YMCA board member named Volunteer of Year

Katherine Soderbergh was named the Lake Houston Family YMCA's Volunteer of the Year at the YMCA of Greater Houston's Annual Celebration.

Her first experience with the organization came in 1986, in Baton Rouge, La. Years later, when her family moved to Calgary, Canada, for five years, she was pleased to find that the Crowfoot YMCA offered all of the programs and services that her family used.

Soderbergh moved to Kingwood in 1999 and began working with the Lake Houston Family YMCA. She worked there for 10 years before becoming a board member in 2010. Now she plays an integral role as a volunteer for YMCA special events that raise funds for the organization's Partners Scholarship Campaign. She credits her father as the inspiration for her volunteer work.

"He volunteered for several organizations and spent many hours giving back to the community," Soderbergh said. "My experiences with the Y made volunteering somewhere an easy decision."

The Lake Houston Family YMCA recently recognized Soderbergh's dedication to volunteerism with its highest honor – the YMCA Volunteer of the Year award. Soderbergh was one of 37 volunteers honored at the YMCA of Greater Houston’s annual celebration in mid-November.

"(Katherine) and I have worked together for over 10 years, and she truly is the epitome of what a volunteer is," Lake Houston Family YMCA Community Liaison Carol Sutton said. "She works countless hours on our special events, which benefit our Partners Campaign, and the overall campaign to make them successful. The funds raised from (the campaign) provide scholarships for families in our Lake Houston and East Montgomery communities who cannot afford the cost of YMCA programs. In 2012, we awarded over $225,000 in scholarships to families thanks to our donors, the community and volunteers like Katherine."

When she's not volunteering at the Lake Houston Family YMCA, Soderbergh enjoys cycling around Kingwood Lakes with her husband. She is also an arts and crafts enthusiast.

For more information on programs or volunteer opportunities at the Lake Houston Family YMCA, call 281-360-2500 or visit www.ymcahouston.org/lake-houston. You can also connect with the YMCA of Greater Houston on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest.

ABOUT Katherine Soderbergh
BIRTHDAY: Oct. 6
OCCUPATION: Staff member at RE/MAX Associates Northeast
COMMUNITY CONNECTION: Kingwood resident
FAST FACT: In her spare time, Soderbergh paints rocks for garden decorations or pet memorials

Megan Mattingly-Arthur is a freelance writer. She can be reached at neighborhoods@chron.com.