Jay Lippy
Executive Director of Mission Focus and YMCA Chaplain, Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA
I began my career with the YMCA as a youth in York, PA where I participated in basketball, gymnastics, and swimming. Continuing my involvement with the Y, I volunteered with teens during the 80’s and in 1995 accepted the position as Camp Director at YMCA Camp Cristina, a 72 acre outdoor adventure camp with the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA which serves Hillsborough and Eastern Pasco County with over 140,000 members and 1,600 full and part-time staff. I earned my Senior Program Directorship and in 1998 accepted the position as Association Chaplain. As Chaplain I provide pastoral care for the association, officiate weddings, offer general counseling and per-marital counseling, and for those in the community who have no church home or member of the clergy to care for them, I make hospital visits and officiate funerals.
My position was first in the nation. This platform gave me great opportunity to teach about the YMCA’s storied heritage and Christian Purpose. I speak frequently at national and international conferences, (Association of YMCA Professionals Conferences (AYP), Principles and Practices (P & P)), have had several articles published in the Perspective Magazine, and am co-author of the book, Strengthening the Organizational Heart. With regard to community service, I serve on the Board of Directors for the Downtown Tampa Rotary Club and teach weekly Bible studies at Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church, St. John’s Episcopal Church, and Executive Ministries. I also am a co-leader for Lifework Leadership Tampa, a market place ministry that helps senior business executives learn how to apply biblical principles at work. I enjoy a close partnership with CBMC, which leads the Truth Project in several Tampa area YMCAs, and am an active member of the American Association of Christian Counselors.
I have been married to my wife Phyl for 31 years and we have three adult children and two grandsons, age 11 and 8. I have served as an Aviation Ordinanceman in the U. S. Navy and received an Honorable Discharge in 1981. I hold degrees in music and theology, am a licensed and ordained minister, and a certified Life Coach. Our oldest daughter Danielle is a High School English teacher, our son Nathan is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and hosts his own cooking show, and our youngest daughter Noelle is a budding stand up comedian. Phyl holds a Bachelors Degree in Religious Education and is scheduled to graduate from Liberty University in the spring of 2010 with her Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. She too is a certified Life Coach.
Additionally, I am one of the founding members of the John 17:21 Conference, the Chaplain’s Group, and recently accepted the position as Executive Director for Mission Focus, a YMCA partner which helps staff and volunteers better understand the rich heritage and Christian Purpose of the YMCA. I am the author of the workshops, “Journey To Purpose” and “Can I Care?” and is available to serve your YMCA. Visit the Mission Focus web site at: http://MyMissionFocus.org.
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