Durant Introduces Senate Resolution Commending Longtime YMCA Director Barney Reiley
Reiley retired last year after four decades working for the organization.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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State Senator Tara Durant on Friday morning introduced a resolution commending Barney Reiley, who led the Rappahannock Area Family YMCA for more than 30 years as chief executive officer.
Reiley began his career with the YMCA in the 1980s as a program and youth camp director and retired in 2025 after “more than four decades of service and 32 years of transformational leadership as chief executive officer,” the Senate Joint Resolution states.
Durant introduced and read the resolution aloud on the Senate floor on Friday morning, with Reiley in attendance.
“This came as a total surprise to me and to say that I am honored is an understatement,” Reiley told the Advance.
During his leadership, the area YMCA grew into a multi-branch organization that now serves more than 50,000 through membership or participation in its programs, which include before- and after-school care for many area children.
Reiley oversaw the expansion of facilities and the opening of new branches in Spotsylvania, King George, and Caroline counties.
But among his proudest achievements, the resolution states, is his focus on “providing financial assistance for the less fortunate and programs for special needs children and adults to make the Rappahannock Area YMCA more inclusive and accessible for all members of the community.”
Reiley said the organization now awards “almost one million dollars in financial assistance every year.” He said the YMCA staff and the board of directors are among the many people who have contributed to the organization’s success over his four-decade career.
“So this award is really an award for the community, because together we raised the necessary dollars to build a financially viable association that is committed to enhancing the quality of life of the citizens on the Planning District 16 and surrounding areas,” Reiley said.
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