Volunteers give time to Y events

The Washington Community Y announced its volunteers of the year at its annual meeting Friday afternoon. The volunteers have all given generously of their time and have done so in a variety of ways.

Chris and Nicole Harmsen were two volunteers who were recognized for their efforts at the Parkside Activities Center in Wellman. Christina Nash, program director at the Parkside Activities Center, said the Harmsens coach youth athletics at the center and are there almost every night. She said their kids are involved in youth sports. Nash said Nicole was one of the lead instigators of the gala the center does every year.

John Seymour of Washington was recognized for the work he does with a couple of Y groups. Seymour runs a fitness class at the Y. He also teaches a class on archery and firearms safety with fellow volunteer Norman Thomas. Seymour said the exercise class is primarily for retirees and consists of stretching and working muscles through exercise bands. He said there are usually 12 to 18 people in the group.

?We do some weight-lifting with individual dumbbells,? he said. ?We do some squats but no extreme aerobics. It?s meant for people who are not athletes but who need the basic muscle groups worked on. We work on the hips, knees, biceps and triceps.?

Liz Hall was honored for helping organizing a 5K run the Y put on in October. The run was held at the Washington Golf Course and Country Club at dusk and the route was lighted with Tiki torches. The event was known as ?The Torch.?

?A lot of the runners wore headlamps,? she said. ?We also had obstacles such as hay bales they had to climb over. There was a tube they had to crawl through and tires they had to run through.?

A little over 100 people participated in The Torch. Hall said she was pleased with the turnout, especially considering it was the first year for the event. Hall said the Y wants to do the event next fall. She said she wants to wait for fall sports schedules to come out to make sure the event doesn?t conflict with a home football game.

Kevin and Denise Erpelding were recognized for their work with the Y?s sustaining drive this past year. The Erpeldings volunteered to give a presentation on the Y and its fundraising goals to various service clubs in town such as Kiwanis, Rotary, the Lions Club and the Optimists. Kevin said he has helped with Y fundraisers in the past but this last year was the first time he spoke about it to service clubs.

?I?m comfortable speaking in front of a group,? he said. ?I?m getting used to it.?

A group of missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was presented with a volunteer award as well. Four of the missionaries who have volunteered at the Y in recent months were on hand to receive it, and they were Brandon Smith, Kenny Taylor, Skyler Evans and Tyler Seeley. Taylor is now doing mission work in Iowa City but for three months he served as a missionary in Washington.

Taylor said the missionaries performed about three hours of service at the Y each week. He said they help set up for events, cleaned the building and did whatever else was asked of them. He said Josh Riffel, who organizes the activities at the Y, asked them to work with the youth athletic leagues.  

?We referred the flag football tournament,? he said. ?We?ve helped with basketball camps Josh has run. We?ll drop in on a Saturday and help him out. Helping out at the Y has been a great experience. The people are very nice there.?

Lisa Buitendorp helps with the Y?s swim team, the ?Washington Water Sharks,? and for her efforts she was given a volunteer award. Buitendorp has helped with the swim team for the past eight years. Her daughter, Megan, has been on the team for the past nine years and is now 15. Buitendorp said her daughter is the reason she began helping with the team.

Buitendorp is the unofficial president of the parents group that purchases swimsuits, sweatshirts and other supplies for the swimmers.

?I organize food for our home meet,? she said. ?We have a concession stand and I take it upon myself to make sure we have enough people to run our meet.?

Also receiving volunteer awards were Billie Bruns and Aimee Axmear. Bruns has been in charge of organizing the progressive dinner, which is the fundraising event for the sustaining drive. Axmear has volunteered at dinners and special needs dances at the Y and has also helped at the Christmas Bazaar.