwide. This mobilized support from every congressional office on the Hill to secure special federal legislation, passed by unanimous consent in 2004, classifying the Fund as a church plan. Peter’s legacy to the Y Movement is the impact he had on those who choose to dedicate a career of service to the Y – its staff!

YMCA HALL OF FAME 2013 Inductees