2000
Edgar M. Robinson

Edgar M. Robinson first became associated with the YMCA as a college student in New Brunswick, Canada. He served as the Chairman of the Boys’ Work Committee and later developed their first camping program. In 1898, he was hired as the Boys’ Work Secretary by the Massachusetts-Rhode Island State Committee. He worked four days a week while attending the YMCA Training School (Springfield College). Although the emphasis on youth was a minor part of the national organization’s work, Robinson was appointed the Boys’ Work Secretary of the International Committee in 1900. At the time, there were twenty Boys’ Work Secretaries and 30,000 boys as members nationwide. Thirteen years later, there were 363 secretaries with over 120,000 youth in membership. Robinson developed camping programs, father and son programs, sex education programs, specialized work with employed boys and wartime programs. He was also instrumental in the development of the Boy Scouts of America. In 1920, Robinson completed a nine-month world tour which led to the 1923 “Conference with Boys” in Austria, attracting 800 delegates from 54 countries. After his retirement, Robinson returned to Springfield College where he served as the Dean of the Boy’s Work Department.

2001
Thomas B. Hargrave, Jr.

Tom Hargrave’s first job in the YMCA, fifteen years, he held various positions First Coast YMCA, Executive Director i General Director for the Program Planning and Development at the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Beginning in 1973, Hargrave served nineteen years as President and CEO of the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. until his retirement in 1992. In Washington, he established the new YMCA headquarters and eliminated the Association’s $1 million operating deficit. He created partnerships with Ys in India, Gambia, Costa Rica, China and the Soviet Union. Among his proudest achievements is the number of staff who served in Washington that went on to become influential YMCA leaders. In retirement, Hargrave authored several books, including historical novels and histories of the Y. He was the recipient of many prestigious awards, including an honor from the African Alliance of YMCAs.

2001
William G. Morgan

James Naismith, inventor of basketball, urged the young William Morgan to attend the YMCA Training School (Springfield College) upon graduating from high school. He became the Physical Director of the Auburn (ME) YMCA after completing his studies. He stayed in Maine for just one year before accepting a position at the Holyoke (MA) YMCA. While at Holyoke, he realized that basketball was too strenuous for the gym class of middle-aged businessmen that met at noon. He combined aspects of basketball and badminton to create a game he called “Mintonette”. Morgan was invited to demonstrate his new game for faculty and students at the Training School in nearby Springfield. While watching the game, the spectators suggested a new name, Volley Ball. The rest is history. Morgan left the YMCA in 1897 to begin a career with General Electric and Westinghouse. He kept ties with Springfield College and the game he created, stating he was “content in the knowledge that the game brought a richer life to millions of people throughout the world.”

2001
Harold C. Smith

With an undergraduate degree in economics and history and graduate degrees in both business and divinity, Harold Smith was well prepared for his forty-two years at the YMCA Retirement Fund. He served in various roles before his 1983 appointment as President and Chief Investment Officer. In Smith’s seventeen years as President, the Fund grew from 17,000 members with $400 million in assets, to 75,000 members and $3.75 billion in assets. Smith also had success combining his expertise in financial matters and his deeply spiritual side. From 1958 to 2000 he served as voluntary Senior Pastor of the Unity Hill United Church of Christ in Trumbull, Connecticut. Smith served as a member of the YMCA of the USA International Committee and Director of the World Federation of Associations of YMCA Secretaries in Geneva, Switzerland. He was the Treasurer of APD from 1969 to 1978, and served a three year term as the APD President. In retirement, Smith continued to serve on the Board of the International Branch of the YMCA of Greater New York and as a Springfield College Trustee. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Springfield in 1998.

2001
Robert Weidensall

Described by his contemporaries as “the best-loved man of the brotherhood,” Robert Weidensall worked tirelessly for thirty-seven years developing YMCAs in rural communities in the mid-to-late 1800s. Weidensall began his YMCA work after serving in the Civil War. He laid the foundation for the great network of local and state YMCAs of the Midwest, traveling nearly 200,000 miles over fourteen years. He began building YMCAs along the expanding railroads, and soon expanded his work to German-speaking young men, college students, and the men of the South. He advocated for staff training and for state YMCA committees. He helped found both George Williams College and the organization that would become the Association of YMCA Professionals. He was described by his peers as a man of “great character, of the farmer-engineer-explorer-pioneer type…He had the gift of prophecy, combined with common sense.”

2002
Lloyd C. Arnold

Lloyd Arnold was a youth member of the York (PA) YMCA. He served in the U.S. Army from 1944-46, where he worked with amputees in the Medical Corps. After his military service he received his undergraduate degree from Springfield College. He later earned his doctorate from Pennsylvania State University. Arnold’s first full time YMCA position was as Physical Education Director at the Canton (OH) YMCA. He served in the Rochester (NY) Association, prior to joining the Central Atlantic Area staff as the Associate Executive for Health and Physical Education. In 1968, he was named the National Director for Health, Physical Education, and Sports on the national staff. Under his leadership, there was significant growth in the complexity and breadth in the health and wellness field. Arnold emphasized the individual’s responsibility for their own health as a central philosophy in YMCA pro- grams. He redeveloped the YMCA Aquatic Program and introduced a comprehensive structure for YMCA Youth Basketball. When he retired in 1981, he was recognized as one of the 10 people in the country chosen for the Healthy American Fitness Leader Award.