Photo by Scott McCloskey Dr. Gregory Merrick, center, was the 13th recipient of the Dr. Lee Jones Patron of Youth Award during the annual YMCA Light of the Valley fundraiser luncheon held at Wheeling Park's White Palace Wednesday. Joining Merrick following the ceremony are YMCA Executive Director Adam Shinsky, left, and YMCA Board of Directors President Jamie Bordas, who served as the event's emcee.

WHEELING — Regardless of which part of his life or the impact on the Ohio Valley that you examine, Dr. Gregory Merrick is all about team.

Whether itás his medical practice at Wheeling Hospital’s Schiffler Cancer Center, the Cancer Research Classic basketball event he founded and directs, or his commitment to helping youth in the area flourish, Merrick doesnát do it alone.

He made that abundantly clear Wednesday afternoon during his acceptance speech after he was formally named the 2019 âLight of the Valleyã by the Wheeling YMCA at a banquet held at Wheeling Parkás White Palace.

âThere are no such things as individual awards,ã Merrick said to a crowd of some 200 people. âEverything is team and thatás the only way weáre able to accomplish anything. No one accomplishes anything of any consequence on their own. Things only occur successfully within the framework of team.ã

Merrick is the leader, however, of many of the teams in which he serves. He led the way in helping to bring one of the premier prep basketball tournaments to Wheeling and he helps lead the way at Wheeling Hospital through his world renowned practice, involving menás health and specifically prostate cancer.

All of those factors combined resulted in YMCA Executive Director Adam Shinsky and the board of directors to choose Merrick as the 13th recipient of the Dr. Lee Jone àPatron of Youthá Award.

âThis means an enormous amount to me because I live in this community,ã Merrick said following the banquet. âItás great to be honored by an organization thatás been here since 1884 and been an integral part of this community and my life. It means even more when you know that it helps kids.ã

In each of the 12 years that Cancer Research Classic has been held, Merrick has never missed an opportunity to talk about how the premise of the event continues to remain to use basketball as a vehicle to promote menás health.

Through the CRC, Merrick has branched it off to include speeches to teams, coaching clinics and individual basketball skill development. All of which have kids in mind.

Since he was being honored by the YMCA, which raised more than $64,000 through the banquet, Merrick opted to focus his speech on the future generations of kids.

âI want to talk about whatás really important and our future, which is in the hands of our young people,ã Merrick said. âThis generation of young people is very, very unique because, on the surface, they have educational, social, economic, technologic and business opportunities that no other generation has had the chance to experience.ã

Despite so many advantages available, Merrick stressed that itás also one of the most difficult times in our society because of âall of the obstacles there are to navigate.ã

Things such as family, societal and religious issues as well as the âsoccer mom mentality that is doing more to destroy the competitive nature of kids than anything.ã

Merrick wasnát strictly talking about athletics totally when he was speaking of the competitive nature changing.

âAll of the things our kids have to navigate have resulted in isolation, loneliness and they feel more pressure than we did as kids,ã Merrick said. âTo be successful, regardless if youáre an adult or a kid, you have to feel safe and protected. None of us will succeed without feeling that.ã

With any level of success comes failure and Merrick made sure he pointed that out.

âFailure isnát fatal,ã Merrick said. âIt doesnát define you. It refines you. Failure is an opportunity to learn and get better. Suffering builds character and resiliency. Weáre going to fail and thereás nothing wrong with failure as long as you learn from it and move forward from it.ã

Another trait of highly successful people that Merrick touched on at length was commitment.

âThere is no gray area with commitment,ã Merrick said. âYouáre either with us or youáre not. You canát be committed five days a week and take the weekend off. But, you can only be committed to a couple of things, whether youáre a kid or an adult and those are, in my opinion, family and God, their academics and a co-ciricular activity, meaning either sports, band or drama.ã

West Virginia University menás basketball coach Bob Huggins was the keynote speaker for the event.

âHuggs is a legend in (West Virginia) and thereás nobody who does more in this state, for the state, than Bob Huggins … nobody,ã Merrick said.

YMCA Board of Directors President Jamie Bordas, who served as the eventás emcee, announced a âmulti-million dollar capital campaignã for improvements and expansion to the YMCA.

âWe have an ever-growing need for space and programs and we simply no longer can accommodate that need,ã Bordas said. âWeáre not going to be renovating, but weáre also going to be building and changing. We want to make the YMCA a great place for the next 100 years and beyond.ã

Bordas went on to explain that more details of the project would be announced in the coming weeks and months.

âItás not something that we would like to do, but itás something we have to and need to do,ã Bordas said. âOur kids need a place where they feel welcomed, safe and loved. All of those things happen at the YMCA.ã