YMCA of Greater Brandywine Honors Its 2021 Award Recipients

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Award Recipients
Image via the YMCA of Greater Brandywine.
Jim Horn, CEO of The Tri-M Group, receives the Distinguished Service Award.

The YMCA of Greater Brandywine has announced the recipients of its three highest awards: the Service to Youth Award, the Community Partner Award, and the Distinguished Service Award. All three award recipients have supported and advanced YGBW’s core pillars of youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility.  

“As our organization grappled with the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, these three award recipients continued to go above and in support of our community,” said Denise Day, president and CEO of YGBW. “We are incredibly fortunate to have community partners and volunteers that care about our cause as much as we do.”   

Service to Youth Award  

The Service to Youth Award recognizes individuals and organizations whose dedication and effort have made a significant and positive difference in the lives of children in our community.  

The Foundation for Learning in Tredyffrin/Easttown (FLITE), a nonprofit that serves preschool through high-school students in Tredyffrin and Easttown townships, is the 2021 award recipient.

During the pandemic, FLITE and the YMCA of Greater Brandywine partnered to offer the COVID Academic Support Program. Through this partnership, children were able to come to the Upper Main Line YMCA each day and attend Learning Centers where they received support and supervision with virtual schooling while their parents were able to go to work.  

“The pandemic was a difficult and trying time financially for a lot of the families we serve in our community,” said Brian Raicich, executive director of the Upper Main Line YMCA. “Partnering with FLITE provided additional financial assistance, which, combined with what the YMCA provided, expanded our resources and allowed us to serve a greater number of families in need. In some cases, 100 percent of Learning Center tuition was covered through a combination of FLITE and YMCA financial assistance.” 

Community Partner Award  

The Community Partner Award recognizes an organization or group that has demonstrated a commitment to the YMCA’s mission and values and has partnered with or supported the Y in outreach initiatives that strengthen the foundations of the community.   

Pancoast & Clifford, a general contracting and construction management company, is the 2021 award recipient.

Since 2001, Pancoast & Clifford has embraced the Y’s cause of building a healthy community in Chester County, as evidenced by its targeted support of so many programs.

On top of being generous with their resources, Frank Pancoast and Chris Clifford, the principals at Pancoast & Clifford, are also generous with their time. Pancoast currently serves on the YMCA of Greater Brandywine Property Committee, where he said he “advises and offers suggestions to aid the Y’s facility improvements and repairs.”    

Distinguished Service Award  

The Distinguished Service Award recognizes the effort and achievement of the YMCA’s most special friends and emphasizes the need for community service by all citizens. Recipients of this award have set a standard of leadership that others follow.  

Jim Horn, CEO of the Tri-M Group, is the 2021 recipient. He recently completed a two-year term as the Chair of the YMCA of Greater Brandywine’s Board of Directors, where he played an integral role in steering the association through the pandemic.

Horn began his involvement with the YMCA over 18 years ago and was initially drawn to volunteer with the Y because “the Y included people from all age groups and all walks of life.”  

As he became more passionate about the mission, he grew his involvement to include hosting board and donor events at his home, chairing the annual campaign, volunteering at events, and generously contributing to the annual campaign, capital campaigns, and special projects.   

“Jim is a trifecta volunteer — generous with his time, talent, and treasures,” said Day.

The YGBW also recognized the following volunteers as the Volunteer of the Year for their respective branches: Dan Chidester, Tom Eason, Kevin Krieger, Randy Schauer, Paul Kabakjian, Amy Fisher, Dr. Joe Hyduke, Malvern Veterinary Hospital, and Marian Derr.

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