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Parkersburg YMCA to honor Thomas McCarty

VIENNA — The YMCA of Parkersburg’s 2017 Edwin L.D. Dils Heart of Our Community Award Dinner will be held 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Parkersburg Country Club in Vienna.

The annual dinner this year will honor the late Thomas L. McCarty, who died in May 2015. McCarty was a supporter of the YMCA and served on its board of directors.

“He was a saint in so many ways,” said Ann Bailey, a member of the YMCA Board of Directors.

The dinner raises funds so that low-income families in the region can participate in YMCA activities and programs, said Tara Bailey, executive director of the YMCA in Parkersburg.

This year’s goal is $130,000, she said. Last year, the dinner and campaign raised $160,000, including the participation from the United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley, Bailey said.

Last year’s collection enabled the YMCA to provide assistance to 193 families, 90 youth, 84 adults and 20 seniors.

The event starts at 5:30 p.m.

Among the speakers will be Leta McCarty, McCarty’s widow; his son, Bailey, and Charlie Burd, chairman of the YMCA Board of Directors. The Smoot Theatre Boys Ensemble, under the direction of Felice Jorgeson, will perform during the dinner.

Tickets are $125.

Money raised support the YMCA’s financial assistance program that ensures all youth, adults and families can benefit from membership and programs regardless of the ability to pay. The agency has a financial break down which shows: $1,000 sends a child to summer day camp; $800 provides working parents five months of child care for infants and preschoolers; $300 covers a month of after-school care for a family with two children; and $125 teaches a child how to swim.

The donation levels are:

* Champion, $5,000 and above, which entitles the benefactor to a reserved table, eight tickets and a full-page ad.

* Platinum, $2,500 and above, which reserves half a table, four tickets and a full page ad.

* Gold, $1,000 and above, of which they receive two tickets and a half page ad.

* Silver, $500 and above, entitling two tickets and a one-line ad.

* Bronze, $250 and above, for two tickets and a Journal listing.

* Pewter, $125 and above, for one ticket and a Journal listing.

McCarty was from Grove City, Ohio. He graduated from Ohio University, served in the U.S. Navy and spent many hours at the Zanesville YMCA.

McCarty worked for the Zanesville Mould Co. and later the Hilti Corp., of which his territory included Wood and Pleasants counties. In 1980 a customer from Wood County and McCarty went into business and formed Architectural Interior Projects in Vienna.

He commuted until 1982 when he moved to Parkersburg and within walking distance of the YMCA. In 1997, he became the sole owner and president of AIP.

The McCarty family was active in St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church and in Catholic schools. He served on the parish council, the local Catholic schools board of education, the Wheeling-Charleston Diocese Board of Education, chaired a capital campaign for the Catholic school system and received the Distinguished Bishop’s Cross by the diocese.

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