Charlie Yates Jr. Receives YMCA's Highest Honor

Charlie Yates Jr. of Atlanta is receiving the YMCA of Metro Atlanta’s 2012 Bransby Christian Leadership Award, the Y’s highest volunteer honor. He will be honored at the annual volunteer recognition dinner Monday, November 12, 2012, at the Cobb Galleria Centre.

Playing Gra-Y football and basketball as a student at Buckhead’s R.L. Hope Elementary School was Yates’ first Y experience. He attended Camps Waco and Pioneer, Atlanta YMCA resident camps in north Georgia. His first job was as a Y summer camp counselor in Roswell. As a young adult, he volunteered to coach basketball for the Decatur Family Y.

In 2000 Yates was elected to the YMCA of Metro Atlanta Board of Directors. He served on the Executive, Finance and Y-CEO Golf Tournament committees and the Resource Development Task Force. He was a member of the Comprehensive Campaign cabinet and provided valuable fundraising support. In 2008 the Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater Atlanta Chapter named him the Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year for his efforts with the Atlanta Opera and the YMCA of Metro Atlanta.

Yates was elected Chairman of the Metro Board of Directors and served a two-year term in 2009 and 2010. Some of the accomplishments during his term included formulating the Y-2020 strategic plan; the increasing emphasis on early childhood education, marked by the opening of the Dean Rusk Head Start Academy in West End and Read Right From the Start, a language and literacy program for preschoolers; rededicating the Centennial Place Y as the Arthur M. Blank Family Youth YMCA; and expanding Camp High Harbour with the acquisition of Bethel Park on Lake Lanier.

“I am passionate about making a difference in the community,” says Yates. “I am especially proud of the work the Y is doing in early childhood education. It’s so much fun to see a child succeed. It’s changing lives, and it doesn’t get any better than that.”

Outside the Y, Yates is involved with the Atlanta Rotary Club, the Atlanta Opera board, and the Robert Tyre Jones Jr. Scholarship Committee at Emory University. Yates recently retired as executive vice president of Zurich.

The Y is a powerful association of men, women and children joined together by a shared commitment to nurturing the potential of kids, promoting healthy living and fostering a sense of social responsibility. Every day, we work side-by-side with our neighbors to make sure everyone, regardless of age, income or background, has the opportunity to learn, grow and connect. Call 404-588-9622 or visit http://www.ymcaatlanta.org.