This has come up in reaction to the Wellington Square column I wrote this week, published Wednesday about the naysayers on city council’s support of the YMCA-Laurier project.

In the interests of transparency as encouraged by the very association for which I’m president, the column contained this in its third graph:

Full disclosure- I have worked for YMCAs across southern Ontario for almost 15 years, including my current stint as a part-timer at the YMCA of Western Ontario’s facility in Woodstock. Just over 13 years ago, when YMCA of Hamilton / Burlington / Brantford CEO Jim Commerford was CEO of the YMCAs of Barrie, Orillia and Midland, I was one of his underlings.

I am not ashamed of this in any way. For those who don’t like the YMCA, they may never accept any other word I write on this pending development, believing this tie to another YMCA not connected to this project in any way has and will forever colour my coverage.

Let me be as clear as I can on this matter.

My employer is fully aware of my part-time employment outside of this job and should it ever interfere with my ability to do this job, appropriate changes will be made. Journalism is my career and my passion. My involvement with the YMCA enhances me as a person and also supplements my income (which may be a statement on my wages as a journalist, to date).

Working in Woodstock, the two never mixed. I never wrote about the YMCA of Woodstock for the Sentinel-Review and when related matters came up at Woodstock city hall or Oxford County council, one of my colleagues would complete our news coverage.

For the time being, as this issue develops and comes back before council, I will continue to write news articles retelling the evolution of this issue.

Should I wish to write an opinion piece / column on the issue as it evolves, these are always clearly labelled opinion pieces and I will always disclose my relationship to YMCAs in general as is excerpted above. Readers can take that for what it’s worth.

One reader has already suggested I resign from the YMCA I work at, in a different city, under different management, if I continue writing about the development of this YMCA in Brantford. Needless to say I disagree.

Would you?