I am not sure what happened, but it was brought to my attention that this link was no longer available.  it must be out there in cyberspace somewhere.  Believe me Diane, I did not mean to minimze your contributions by throwing away the thank yous! – Lil

Well-preserved, handwritten notes from 1895 tell a powerful story of volunteer initiative. While more than 100 volunteers contributed to the effort to create what is now known as Meeting Waters YMCA, the historic notes show the passionate and persistent leadership of one person—Nathan G. Williams. Williams, who had recently relocated to the area to serve as CEO of the Vermont Farm Machine Company, had been a Y volunteer leader in his native Pennsylvania. The notes of those first organizational meetings show how Mr. Williams brought the vision of a YMCA in the Great Falls region to his new community and how he galvanized more than 100 other volunteers to bring this vision to life.

In 1999, their first full year as Co-Directors of Meeting Waters YMCA, Susan and Steve Fortier were looking for a way to recognize other volunteers that have brought the same level of passion and leadership to the regional Y. After leafing through the notes from 1895-1897, they decided to honor Mr. Williams’ legacy by naming the award for outstanding volunteer leadership after him.

On Monday, January 13^th, the “Nathan G. Williams Award for Outstanding Volunteer Leadership” was given to Walpole’s Diane Myers-Miller who has served on the Board of Directors of Meeting Waters YMCA since 2009. She served as its President from September 2010 through September 2013 and is serving her final year on the board as the organization’s Secretary, a position formerly held by Walpole’s Antonia Andreoli and, two decades ago, Myers-Miller’s father-in-law “Chick” Miller.

“Like Nathan G. Williams some 115 years earlier, Diane has provided our YMCA and those we serve with passionate and persistent leadership,” commented Executive Director Steve Fortier. “Like Mr. Williams, she pulled together others to strengthen our organization and deepen our impacts in the communities we serve. Also like him, she will leave a strong legacy when she finally steps off of our board at the end of this year. I am grateful for her many and varied contributions to our Y and delighted to recognize her with this award.”

Also receiving special recognition at Meeting Waters YMCA’s January Board meeting was its Y-ASPIRE (after-school program) Site Director in Bellows Falls, Stacy Garciadealba Cox. Stacy received the organization’s “Red Triangle Award for Outstanding Staff Leadership.” In her comments, Program Director Susan Fortier quoted John Quincy Adams who once said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” Fortier then shared several examples of Stacy’s leadership with the youth in her program, their parents, her Y-ASPIRE colleagues up and down the Valley, and the larger community.

For more information about Meeting Waters YMCA, visit http://www.meetingwatersymca.org, follow them on Facebook, or call their main office at (802) 463-4769.

Founded in 1895, Meeting Waters YMCA is a charitable, social service organization serving the Fall Mountain, Brattleboro, Bellows Falls, and Springfield regions. It strengthens the foundations of community through youth development, healthy living, social responsibility and family strengthening.

Photo caption: Meeting Waters YMCA Co-Directors Susan and Steve Fortier flank award recipients Stacy Garciadealba Cox and Diane Myers-Miller.