YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg Recognizes Outstanding Employees during its Annual Celebration of Impact
The YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg’s (YGSP) Celebration of Impact is an annual event uniting employees, volunteers and supportive community members. This event is an opportunity to commemorate, learn from and build upon the YMCA’s role in advancing youth development, healthy living and social responsibility in the greater St. Petersburg region.
This annual celebration also recognizes the top employees who went above and beyond in delivering the Y’s positive impact on the community. Awards are presented to the top employees in three categories: Leadership, Unsung Hero and IMPACT.
The 2020 winners set the bar high for their colleagues and future nominees. Collectively, they have served the greater St. Petersburg community for more than 57 years. Nominated by supervisors, peers and staff, the following are just snapshots of the many reasons Julie Goudy, Maureen Tyahla and Jill Lawrence are prized employees to the Y’s mission.
Leadership Award 2020 Winner
Julie Goudy, Senior Program Director
20 years of YMCA service
Julie exemplifies the word leader. She goes above and beyond to ensure that her staff succeeds. She pushes them to give their full potential and provides regular moral boosts to keep encouragement high. Julie is known throughout the association as always going the extra mile to make her staff feel appreciated. And, her staff knows that she doesn’t ask them to do anything that she herself won't do or hasn't done before. An adept problem solver and hard worker herself, Julie’s top priority is to make sure all her staff get what they need to be the best at their jobs.
Unsung Hero Award 2020 Winner
Maureen Tyahla, Accountant
16 years of YMCA service
Maureen Tyahla is one of the rocks the YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg stands on. She works incredibly hard behind the scenes, making sure invoices are paid and more importantly, staff are paid. Maureen opts not to take vacation time during a payroll processing week in order to ensure that payroll is completed and processed correctly.
Aside from being great at her job, Maureen is simply a wonderful, good-hearted person. She has great rapport with employees and cultivates positive relationships with external vendors. Maureen accomplishes her own work quietly and efficiently. She works with the Y’s best interests at heart.
IMPACT Award 2020 Winner
Jill Lawrence, Group Exercise & Fitness Instructor
21 years of YMCA service
Jill’s passion for YMCA members and their wellbeing is unmatched, and it is felt by all who are touched by her presence. She can engage with younger members and knows how to relate to them – she even teaches multiple group fitness classes where she often shows them up. Jill also has a very large, strong and loyal following of senior members. Her care for them is evident. She is known for picking up the phone or sending cards to those members who she hasn’t seen in a while or have recently had a surgery, illness or other personal challenge.
Driven by a passion to help others, Jill impacts many individuals’ lives on a daily basis, and does so humbly. To her, she is just “doing her job.”
The YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg is gearing up for its Celebration of Impact virtual meeting in February 2021. All full-time and part-time employees with more than one year of service to the YGSP are eligible to be nominated for an award by their colleagues. Nominations will be reviewed and winners selected by an external committee based on the quality and validity of the nomination description.
