1995
Leslie J. Tompkins

Leslie Tompkins joined the Yonkers YMCA as a teenager and became employed working with the “boot blacks” and “newsboys”, the school dropouts of the 1900s. He graduated from Springfield College in 1918, shortly before entering the Army. After his military service, he joined the Maine State YMCA Committee where he helped to found the Maine State YMCA Camp. He served as General Secretary of the Gloversville (NY) and Amsterdam (NY) YMCAs. He then joined the New York State YMCA Executive Committee where he had training and support responsibilities for the Railroad and City Associations. In 1937, he became the Executive for Personnel Service of the National Council of YMCAs. He helped to implement a new approach to personnel policies and established a new certification system. In 1946 he was named Associate General Secretary and he served as Executive of Field Services on the national staff until his retirement in 1957. He also served eight years as the Executive Director of the Association of Secretaries.

1996
Ernest M. Best

Ernest Best joined the Ontario YMCA as a youth member in the early 1900s. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from the International YMCA College (Springfield College) in 1911, and then took on roles at both the West Side Branch YMCA in New York City and as a faculty member at Springfield. He served as a senior officer in the Canadian YMCA War Services in France during WWI. After the War, he returned to the West Side YMCA and en- rolled in the doctoral program at New York University. He received an appointment to teach theology at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and helped found the Sir George Williams University in Montreal in 1928. Best set up courses to train YMCA staff and served as the Director for the Far East International Survey of YMCA and YWCAs. Returning from overseas, he was appointed General Secretary of the National Council of the YMCAs of Canada. In 1937, Best was inaugurated as the President of Springfield College. He emphasized the traditions of Springfield College including liberal interpretation of Christianity; the education of the whole person; a continued connection with the YMCA; professional training for youth services staff; international student exchange; racial and religious tolerance; and a continuing emphasis on health, physical education, and recreation.

1996
J. Robert Knight

Robert Knight started his YMCA career in 1928 as the Assistant Young Men’s Secretary and a participant in the one-year Fellowship Training Class at the Dayton (OH) YMCA. In the 1930s and 1940s, he served as Adult Program Secretary in the Columbus and Toledo Associations. For nineteen years beginning in 1948, he was on the staff of the Ohio-West Virginia Area Council of YMCA. He held this position till 1967, where he provided consulting services to local YMCAs. In 1967 he became the first full-time Executive Director of the Association of Professional Directors, developing new organizational structures for APD. After his retirement in 1972, he continued to consult with local YMCAs and was an active member of the International Association of Retired Directors, serving as its vice president from 1975-78 and president from 1978-81.

1996
William A. McAllister

Bill McAllister joined the St. Louis YMCA as a Youth Work Director in 1947. Seven years later, he became a Branch Executive in Chester, Pennsylvania, were he established extensive young adult programs and was responsible for the construction of a new facility. He served in several branches in the Buffalo (NY) YMCA before being appointed Associate Executive for Urban Affairs. In this role, he created the Y Academy, an education program that worked with gifted inner city boys in Buffalo. In 1968, McAllister became the Associate Executive of the West Central Area of the YMCA and two years later was appointed the first Executive Director of the newly formed Mid-American Region. He served as Director of the Department of Personnel and Training for the YMCA of the USA. For five years, beginning in 1984, he was Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the YMCA Retirement Fund, with an emphasis on strategic planning. He retired in 1989, but maintained connections with the YMCA through Board service on the Greater Bergen County (NJ) YMCA, Sioux Indian YMCA and YMCA of the Rockies. He also served as Chairman of the World Fellowship of YMCA Retirees.

1996
Clarence Moser

For the first twenty years of his career, beginning in 1924, Clarence “Red” Moser worked with youth at the Evanston (IL) YMCA. He published Twenty Years of Boy’s Work in the YMCA, outlining the policies, philosophy, and programs of his work with young people. In 1945, he was appointed the Director of Youth Programs at the Central Atlantic Area YMCA. He was nationally recognized for his innovative work with youth, and was sought after as a trainer in youth work. He retired in 1968 as the Associate Executive of the Central Area Council, after forty years of service in the Y. In retirement, he became an adjunct professor at Springfield College and directed a study on developing new techniques for training volunteers for the National YMCA Board. He was actively involved with the Head Start Program, 4-H Foundation, and Parent-Youth Clinics.