Photo by Derek Redd Jody Contraguerro, left, and Robert Contraguerro Sr. pose beside a plaque that dedicates the Wheeling YMCA's gymnasium to the couple for the major contributions the two have made to the Y over the years.

Robert Contraguerro remembers the day he fell in love with the YMCA.

As a child, he would walk from his East Wheeling home to Ohio Valley General Hospital to visit his father when he was ill. One day, his friends asked him to come along with them to the downtown YMCA to swim and play in the gym. He didn’t have the money for an entry fee, but he followed anyway.

When he got to the front desk, Contraguerro’s friends told the person working there he was with them. All the worker said was that, as long as he didn’t cause any trouble, he could come to the Y anytime he wanted.

“To this day, I don’t know if I was supposed to pay,” he said, “because nobody asked me. And they probably never asked me because they knew I couldn’t afford it.”

That memory has stayed with Contraguerro for the rest of his life. It formed the foundation for the way he lives, the way he does business as president of Panhandle Cleaning and Restoration, and the way he always wants to give back to the community, especially to the Wheeling YMCA.

YMCA officials honored the longtime and significant contributions of Contraguerro and his wife Jody by dedicating the Y’s gymnasium to the couple Friday morning in Elm Grove.

Wheeling YMCA Executive Director Adam Shinsky said the dedication was only fitting for the couple. It was the first of such dedications that will be coming with the unveiling of the facility’s $7 million in renovations. It’s also one of the first things that visitors see when they walk into the Y.

“It’s really hard to put into words because they’ve meant so much to the YMCA,” Shinsky said of the couple. “Without them, this (renovation) project doesn’t happen. They do a lot.”

The Contraguerros have supported the renovation project from the ground floor. At the start of the Y’s capital campaign, the couple pledged $250,000 as a leading donation. It wasn’t just the dollar figure, Shinsky said. It was the fact that the Contraguerros put their stamp of approval on the project, which spurred others to do the same.

Jamie Bordas, managing partner of the Bordas & Bordas law firm and president of the Wheeling YMCA’s board of directors, has seen the Contraguerros’ kindness and generosity up close. They’re his in-laws, the parents of his wife Stacy and grandparents to his children.

“When you look at different projects, whether it be around the valley, around the state or around the country, you see the contributions to these projects that come from large corporations, and we certainly appreciate those,” Bordas said. “But when you look at the contributions that Bob and Jodi have made to this YMCA, they’re self-made folks. They started off with nothing and built themselves up, so this really means something when they’re taking the money out of their pockets, especially the sums they have, to make the contributions to this project.”

The Contraguerros’ granddaughter Alexis Bordas — a three-time Gatorade West Virginia Girls Basketball Player of the Year at Wheeling Park, all-Atlantic 10 freshman team member and incoming women’s basketball player at West Virginia University — also spoke at the ceremony and was the person who unveiled the plaque that will adorn the gymnasium.

Robert Contraguerro said all he and his wife have wanted to do was show their love for the community and the YMCA.

“It’s a great honor to have something named after you,” he said. “We just try to do the right things. If you can do that in your life and someone wants to name something after you, that’s an honor you really can’t explain.”