Petersen Aquatic Center to continue Arlene Petersen’s legacy

The Petersen family has called Sumner home for five generations now.

When the YMCA did its original survey of the Sumner community, Gary and Arlene Petersen were involved since that first conversation. With the Petersens raising their kids on Lake Tapps, Arlene had always stressed the importance of water safety.

“We grew up on Lake Tapps,” said Robyn DeLorm, Gary and Arlene’s daughter. “Being always around the lake, my mom was always making sure someone was watching the kids. When the number of drownings kept increasing, my mom realized that the kids were missing out on the opportunity for swim lessons like we had when we were in school.”

When Arlene passed away on February 13, 2013, her high school sweetheart knew he had to keep his wife’s legacy surrounding the importance of water safety alive. Gary decided to increase his donation to the YMCA.

Not only did Gary increase his donation to the Y, he and DeLorm jumped in as capital campaign chairs at the Y. DeLorm now serves on the Gordon Family Y’s volunteer advisory council.

When it came time to name the aquatic center, Y officials decided to name the facility after some of its biggest supporters.

“The Petersen family has been huge supporters of the Y here in Sumner,” executive director Andrea Millikan said.

The 14,000-square-foot Petersen Aquatic Center is set to open at 7 a.m. Dec. 12. The facility boasts the first splash pad inside any Y in Pierce or Kitsap County, a lazy river, a sauna, a hot tub that seats 25, and a zero-step entry through a simulated beachfront.

“It will have water aerobics, swim lessons, lap swim and open swim,” senior aquatics director Jenna Lehman said.

The opening of the aquatic center also marks the return of swim lessons for some elementary students in the Sumner School District, DeLorm said.

With each day, anticipation grows in the Sumner community for the center’s doors to open.

“I don’t think I’ve seen this many people who are so excited for a pool,” Lehman said.

Millikan says the children of the community are even more excited.

“You can see them looking in the windows at the construction — they are so excited,” she said. “They can really see that it’s about to open.”

The Y hopes the wide variety of activities aquatic center is set to offer will serve a majority of its 12,600 members.

“It has great accessibility for all of our members,” Millikan said. “It’s great to have a space where anyone can come participate.”

On Saturday (Dec. 5) the Petersen family will take the first swim in the pool. While the center’s completion is exciting and a much needed addition to the community, it means even more to DeLorm and her family.

“It’s very exciting for us,” DeLorm said. “It’s something that my mom had wanted for so long. I wish she could be here to see it.”

This story was originally published December 1, 2015 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Petersen Aquatic Center to continue Arlene Petersen’s legacy."