5th Annual Celebration of Impact
Recognizing Employee and Volunteer Excellence
The YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg recently celebrated its 5th annual Celebration of Impact to recognize employees and volunteers who went above and beyond in 2022 to bring the Y’s mission to life by strengthening communities and enriching the lives of families and individuals in the St. Petersburg area.
Y staff, along with volunteers and Board Members, tuned in to the virtual event to reflect on the outcomes of their collective efforts, including serving more than 17,000 members, thousands of youth and families across southern Pinellas County through Y programs and services. During this event the YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg had the opportunity to celebrate outstanding performances over the past year.
"It gives you a reminder of how much sustainability and impact the Y has had. It is a constant pillar of the community," said Board of Directors Chair Billy Greene. "The Y has always been there to serve its community, to serve its member and to serve the city."
Here are just a few of the statistics presented at the Celebration of Impact:
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$327,112 Dollars Given |
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17,062 Active Members |
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3,783 Youth served in all programs |
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186,058 Meals Served |
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546 Community Health Participants |
The success of the YMCA rests of the collaboration and innovation of our employees, donors, members and volunteers. The shining stars who were recognized during the annual celebration include:
The event was also an opportunity to celebrate outstanding performances over the past year. The shining stars who were recognized during the annual celebration include:
Pictured from left to right: Jeff Navarre, Paula Burns, Kierstin Wimberly
Pictured from left to right: Jeff Navarre, Paula Burns, Kierstin Wimberly
Unsung Hero Award Winner
Jeff Navarre
Membership Coordinator, Jim & Heather Gills YMCA
This year’s Unsung Hero consistently goes above and beyond, arriving earlier than necessary in the morning to make sure the building is in tip-top shape. This includes picking up trash, walking the building to ensure each department has what it needs, and also producing any reports before the day even starts. If they see a need, they act, not because they are told, but because something needs to be done.
They are the first to deal with the homeless issues, keep our staff safe, and train and maintain an amazing front desk team. They work hard to learn everyone's name and greet them with a smile every day, even helping them toward their fitness goals. They genuinely care about everyone here and make working here feel like family. Congratulations to our 2023 Unsung Hero, Jeff Navarre, Membership Coordinator, Jim & Heather Gills YMCA.
Impact Award Winner
Paula Burns
Fitness Instructor, Bardmoor YMCA
This year’s Impact Award winner has been a fitness instructor at their branch from the day it opened. They always create a fun environment in the Zumba world for members and participants. Their innovation and leadership has helped to build the Zumba program at the branch. This award winner regularly instructs over 50 people every night they teach. That’s a lot of impact! They also work behind the scenes creating Facebook pages and event invites to encourage people to come to class and join the Y. They volunteer for every event we have and give 110%. Congratulations to this year’s IMPACT Award winner, Paula Burns, Group Exercise Instructor!
Leadership Award Winner
Kierstin Wimberly
Bardmoor YMCA Preschool Academy Director
This winner of this year’s Leadership Award defines a true leader. Since they started in their role, they have made great strides in the St. Pete Y's impact on Early Childhood Education. They have advocated for change in policies and procedures in regards to 5-year employment history checks to ensure quality staff is hired. They have also provided data and details many times in regards to best practices and ideas to help hire in the hiring process. They played a vital role in learning and explaining the way we handle School Readiness and VPK procedures and was able to efficiently assist during leadership while still maintaining a quality environment at this preschool academy. This person developed training plans by job description that are being used to present a position to JWB. This person is committed to ensuring the preschool academy is functioning at a quality level. They take on things outside of their job description just to make sure things get taken care of. They are patient, instructional, includes staff opinion in decision-making. According to this person’s nomination, they “deserve to be recognized for their knowledge, work ethic, quality of work, and humility.” Congratulations to our 2023 Leadership Award Winner, Kierstin Wimberly, Bardmoor YMCA Preschool Academy Director!
Volunteer of the Year Award Winner
Jane Ferguson
Board of Directors
Jane stepped up early in chairing our Board of Directors with the former chair’s departure, during unprecedented times, and she helped get us through the COVID-19 challenges our Association faced. She currently Chairs our Philanthropy Committee and Capital Campaign. She supports our YMCA’s many programs and initiatives including Speer YMCA Preschool Academy students and our Speer YMCA capital campaign. As a key volunteer, she has provided us with her time, talents and treasures over and over again. Presenting Jane with this award gives us an opportunity to shine a light on her, which she greatly deserves. Thank you, Jane, and congratulations!
The continued commitment and dedication of these individuals directly supports the mission of the Y and continuously aides in the growth and impact of the YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg.
In his closing remarks, CEO and President of the YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg David Jezek reminded staff of the importance of this event, "This event is about a celebration of all that we have done in the past year. We've learned from the past year and gotten stronger as a result of the challenges of the pandemic. What sets our organization a part is that we meet people, from all walks of life, where they are to help them learn grow and thrive and become better citizens of our community throughout their journey of life. When we celebrate, we celebrate together."
