Glenn Canfield
According to Glenn Canfield, “consistency” makes it easy to steer a great organization like Becket-Chimney Corners YMCA into the future. And much of that consistency can be found in the staff members who work directly with campers.
“Counselors and program staff know their roles are meaningful to the kids they care for and they are extraordinary. That’s been the case for years,” explained Glenn, who started out as a Frontier Village counselor in 1955 having never attended Camp Becket as a camper. His five years working for Camp Becket indoctrinated him into the values focused culture and ultimately motivated him to send his three sons, Lee, Brad and Whitney to camp and today his two grandsons who travel to camp all the way from Germany.
For Glenn -- a retired executive with JC Penney and long-time volunteer with the Boy Scouts and Little League -- the eight Becket Mottos are the latitude and longitude lines that subtly and unknowingly lead a camper to fall in love with camp.
“People who start out as a camper and become a staff person realize the importance of the camps’ foundation and I think they want to make sure that is perpetuated for others to experience.”
Glenn, a Board of Trustees member from 1994 to 2002, is also a Heritage Club member on two counts -- including Becket-Chimney Corners YMCA in his estate intentions and being a generous and regular supporter to the Lee Canfield Memorial Endowment which was established by his board peers in recognition of Glenn’s leadership on the board and in memory of his son Lee who passed away in 2000.
“The camps always have to raise money from an endowment standpoint. We are not a part of a large Metro YMCA system that helps finance us; we are out here on our own. And as you get older, you start to put your plans together and if you agree Becket-Chimney Corners YMCA was meaningful to your life then remembering it in your will is the right thing to do.”
Glenn appreciates the philanthropic tugging from the many choices people can give to, “but I believe you can see the direct benefits of your gifts to Becket-Chimney Corners YMCA just by showing up to a Moms’ and Dads’ Weekend. You can see the positive, measurable impact our camps have on a young person’s life.”
Becket, MA 