LA GRANGE — The Greater La Grange YMCA board recently recognized the achievements community members, employees and volunteers made in 2012.
A student at Loyola University, Alexandra Daemicke of Indian Head Park was presented with the Volunteer of the Year Award. While a student at Lyons Township High School, Daemicke volunteered at the Greater La Grange YMCA helping with the Little GL Travelers Camp in the summer, assisting at the second-annual Reindeer Run and was there whenever she was needed with kids' programming at the Y.
Western Springs resident Natalie Whalen, also an LT student, was only 14 years old when she started to help with the YMCA's swim program and the Little Preschool Summer Camp. She received the Youth Representative of the Year Award.
Jim and Megan McCarthy of La Grange Park received the Spirit of the YMCA Award for their community efforts in raising money for local organizations through fundraisers such as "Wiggin' Out" and the Just Irish Enough Parade. Over the years, the parade has grown into a fundraising event that has raised more than $250,000 for pediatric cancer research.
Meanwhile, Tom Cushing has volunteered in the La Grange area in a number of roles, including chairman of the St. Francis Xavier Parish Council and president of the La Grange Little League. A District 204 School Board member, Cushing is a founding member of the Legacy Guild, an organization that raises funds to provide college scholarships for students in the community who have lost a parent.
Cushing received the YMCA Vision Award.
Receiving the 2012 Youth Volunteer of the Year Award was Western Springs resident Ryan Hudson, who raised more than $25,000 for the YMCA last year. A senior at LT and member of the school's varsity golf team, Hudson organized "Fore the Y," a scramble that featured nearly a dozen teams.
The final award was presented to Deb Strus, YMCA program director, who received the Staff Person of the Year Award for her enthusiasm, hard work and dedication to her job.