Family and Crafts Keep Micki Energized

By Micki Fisher

Holdrege Membership Director

I am Micki Fisher, a momma to two boys: Jonah, 14, a sports-loving typical teenage boy, and Ridley, 12, who likes a little of everything from sports to hanging with friends to animals. I also 3 dogs, 2 snails, 2 fish and a leopard gecko. Lizzie is a 5-year-old Daschaund/Miniature Pincher cross who has the most beautiful blue eyes. Daisy is a 2 ½-year-old Westie Mix, and our newest fur baby, Kyra, is a 7-month-old BUG – Bulldog, Boxer & Pug mix and the biggest snuggler!

I started at the YMCA as the STEM program leader in October 2015, then worked at the Front Desk and then became a program coordinator.  I left the YMCA for a few years before I realized that this is where my true passion lies, and I came back. Since then I have been a fitness associate, YMAP (Middle School After Program) and Summer Camp leader for middle schoolers, coordinated Adult Socials, Craft Classes, Fishing, Photography, Front Desk, and now I am the Membership Director.

What does the Membership Director do? I would say a little of everything!  My main goal is to be here for our members – whether that is to listen if they need an ear or to hear what needs to be fixed.  Without our members, our Y wouldn’t exist!

Jonah has started working at the YMCA in the sports department with Joel. This summer, he helped with baseball, and this fall he refereed Youth Flag Football and Soccer.  He will be helping with Rookie Sports this fall and then Basketball.

Ridley started Mad Batter Bakery this year and has made cookies and cupcakes. He participated in the Funk Cupcake Festival this year and won the Best Tasting Cupcake in the Talented Kids division.  He has also done some baking for different events at the YMCA.

My favorite memories at the YMCA (so far) are

• The Duck Run when Ethan Berg was the last kiddo coming into the finish, and the other kids came to run with him the last stretch of the race.
• When the YMAP Summer Camp kids challenged me to go down the water slide (I don’t like heights) when we went to the Hastings AquaCourt. One of them even had my phone in the pool taking pictures and a few more of them went with me for support!  It was a great experience thanks to those kiddos!

A little bit about me personally – I enjoy photography, crafts, and spending time with my family! Photography is something that is fun to me because you can freeze a moment in time to remember it forever. Fall is my favorite time of year to photograph because of all of the natural beauty of the fall colors. My favorite hobby is crafting because it is my de-stress time. Whenever I paint, I can just relax for those few hours and let the worries of life go away for a while. This is why I have brought the craft classes to the YMCA. It is a great place to be surrounded by others while doing what you enjoy! It is also fun to see how unique everyone’s pieces turn out.

Spending time with my family is my most treasured activity. My parents and my family try to have Sunday supper together every week. We still have many extended family get-togethers throughout the year and when we do, it is between 50-80 people. I am very fortunate to have both of my grandmothers, one is 93 and the other is 85.  Time with my grandmothers is the most valued part of my life.

My husband, Justin, and I met in college and had an instant friendship. It took us a few years to start dating but then we were engaged in a year and married a year after that.  We decided to become foster parents to a little boy named Jonah whom we were very fortunate to be able to adopt after 3 years.  We added Ridley to our family during the process of adopting Jonah.  Then, we got a phone call to foster a little nine-month-old girl.  We went from no kids to three kids in 2 years!

Justin and I were also active with the American Cancer Society and Relay for Life for about 10 years.  We were both on the RFL planning committee when we found out that he was diagnosed with Leukemia in November of 2013.  Within 2 days we were in Omaha at the Med Center where they started treatments. I remember asking the doctors the night that we arrived at the hospital “how they knew that they caught it early” and they said, “because he walked in here.”

The next weekend our kiddos came to visit Justin at the hospital. By Sunday night, he was put on a ventilator and was moved to ICU.  After 32 days of being diagnosed, he passed away on December 16, 2013.  At the same time that Justin was diagnosed, our foster daughter was being reunified with her biological parents, and that transition happened a little sooner than planned since we were in Omaha.  Fast forward 9 years later, and here’s where I am today!