Mary Williams Earns YMCA Spotlight

The YMCA of Montclair, located on Park Street, has been serving the Montclair community for over a century. For the past 120 years, the YMCA has provided Montclair with endless service- in the form of Youth Development, Healthy Living and Social Responsibility. But this service would not have been possible without the dedication of Montclair YMCA staff, who work hard everyday to make the YMCA of Montclair the best it can be.

Photo courtesy of Mary Williams
Photo courtesy of Mary Williams

Mary Williams is truly commendable.

Mary Williams, a Health and Wellness Administrative Associate at the YMCA of Montclair, is one of those employees. Williams has been at the YMCA of Montclair since August of 2011.

Part of Williams’ day is spent doing tasks for the Health and Wellness Director by faxing, copying and responding to emails from vendors and members. Williams also conducts fitness assessments by completing a Physical Therapy intake form for new PT clients. It involves taking body measures and BMI.

“In addition, I coordinate special wellness programs, health fairs and nutritional lecture series for our members and the community at large,” explained Williams. “I also research fitness trends and organize health and wellness events, like the ‘Lose to Win Challenge,’ specialty classes and various certifications.”

Mary Williams’ “Lose to Win Challenge” was a recent event put on by the YMCA of Montclair. It offered prize money for teams who lost the most weight. The grand prize was $250. The goal of the challenge was to motivate healthy weight loss and ultimately promote a healthy lifestyle to the YMCA of Montclair members.

Prior to working at the YMCA of Montclair, Mary Williams worked at Alpha Physician Resources (Emergency Medicine) in Livingston, N.J. as the Accounts Payable Coordinator.

Mary Williams was actually inspired to join the YMCA of Montclair staff by a previous employee.

“I decided to work at the YMCA of Montclair because a previous employee, Adrienne Felder, inspired me by her enthusiasm,” shared Williams. “Adrienne saw something special in me and thought I would be a great addition to the fitness staff here at the YMCA of Montclair.”

Williams has truly enjoyed the time she has spent thus far at the YMCA of Montclair.

“I enjoy working here because I take pleasure in seeing members reach their health and wellness goals, whether it is creating a workout regimen, losing weight or reducing their blood pressure/cholesterol levels,” explained Williams. “I also enjoy talking to members and providing them with excellent customer service to the best of my ability.”

The Strong Community Campaign is Williams’ favorite program. This program provides financial assistance to families for youth gym membership, adult and senior gym membership, camps and school-age before and after care.

“This campaign is important because it provides the financial opportunity for families to come to a safe and enjoyable place where they can create memories and build new relationships with fellow members and YMCA of Montclair staff,” shared Williams.

Williams believes the YMCA of Montclair is such an asset to the community because it brings Montclair families together.

“The YMCA of Montclair is a place where families can participate in programs together such as Family Swim, Gamily Night, Adventure Guides, Daddy and Daughter/Son weekends, the Montclair Run and so many more,” elaborated Williams.

With the way it can unite and strengthen families, Mary Williams believe the YMCA of Montclair will be around for many more years to come.

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