YMCA gets new name, logo
By Greg Fike For the Herald-Standard
Out with the old and in with the new.
The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) will be shortening its name to “the Y,” along with changing its logo. It is the first time in 43 years that “the Y” has changed its brand.
The new logo is a different Y, but it will still have YMCA along the bottom.
Steve Cooper, chief executive officer of the Uniontown Y, said he is in the process of finding a new sign for outside of the building. He said that the new sign is going to be red with some orange.
“People are used to the red and black logo,” he said. “It is a different look, so I think it will take some time, but I think people will like it once they get used to it.”
As far as the name change goes, Cooper said he does not think that will be a big deal to the members.
“Everyone called it ‘the Y’ even before the name change,” he said. “So I don’t think the name change will be a big difference.”
Cooper said that there was a lot of national analysis and research that went into making the decision to change the name and look to such a well-known organization.
“You have marketing firms who say it will help your image, so you do it,” he said. “The studies showed that many people already referred to it as “the Y,” so why don’t we call it what the people call it.”
Cooper said he is in the process of contacting vendors around town who have their logo, to make sure that they switch to the new one. He said that the complete transition must be finished, at all Y locations, by 2015.
Cooper said that “you have to stay up with the times” and that this change is all about “a new look for an old organization.”
But, he said that the Y’s areas of focus have always been and will continue to be, youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.
He believes that the changes will not have an effect on the membership of the organization and that it will still be the same old Y that everyone knows.
“We will still be continuing with the programs that we have always done,” said Cooper. “The Y has always been a place where people come to have fun, relax and play ball and that won’t change.”