1998
Robert R. Dye

Bob Dye began his YMCA career in the Los Angeles Association following his service in the European Theater of Operations during WWII. In 1951, he was appointed the Executive Director of the Nuuanu Branch in Honolulu, the first Hawaiian organization to bring all races together in a fully integrated institution. During the late 1960s, he was the Director of Urban Development and Extension on the national staff, where he helped design a system that could be responsive to the rapidly changing needs and issues of society. He served as the Director of the Urban Action and Program Division through the 1970s, helping to develop the National Center for Youth Outreach Workers, National Family Communication Skills Center, National Juvenile Justice Project, NYPUM and the Youth Basketball Association. In 1983, he joined the World Alliance of YMCAs in Geneva, Switzerland, as coordinator of program services, with a particular responsibility for the PEACE portfolio. He also served as World Alliance liaison with the United Nations.

1998
Violet P. Henry

Born in Alberta, Canada, Violet Henry earned her undergraduate and law d Urban Studies from Roosevelt University. She was the first African American became Executive Director of the Community Branch of the Newark (NJ) Y the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, and later became the Director of Manpower, Planning and Staff Development. In 1976, Henry became the first woman to be named to a top management position on the national staff as Executive Director of the Organization Development Group. She was responsible for personnel management, corporate planning and development projects. Henry served as President of APD and Vice President of the World Association of Secretaries and provided leadership for numerous national and international commissions and committees that worked effectively for the rights of women and minorities.

1998
Colin S. Moffat

Colin Moffat began his association with the YMCA as a youth in Canada. He served in Youth and Physical Secretary positions in YMCAs in Ontario before joining the Chicago YMCA in 1939. He enrolled at George Williams College and enlisted in the First Canadian Paratroopers battalion after graduation. After the war, Moffat worked for two years as the principal of the YMCA College of Physical Education in Madras, India. He returned to Canada as the Physical Director and later Assistant General Secretary of the London (Ontario) YMCA. In 1949, after completing graduate studies at Springfield College, he moved to the Detroit Association before his appointment as Associate Secretary for Personnel for the Illinois Area Council. Moffat joined the International Committee for Overseas Staff in 1957. He initiated the World Service Workers Program and the Young Professionals Abroad Program. He is remembered through the Colin S. Moffat Scholarship Fund at Springfield College.

1998
James A. Naismith

James Naismith had already earned a theology degree from McGill University before enrolling at the International YMCA Training School (Springfield College) as a graduate student. In 1891, faculty member Luther Gulick asked Naismith to develop a game that students could play indoors during winter months. Combining elements of rugby, lacrosse and soccer, Naismith introduced his game, Basket Ball. The first game of basketball was played in December, 1891. The game quickly moved beyond the YMCA network. Naismith became a lifelong member of the International Rules Committee and in 1936 saw basketball become an Olympic Sport. Beginning in 1895, Naismith served as the Physical Secretary for the Denver (CO) YMCA, and attended Gross Medical School. After graduation he moved to the University of Kansas where, for forty-one years, his duties included pastor, coach, athletic director and professor.

1998
Robert W. Wilson, Jr.

Robert Wilson was an outstanding basketball player at West Virginia State College and after graduation played for the Harlem Globetrotters, Chicago Stags and Tri-City Blackhawks. He was one of the first men to break the NBA color barrier. After his basketball career, he became a teacher in North Carolina. In 1955, he accepted his first YMCA position as the Youth Director in the Milwaukee association. While there, he developed the first Hi-Y and Tri-Hi-Y training for YMCAs, as well as innovative outreach programs. He also served YMCAs in Dayton (OH) and Detroit. Wilson became the CEO of the YM/WCA of Newark (NJ) in 1970, the first African American to lead a metropolitan YMCA. Under his leadership, the Y gained solid financial footing while expanding its inner-city childcare center and youth programs. In 1978, he joined the national staff as Regional Associate Executive for the Northeast Region, and later became the MRC Director for the YMCA of Greater New York. In 1989, he was appointed Executive Vice President of the YMCA Retirement Fund. Wilson was awarded the Brotherhood Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews and was inducted into the Sports Halls of Fame at the Harlem (NY) YMCA and West Virginia State College.

1999
Jacob T. Bowne

In the mid-1800s, Jacob Bowne helped develop a YMCA in his hometown of Glen Cove, NY. He became a pioneer educator in the field of professional training for the Secretaryship. In 1879, while serving as the Secretary of the Newburg (NY) YMCA, he launched the “Ten-day Fellowship Meetings,” the first steps in training prospective YMCA secretaries. In 1880, he founded the Secretarial Insurance Alliance and was instrumental in promoting the YMCA Retirement Fund. Three years later, he joined the International Committee, specializing in training leaders for the expanding YMCA Movement. In 1885, he was called to lead the Department of Young Men’s Christian Association Work at the School for Christian Workers (Springfield College). He spent the rest of his life at Springfield, devoted to educating YMCA staff and maintaining an extensive collection of YMCA materials. He is considered the YMCA’s first archivist and the “Father of Professional YMCA Training.”