Dr. Tom Den Boer, who has been executive director of the South Dade YMCA for eight months, believes his program to increase the Y’s visibility and make it more accessible to the community is right on schedule.

"We’ve expanded the operation," Den Boer said. "We now have an administrative office in Pinecrest at 12685 S. Dixie Hwy., in the northern end of our corridor, and an office to the south at 17501 SW 117 Ave., in a relationship with the Children’s Home Society. Within 60 days, we’ll open a western office in Country Walk-Deerwood, as that area continues to grow with more and more families."

Den Boer said his goal with the expansion is to make the YMCA — which serves an area from N. Kendall Drive south to SW 216th Street — more locally involved and more convenient for members.

"With the north and south office locations, we are within a 10-minute drive in our service area for anybody wanting to obtain or register for a YMCA program," he said.

Den Boer also noted that the South Dade Y’s board of directors has more than doubled during his tenure, going from 17 to 40 members.

"We are making progress, making an impact, and providing quality services and programming for people," Den Boer said. "As a result, more community leaders want to be a part of that."

The personable Den Boer noted that he is continually adding new programs even as he has expanded the Y’s appeal. He cited the summer camp at Pinecrest’s Coral Park and soccer program as an example, noting that soccer was only a fall-spring activity when he arrived and is now operated on a year-round basis.

"The honeymoon for me has been the people embracing what I want to do," Den Boer said. "I haven’t met a lot of resistance since I came here and I really believe the people are looking for something to embrace."

Den Boer said his long-range project is to build or develop a full-service facility that would include an indoor Olympic-size swimming pool, two or three full-size basketball courts, racquet ball courts, Jacuzzi, sauna, day care facility, aerobic room, weight room and cardio room.

"We have had several facility meetings, but we’re at the beginning stage of gathering information and trying to solidify what makes sense about where and when," he said. "We hope that by the year 2000, in January, we can come out with a full campaign and project where we’ll be in one year. We’re going to go down one of two tracks — either build a full-service, 60,000-square-foot facility from the ground up, or look at the possibility and entertain thoughts of re-structuring a free-standing building already up."

Den Boer confirmed that he has an interest in the Upton building on Pinecrest Parkway (South Dixie Highway) at 115th Street, but he said the property on first look appears to be too expensive for the Y.

"Yes, we are looking at it, as we are looking at a number of other free-standing buildings," he said.

The South Dade YMCA was founded in the early 1980s and provides youth sports, after school care, aquatics, summer camp, holiday camp and teen programs. A family membership is $80 and a single membership is $50.

This year’s membership package includes all the normal benefits, plus admission discounts to Metrozoo and Parrot Jungle, Subway Restaurant food coupons, a Celebration Bayside cruise certificate good for 10 people and a YMCA T-shirt and poster.