West Orange swimmer wins West Essex YMCA Youth of the Year Award

LIVINGSTON, NJ — Swimming at West Essex YMCA has been a major part of Amy Butcher’s life, from taking swim lessons as a young child to teaching lessons and lifeguarding as a 15-year-old West Orange High School sophomore.

In between, Butcher swam on the pre-team, won awards as a member of the swim team, and coached both the Piranhas Special Olympics swim team and the age 8 and under swimmers as a volunteer.

Butcher received West Essex YMCA’s 2016 Youth of the Year Award at the Metropolitan YMCA of the Oranges’ 40th annual recognition dinner, held at the Hanover Manor in East Hanover. West Essex YMCA is one of six branches of the Metro YMCA, the largest association of YMCAs in New Jersey.

“Her enthusiasm and passion for swimming helped start her on the team, and her dedication to our YMCA is what has led us to single her out from so many young Y members,” West Essex YMCA Executive Director Helen Flores said.

Butcher considers the Y “my second home, my second family,” she said. “The Y makes me the happiest person.” Her mother, Vicki, works at the West Essex Y welcome center, and her 17-year-old brother, James, is also lifeguard there.

She said she was honored to be recognized by an organization that she greatly admires. “The Y has taught me to be a leader,” Amy Butcher said. “This place draws me away from the drama of being a teenager.”

Her YMCA experiences may have shaped her career leanings. Butcher wants to become a teacher, and volunteering with the children on the Piranhas swim team for three years has inspired her to pursue a degree in special education.

On the swim team, Butcher was the high point award winner for her age category last season, and in 2015, she won the Sportsmanship Award. “Amy is an excellent swimmer and a great role model for her younger teammates,” Flores said.

  West Essex YMCA, West Orange High School, YMCA