After five years as executive director of the East Dallas YMCA, Nora Tomlin recently took over the same job with the White Rock/Lake Highlands YMCA.

“I loved my job in East Dallas,” Tomlin says, “but the opportunity to be a part of a new facility was exciting.”

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Tomlin is referring to the new Lake Highlands YMCA, a $3.5 million facility at the corner of Greenville and Whitehurst.

Construction is expected to begin by October, and the project should take about a year to complete.

“There is an interest and desire for the Y’s programs in Lake Highlands,” Tomlin says, noting that many Lake Highlands families already participate in programs such as Indian Princesses and summer camp. Unfortunately, the Y’s current location makes it difficult for Lake Highlands residents to participate in many of the center’s activities, including fitness programs, she says.

“Most people choose a work-out location that’s close to home,” Tomlin says.

Tomlin says the YMCA has something special to offer Lake Highlands beyond summer camp and aerobic classes – “a sense of community with opportunities for personal growth and development.”

“Since I moved here, there has been such a sense of family at the Y,” she says. So while she admits to leaving her job at the East Dallas YMCA “with a lot of emotion,” she is eager to establish a similar link to the community in Lake Highlands.

“We have a number of board members who have grown up with the Y,” Tomlin says. “It will be great to make that a tradition in Lake Highlands.”