Ottawa YMCA CEO Joe Capece says the organization is within $1 million of what it needs from local donations to start its new building this fall. The Y is getting a $500,000 boost from plumber Larry Kiest of LMK Pipe Renewal. He swam at the Y when he was a child, worked as a plumber under the pool when he was older, and learned how to dive there as an adult.
And the lifelong connection to the Y is why he’s giving back to it. His wife, Karen Kiest, says she used the Y’s child care program when she was a single mom.
Larry Kiest says he recalls seeing pictures of donors from long ago at the Y and thinking they were old. Now he’s their age.
Left to right: Larry Kiest, Karen Kiest, former Ottawa mayor Bob Eschbach. The Kiests are giving $500,000 to the Ottawa YMCA’s new building project.