Waggoner wins Y volunteer award

YMCA of the Foothills volunteers, staff, friends and family gathered May 20 at the Crescenta-Canada Family YMCA in La Cañada to celebrate the announcement of the 2009-10 Volunteer Awards.

Bruce Waggoner was named the Pat Aho Volunteer of the Year award for his efforts on behalf of the Y. He was presented the award by last year’s recipient, Norma Klingensmith.

Waggoner has been a volunteer at the CC-YMCA since 1988 and has been coaching gymnastics for 27 years.

“Coaching is fun, rewarding and exciting,” Waggoner said. “I always have a good end to my day when I coach. For me, it is a combination of loving kids and loving gymnastics that makes volunteering at the YMCA so special.”

Waggoner traces his connection to the YMCA back his days at the Norfolk, Neb. YMCA, where he began his coaching career. His dedication to the sport continued as he earned his graduate degree at the University of Colorado and while working at JPL. Today, he is a spacecraft sequence engineer at JPL. His hobbies include genealogy, astronomy, hiking and gardening with his wife, Dr. Anna-Marie Aquinaldo.

Waggoner was also among several, including Pat Aho, a dedicated former staff member who now serves on the Y’s board of directors, who were presented with the President’s Call to Service Lifetime Achievement Award. The other winners of this award were Adam Berkley, Alex Karayan, Megan Gilbaugh, Claudia Moreira, Eleanor Lamm, Josh Lev, Christ Ordookhanian, Dianne Osburn, Laura Swatek and John Wray.

Trisha Dizon, Alex Deravanessian, Rebecca Herrera, Emilie Karimian, Lisa Kellog, Erin Levoir, Lowell Meyer and Ailyn Ramos were presented with the Governor’s and First Lady Volunteer Awards.

To learn about volunteer opportunities at the YMCA, contact Mary Jane Snyder, director of Volunteer Services, at (818) 790-0123, ext. 261 or maryjane@ymcafoothills.org.