{"id":28283,"date":"2016-02-29T09:00:25","date_gmt":"2016-02-29T14:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=28283"},"modified":"2016-02-29T09:00:25","modified_gmt":"2016-02-29T14:00:25","slug":"ymca-honors-employees-for-excellence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=28283","title":{"rendered":"YMCA honors employees for excellence"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_1297407\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Employee-of-the-Year-Stephanie-Price-WCAY-300x200.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1297407\" class=\"wp-image-1297407 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Employee-of-the-Year-Stephanie-Price-WCAY-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Employee-of-the-Year---Stephanie-Price---WCAY\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1297407\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stephanie Price (right) of the West Chester Area Y branch, received the Employee of the Year Award for her work in child watch. Pictured here with Teri Edgar, executive director of the West Chester Area Y.<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">WEST CHESTER \u2014 The YMCA of Greater Brandywine hosted their 2<\/span><span class=\"s2\"><sup>nd<\/sup><\/span><span class=\"s1\"> annual Celebration of Excellence on Feb. 4 at the Mendenhall Inn. This event celebrates Y employees and their commitment to the Y\u2019s mission as well as honors those employees who particularly exemplify these traits.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The YMCA nurtures the potential of youth, promotes healthy living and fosters a sense of social responsibility ensuring all in Chester County can participate in the many life-changing programs the Y offers.<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cThis is my favorite event of the year,\u201d said CEO of the YMCA of Greater Brandywine, Denise Day. \u201cIt gives us the chance to honor and thank our staff for their unwavering dedication to the Y\u2019s mission. Our committed staff make us who we are and we couldn\u2019t serve the community as well as we do without them.\u201d<\/span><span class=\"s1\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">One of the most coveted awards presented is the Dedicated Service Award. It is bestowed upon a Y employee who has at least ten years of service, demonstrates an ongoing commitment to the Y\u2019s mission, consistently exhibits Y values and has made a positive and long-lasting contribution to Y programs and members.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">This year\u2019s Dedicated Service Award was presented to a long-time Y staff member whose dedication to local youth clearly demonstrates the Y\u2019s mission to youth development, healthy living and social responsibility<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Glenda Masten, a 21-year Y employee, was honored for her continued commitment to the youth of the community through her devoted and enthusiastic work in the gymnastics program at the Oscar Lasko YMCA and Childcare Center.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cComing to work for the Y\u2019s gymnastics program 21 years ago was one of the best decisions I\u2019ve made.\u201d Masten said. \u201cI worked as a coach at another gym but coaches were unfriendly to each other and even to their own gymnasts. Working at the Y is different. Everyone lives the Y values and we instill these important character traits in our gymnasts.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Masten has been involved in the gymnastics program for her entire tenure at the Y and spearheaded the Y\u2019s Annual Winter Gymnastics Show, now in its 18<\/span><span class=\"s2\"><sup>th<\/sup><\/span><span class=\"s1\"> year. This show enables even the youngest aspiring gymnast to get a taste of performing and experience the reward of working towards goals and being part of a community that celebrates their hard work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cOne of the reasons I\u2019ve stayed with the Y for so long because of the nurturing learning environment it provides for so many children. Children are encouraged to do their very best not just in gymnastics or another sport but in everything they do,\u201d Masten explained.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Knowing I make a difference in children\u2019s lives keeps me coming back year after year. There\u2019s just no better feeling.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Y offers many programs that support positive development in youth. As the number one childcare provider in the nation, the Y gives youth the opportunity to learn in a safe, supportive and nurturing environment while their parents work. There are also programs for teens to be engaged on weekends and after school hours when the risk for delinquent behavior is at its highest. Kids get valuable water safety lessons through the Y\u2019s Safety Around Water program and parents of the 1 out of 10 kids who are home alone every summer get peace of mind knowing their kids are happy, safe and engaged in Y summer camps.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">There\u2019s something for everyone at the Y. There are hundreds of exercise options for all ages and fitness levels from preschool to seniors, opportunities to take part in organized community service events as well as enrichment programs like the arts, environmental education, sports and more.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">At the celebration, Stephanie Price of the West Chester Area Y branch, received the Employee of the Year Award for her work in child watch where she can be found with a smile and positive attitude.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cOur employees and their steadfast dedication to our mission is the fabric that holds our community together,\u201d said Joe Tankle, director of planned giving at the YMCA of Greater Brandywine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">100 years from now the Y will continue to deliver programs and services to the people in the community who need it the most.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WEST CHESTER \u2014 The YMCA of Greater Brandywine hosted their 2nd annual Celebration of Excellence on Feb. 4 at the Mendenhall Inn. This event celebrates Y employees and their commitment to the Y\u2019s mission as well as honors those employees who particularly exemplify these traits. The YMCA nurtures the potential of youth, promotes healthy living [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1043,29,8112,388],"class_list":["post-28283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-awards","tag-chester-county","tag-employees","tag-ymca"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}