MARIETTA – The board of the Betsey Mills Club is looking to continue to grow its number of users, and will soon be welcoming a new executive director into the facility.

Executive director Linda Lewis recently stepped down from the position after 11 years, although she will stay to help train her replacement. She declined to comment about the decision.

“I’ve loved being a part of the The Betsey Mills Club,” said Lewis in a press release. “The club is a unique place. It provides wonderfully diverse programs to everyone in the community and improves the quality of life for all who are involved.”

During her time at the club, Lewis oversaw a $1.7 million renovation of the property, including the installation of a modern heating and air conditioning system, a complete roof replacement and renovation of the locker rooms for both men and women who use their pool for warm water therapy.

According to the board, the final project of the current renovations at 300 Fourth St. will be replacing the old roof with a new copper roof, which will begin within the next couple of weeks. The series of renovations began in late March and is expected to be completed within a few months.

“We had to move a lot around to accommodate the work, but everyone did their part,” said Betsey Learning Tree Director Kathy Bartlett.

There are 18 staff members at the Betsey Mills Club. The staff said they have noticed an increase in numbers after renovating parts of their facility. The club receives funding in many ways including grant funds, fundraising and tuition from the day care and preschool programs.

“The councils and boards all work together with the fundraisers to keep this working,” said Bartlett. “We do get grants sometimes and we try and get any grant that we can. We are also supported by the community through United Way.”

In 1911 the Betsey Mills Club was founded by Betsey Mills with the help of several women in the community, and then in 1927 William Mills donated the club to the community as a memorial for his wife.

The club offers an array of services and programs for the community such as pool therapy, many health enhancement programs, a day care and preschool center and Red Cross authorized swimming lessons.

Betsey Mills Club also provides safe and secure dormitories to women for rent.

According to board member Jennifer Offenberger, the club has 14 dorms and only one is currently available for rent.

While Lewis is stepping down, the Betsey Mills Club Board is searching for candidates to take over her position. The board met Thursday evening to discuss the beginning stages of searching for a new executive director.

“We decided to keep Linda Lewis on part-time,” said Laura Rush, board president. “We have got our job description written up and we are working on distributing them.”

Rush said Lewis has agreed to work throughout the hiring and training process of the new executive director. The board is asking for all job applications to be submitted by Sept. 15. The candidate for the new position will take part in a series of interviews with the board ultimately making the final decision.

Offenberger said they are looking for someone who has had several years of experience in management and nonprofit organizations, the ability to work with several different groups while having a strong relationship with the community.

As the Betsey Mills Club moves forward into the future, the staff is hoping to see a continuance of good communication.

“I hope to continue with a strong staff and working together,” said Bartlett. “We are a business and we need to survive. We have learned the importance of running a small business and we want to continue our knowledge of that.”

While working at the club, Bartlett has seen seven executive directors pass through at Betsey Mills.

“It always works out,” she said.

The club provides several services to the community, but Rush said their day care and preschool program have been the club’s most successful programs.

“Our day care has been a great thing for the program,” said Rush. “As a working mother myself, child care is something very important and we want to make that possible.”

Bartlett said their Learning Tree Program is one of the club’s largest contributers to their revenue.

“Learning Tree is very big here,” said Bartlett. “It’s a plus service for the club and I have worked on the budgets and it is a significant portion to the club’s revenue.”

The Betsey Mills Learning Tree Program holds an average of 60 children a day.

“We have an 11-week summer program for 3-to-5-year-olds that holds an average of 40 children,” said Bartlett. “For the Little Sprouts Program we have about 30 children a day.”

In 2007, Lewis and Bartlett began offering the Little Sprouts Program for 6-week-olds to 3-year-olds at their facility.

“There was a great need for this program in the community,” said Bartlett. “I was turning away phone calls and so Linda and I jumped on it and so far it’s been a good increase of revenue.”

The board and staff are working on updating the club’s policies and regulations for the upcoming year for their current staff and 661 members.

“We are looking forward to focusing on this update,” said Rush.

Offenberger added that the update is a good strategic plan to keep everything going for the next couple years.

“The staff is a great group of people to work with and we want to continue that,” Bartlett said.