During the June 28, 2023, Riverbrook Regional YMCA Board of Directors Meeting, Molly Blosser – Assistant Director of IT and Member Finances and Samantha Lusher – Aquatics and Risk Management Director received the 2023 Karen Strickland Award.

The YMCA Employee of the Year Award is named in honor of Karen Strickland who served as a staff member of the Wilton Family YMCA for over 26 years from 1988-2014.  Recipients of this award must have demonstrated the passion for the YMCA in similar ways that Karen did during her tenure with the Y.  Karen’s drive and initiative toward continually improving the experiences of not only the members of the Y but also the staff and the community as a whole have been demonstrated by those honored on a plaque that is displayed with the names of our previous recipients.  Each honoree has given above and beyond the expectations and has truly shown that they live and work by the core values of honesty, caring, respect and responsibility just as Karen did during her time with our YMCA. 

Molly has been with our YMCA team since June 24, 2010, starting as a Camp Counselor and working in various Childcare and Camp departments. Molly left the organization for a brief time and returned to our organization, working in her current role since April 21, 2021.

Samantha has worked for the YMCA organization for 16 years. Her Y experience has been focused on Aquatics and she has previously worked in various aquatic capacities such as a Lifeguard, Swim and Red Cross Instructor. Samantha joined our Y team, April 28, 2017, as our Aquatics Director and has added Risk Management to her responsibilities.

Both Molly and Samantha have been integral contributors to our organization’s success and impact in the communities we serve. Both Samantha and Molly exemplify all that Karen Strickland brought to our Y and Community over the years.