One of the real gems that we have in our community is the Covington Y, formerly known as the YMCA.

The facility for the Covington Y is located at 2140 Newton Drive in the city. The facility contains exercise equipment, an outdoor swimming pool, offices and showers.

But the real story on our local Y is not the actual facility. It's the people who are involved with it. From the director and board to the employees and the volunteers who spend countless hours providing nurturing care to our young people, seniors, and all ages in between.

The care is Christian-based without the religion. We are fortunate to have a Y in our community. It is a symbol of the fact that our community cares about its own.

The annual campaign to raise funds to help support our Y begins in February. This year's chair is local attorney Bob Stansfield.

We will be running some special stories over the next month supporting the Y and leading up to the campaign.

The Y has had a great chair for the last two years in Greg Herring. However, he will be stepping down and Layla Zon will be taking over as the board chair and Stansfield will be the vice chair.

We wish the Y well this year and support wholeheartedly its many community programs.