Chartered in 1954, “Cobb Marietta YMCA” opened its first facility on Roswell Street, offering only youth services—summer camp, basketball, volleyball, ping pong, dance and Hi-Y Clubs. By 1958, the Y also offered summer day camp at Camp Latimer, off Bells Ferry Road at Shallowford Road.
In 1961, the renamed “YMCA of Cobb County” moved to Austin Avenue and offered a wider variety of programs including gymnastics, belly dancing and dog obedience classes. Four years later, we introduced the first fitness programs in the county—separate exercise classes for men and women. Other popular programs included the Y's Seniors Club, Y-Indian Guides parent/child program and swimming lessons at the Elks Club.
In the ‘70s and ‘80s, the YMCA of Cobb County continued to pioneer programming, bringing to Cobb its first youth soccer program, the first aerobics classes and the first preschool sports program. YMCA Kids Country day camp on Lake Allatoona opened in 1984. That year, the Y also moved out of the facility on Austin Avenue and opened a storefront in the Sprayberry Crossing shopping center as a capital campaign began to build its first modern facility.
In 1989, YMCA of Cobb County opened the beautiful facility on East Piedmont Road. In the ensuing years, the Y expanded twice to better serve its members. In 1995, the Cobb Y built a two-story addition with a new aerobics studio and expanded strength training area. And four years later, the Adventure Center expansion added a Playscape, climbing/bouldering wall, sport court and lounge.
YMCA of Cobb County changed the name of facility to East Cobb YMCA in 2000, when the organization doubled in size as a second branch opened in west Cobb.
In 2003, East Cobb YMCA's entire site underwent a dramatic metamorphosis to create the spacious campus that exists today to serve 42,976 facility and program members. With easier access at a new traffic light, hundreds of new parking spaces and a lovely landscape, which includes walking trails along a pond, picnic areas and lighted soccer fields, East Cobb YMCA has become a community centerpiece.
East Cobb was renamed McCleskey-East Cobb YMCA in December 2006 after the retirement of long-standing Executive Director, Tom McCleskey.
