Burbank Y honors volunteers
As the Burbank YMCA celebrates its 90th anniversary, it recently honored two families and several individuals for their ongoing volunteerism to the facility.
Considering the local Y’s longevity, YMCA officials said it was fitting to recognize the service of the Taylor Family, which spans three generations and more than half a century.
Glenn Taylor served on the Y board throughout the 1960s and as board chair from 1969 to 1971. He participated in YMCA programs with his son, Darrell Taylor, who has followed in his father’s footsteps as a Y leader, according to Y officials.
Serving on the board in the 1990s, he enrolled his own son, Jonathan, in Y preschool. Now with a young family of his own, Jonathan Taylor has been a member of the Y board since 2007, currently serving as treasurer.
The Lehew George family made the Burbank Y’s Parents Night Out a reality, according to YMCA officials.
Tish Lewhew, mother of preschool student Mathilda George — with support from dad, Eugene George — volunteers to organize the popular monthly event for families at the Y’s Child Development Center.
Parents Night Out provides four hours of affordable baby-sitting in a safe and familiar environment, Y officials said.
In 2013, after training extensively at the Burbank Y, member Gabriel Cordell became the first person to roll a standard wheelchair across the country, completing the 3,100-mile trek in just 99 days.
He’s now training for his next goal, called “A Roll for Peace,” where he will cross Israel later this year.
The YMCA has received extensive support from the Downtown Business Partnership, which has been a sponsor of the Y’s annual 5K/10K Turkey Trot since its inception in 2010.
The organization’s early support helped grow the holiday event into a downtown Burbank tradition, according to YMCA officials. The partnership has also supported the Y’s other neighborhood programs through the years, including Taste of Downtown Burbank and Reindeer Dash.
Burbank High junior Katy Clawson not only volunteers to support Y events — including the Christmas tree lot, pancake breakfast and We Love Our Y program — but is in honors/AP classes, is a member of the school dance program, works part-time and is an active member of the Y’s Youth and Government program.
The Burbank Y Service Club recognized Maximiliano Gil, who started volunteering with the Burbank YMCA Christmas tree lot as a 15-year-old high school sophomore in 2002.
But the club helped him as much as he now helps it, according to Y officials.
School officials described him as a good kid involved with the wrong crowd and encouraged him to join the Burbank Y in hopes the guidance would turn him around, YMCA officials said. Gil has volunteered every year since and now is head of his own architectural firm and part owner of Noho Wireless.
Two years ago, Brad Korb was a first-time volunteer, joining the YMCA marketing committee for its capital campaign.
Korb, a local Realtor, regularly keeps community members informed of Y events and activities through his monthly, self-published newspaper, the Burbank Bulletin.
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Follow Mark Kellam on Twitter: @LAMarkKellam.
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