“I was ‘Chip’ from day one,” says Chip Radebaugh, whose given name is Charles, like his optometrist father, Charlie. Born on an Air Force base in Texas, Radebaugh lived on another base in Japan until age five, when his family moved to Cottage Grove. He came to Eugene with his mom when his parents separated a year later. “I went to the YMCA summer camp when I was a kid,” he notes. After graduating from South Eugene High School and from the University of Puget Sound, where he studied psychology and business, Radebaugh spent four summers as a fishing guide in Alaska. “It was awesome,” he says. Returning to Eugene, he worked in real estate and joined the Y once again. “I’ve always turned to it for social connection,” he says, “and for mind and body conditioning.” He noticed a young woman, Elise, in a step aerobics class, was introduced by mutual friends, and they began dating. Together, they moved to her home state, Colorado, to study at the University of Colorado. “I got law and MBA degrees, she did veterinary medicine, and we got married,” he says. “We moved back to Eugene in 2006 and renewed our YMCA membership.” Chip Radebaugh began working for Rainbow Valley Design and Construction in 2007. He is now a partner and general manager of the company. Elise opened her holistic veterinary practice, the Healing Paws Wellness Center, in 2008. In 2010, Radebaugh approached the Eugene Family YMCA to ask, “Can I lend a hand?” He’s been a member of the YMCA’s volunteer board ever since, and is currently its president. “The Y is an important community hub,” he says. “It’s the largest after-school care provider in Lane County, serving 17 elementary schools. Each day those kids get a healthy snack and participate in athletic and artistic activities.”

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