They already had a management agreement.
For years in the Lehigh Valley, there were several YMCAs and, outside of the agreement among some that a member of one could be a visitor at another, they were very much their own operations.
That began changing several years ago as mergers began to create more centralized and more effective management.
On Monday, the Allentown YMCA and YWCA announced they were joining the Greater Valley YMCA, which already includes Bethlehem, Easton/Phillipsburg, Nazareth, Slate Belt and Suburban North YMCAs and the Forks Education Center.
A majority of voting members of the Allentown YMCA and YWCA approved the merger on May 23, according to a news release.
Earlier in the year, the Allentown organizations approved a management deal with the Grater Valley Y that brought in Executive Director Cheryl Tuturice to run the Allentown facilities, the news release said.
Membership at the Allentown organizations has grown 17 percent in the past year to 3,800, the news release said.
"This is the fifth merger in the last six years and will make us the fifth largest YMCA in the state of Pennsylvania," Frank Frey, who just retired as president and CEO of the Greater Valley YMCA, said in the news release. "We are proud to say the Greater Valley YMCA now includes all YMCA facilities in Northampton and Lehigh counties."
Members of the Allentown Ys will be able to use any of the other regional facilities and take free classes there, the news release said.
"Having this agreement with the Greater Valley YMCA and working together allows us to develop more opportunities," Peter Dent, president of the Allentown YMCA Board of Directors, said in the news release. "It gives us the ability to advance the Y's mission regionally more than we could on our own. And Cheryl is a great YMCA professional with significant nonprofit experience, especially in early childhood education."
A leader of the Allentown YWCA was equally glowing about the opportunity, the news release said.
"The merger with the Greater Valley Y puts us in the position to share resources, including staff, and brings additional expertise to our operation," Mar Haeussler, president of the Allentown YWCA Board of Directors, said in the news release. "We will benefit from a bigger marketing budget and grant-writing and Cheryl's experience will help us adjust and expand our fitness programs and facilities, along with other programs, to better meet the needs of our members."
Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.