Albany YMCA presents Annette Bullard with belated YMCA Treasure Award

ALBANY — When awards were handed out at the Albany Area YMCA Annual Dinner last month, Y member Annette Bullard was not there to receive her award. Bullard, 80, and a of the recipient of the YMCA Treasure Awards for 2014, was unable to drive to the event due to the weather.

As a result, Dan Gillan, Albany Area YMCA CEO, honored Bullard recently at the monthly meeting of “the breakfast club,” a group of YMCA seniors who meet monthly for fellowship and birthday celebration.

“I am overjoyed yet humbled by receiving this award. I had no idea I was important to other people,” Bullard said. “Love these people and I really look forward to our birthday celebrations.

The monthly breakfast meeting was the brainchild of Bullard, who continues to organize and facilitate the meetings, despite having health problems that have kept her away from the Y lately. The group of 25-30 seniors meet on the third Wednesday of the month at Cracker Barrel on Westover Road. Most of the breakfast club members are members of the YMCA who come to the facility early in the morning for swimming, exercise and socializing.

Bullard was nominated for the YMCA treasure award because of her energetic spirit and her efforts to create long-lasting friendships among the seniors at the Y.

“Annette truly embodies the spirit of the YMCA, which is about building a community,” Gillan said. “This is the epitome of what the Y is all about — togetherness, community and love.”