Today's Featured Leader

As a man who has dedicated his career to fitness and health, little wonder that Steve Spingsdorf hit the ground running in Kalamazoo.

The new Executive Director of the Kalamazoo Family YMCA was at the door of the Maple Street facility greeting members before the sun came up his first week and was still working with people at the end of the day at the Lincoln Center. In between, he was scoping out the Portage facility.

Staff and members at those facilities shouldn't be surprised. Springsdorf's high-energy, positive style earned him glowing recommendations from people in Saginaw, where he spent 25 of his 30 career years with the Y organization. Most recently, Springsdorf had statewide responsibilities, but he accepted the Kalamazoo-Portage job to "make this the best Y in Michigan."

"We feel he can do it," says YMCA Board President Jamie Kneen, who chaired the search committee. "He's a team builder and a team player," says Kneen.

Springsdorf and his wife, Judy, were familiar enough with Kalamazoo "that we knew this would be a fun place to work, and to live." In addition to familiarizing themselves with the Y, they also got out early, after arriving in mid-January, to meet other community leaders, including people from the Greater Kalamazoo United Way, of which the YMCA is a member.

"Obviously, the greater Kalamazoo has a lot going for it," said Springsdorf. "To be successful, we need to be a healthy community. Look for our organization to be an important part of our community development."