On Wednesday, September 4, 2024, the South Shore YMCA invited all staff and their families to the SSYMCA Outdoor Aquatic Center in Hanover for its annual Staff Appreciation celebration.
The South Shore YMCA association has over 900 employees serving the community at Y locations across the South Shore. The event was an opportunity for staff to gather, meet new colleagues, and reunite with old friends at the Outdoor Aquatic Center, as kids and parents splashed in the outdoor pools, played in the spray park and playgrounds, relaxed in the shade, or chatted under umbrellas enjoying great food and music.
South Shore YMCA president and CEO, Paul Gorman, welcomed the crowd and thanked Y staff for their dedication to building a strong Y community.
“Thanks to a great core of dedicated staff, we are surpassing our pre-pandemic staff and membership levels,” shared Gorman. “We are on track to have our most successful year ever in terms of community impact and the number of people we serve through membership, program participants, camps, and pre-school and after-school programs. It’s a real ‘thank you’ to the great staff we have here and all the amazing work you do.”
Gorman provided updates on the “Leave Your Mark” capital campaign projects, including the completion of the SSYMCA Outdoor Aquatics Center, which opened in 2023, and the upcoming ribbon cutting of the new South Shore YMCA Nature Center Preschool building in Norwell later this month. Gorman also announced plans to expand the Hale Family YMCA in Quincy to include additional space for group exercise, a community space for teens, and a new gymnastics center.
“There’s a lot of exciting things happening here,” said Gorman. “Thank you for everything you do to make us a success.”
Director of Human Resources, Alexandra Mason, presented dedication pins recognizing years of service to over 60 employees who have served the South Shore Y community for 5, 10, 15, 20, and even 25 years.
“It’s because of you that we have the amazing Y community we have,” said Mason. “I’m truly honored to be part of this team. It’s the greatest Y.”
Gorman then presented fitness instructor Annie Donovan with the first annual Stacey Cross Hugues Staystrong Award, recognizing the “extraordinary dedication and service” of an individual affiliated with the SSYMCA Staystrong Cancer Support Program, which Stacey helped launch in 2019 and actively supported until her passing in 2023.
In 2019, Donovan was working at the Emilson YMCA welcome desk when she started taking water aerobics classes. Her instructor saw her enthusiasm and encouraged her to teach. She became a certified Aqua Fitness instructor, and in five years her popular classes more than quadrupled in size.
Her program has become an informal support group that offers so much more than exercise. These members send get-well cards, share life advice, and more. Annie hosts regular holiday luncheons for her class, asking participants to join her in giving back to the community by donating holiday gifts, toiletries, and food to the SSYMCA Food Pantry.
Over these five years of positive impact, Annie battled breast cancer twice. She faced her diagnosis, treatment and recovery with her usual positive outlook, gaining strength from the support of her many friends at the Y, while supporting others dealing with a diagnosis of their own.
“It’s a journey that you never want to go on,” shared Annie, “I definitely had some very, very dark days, and truly this community here has gotten me through those days, as well as every other day.”
“I am just so honored that this award has been given to me,” she added. “We all come to the Y to get a little bit better, physically, but you don’t realize that you are getting better mentally. And the part that got me through — because I couldn’t really do anything, sometimes not even get out of bed — was mentally get to a better place, because of all of you at the Y, my family and friends. I truly love everything about the Y and what it does, for not only its staff but all its members.”
