(Rockwall, TX - Dec. 18, 2015) J.E.R. Chilton YMCA staff and family members of longtime Business Service Director Glenda Majchrzak celebrated her retirement with a fun roast in her honor at the home of Beth Jackson, a personal trainer at the Rockwall Y.

Glenda – who’s been with the Rockwall Y since November 1988 –  conveyed what she’ll miss the most about the Y through a story she heard at her church, in which the pastor’s wife relayed how her YMCA swim instructor had changed her life for the better through a simple yet powerful phrase: live in the moment.

“And I thought, how amazing is that, that here I am away from the Y, at my church, yet someone that I work with on a regular basis has impacted this person’s life,” Glenda said. “That’s what the Y does, and that’s what I’m going to miss.”

Following the roast, Glenda received some gifts in a show of gratitude and appreciation from the many at the Y who will miss her, including a wonderful hand-knit quilt made up of several Rockwall YMCA t-shirts which Glenda has owned throughout her years working there.

Bonnie LaVielle, executive director at the Rockwall Y and predecessor of Mike Atkins, who hired Glenda, said the stability that Glenda provided in her work with the Rockwall Y branch was one of the main reasons she decided to come to the YMCA.

“Her being there is one of the reasons why I came,” Bonnie said. “And I have enjoyed every minute of it. We have worked great together and our personalities are a lot alike.”

 Story by Austin Wells, Blue Ribbon News

Photos by Richard Redig, Blue Ribbon News