Bill and Jane Liepis: IOU Leads to Board Service and Estate Gift

Fall, 2014

It all started with an "I owe you"—and the result has been a lot of volunteer service and a bequest in a revised estate plan. When Bill Liepis was invited by Scott Strickler to become a member of the Tuckahoe Family YMCA Board, he willingly reciprocated—Scott had joined the board of another non-profit at Bill's request. Retired from the Army with the rank of colonel after 27 years of active duty, Bill had volunteered with other faith-based organizations and was ready to do more for his community. Once he joined the Tuckahoe Board, Bill soon realized that the Y perfectly fit his values and skills. His wife, Jane, quickly associated with the Y mission as well.

"We were looking for an organization that has a holistic approach to the community," Bill says. "At the Y we have programs for the very young to senior citizens—and everyone in between."

Bill and Jane recently were updating their estate plan and decided to include the Y. Because they have ties with several YMCAs in the greater Richmond area, they designated their gift to two branches and to the YMCA OF GREATER RICHMOND.

"When we were thinking about making a bequest to the Y, we wanted someplace that has good fiscal management and that we knew would use our gift wisely," Jane says. "We particularly wanted to support youth development and education."

Bill's involvement with the Y actually goes back to his youth in Connecticut, when the neighborhood boys would take the bus to swim at a local Y. Jane, a Richmond native, was familiar with the Y through her brother, who was a counselor at Camp Thunderbird in Chesterfield County. And most important, Jane and Bill met because of Jane's membership at the Petersburg Y.

When the John Rolfe branch was just being formed as an off-shoot of the Tuckahoe Y, Bill assisted by providing advisory expertise and volunteer leadership to help the new branch board develop what is now a mature, stand-alone branch.

Partnerships are important to Bill and Jane, and they appreciate how the Y builds partnerships with other non-profit organizations in order to serve the community. A prime example is Bill's membership in the Western Henrico Rotary, which has been a long-time partner with the Tuckahoe Y in the West End.

"The Y and the Rotary share a commitment to building the community," says Bill. "And it's important to us that the Y will continue to provide programs and services that are open to all."