YMCA of Catawba Valley Honors NC Representative Heather Rhyne with Youth Champion Award
The YMCA of Catawba Valley enriches the lives of children across three counties with before and after-school care. Partnering with local school systems, the Y serves families at 12 Lincoln County school sites, 9 Burke County school sites, and 5 Hickory City school sites which totals over 800 school-aged students. These programs provide safe, supportive spaces for children outside of the school day.
The YMCA of Catawba Valley proudly presented North Carolina Representative Heather Rhyne with the YMCA Youth Champion Award on August 26, 2025. This recognition took place at Norris Childers Elementary School, part of the Lincoln County School System, where colleagues, students, and community members gathered to celebrate her leadership and dedication.
Heather Rhyne has long been known for her compassion and commitment to others—whether serving families as a pharmacist, guiding students as chair of the Lincoln County School Board, or now representing her community in the North Carolina House of Representatives. Her leadership continues to reflect caring, responsibility, honesty, and respect—the core values of the YMCA.
The Youth Champion Award recognizes Rhyne’s vision and unwavering commitment to expanding access for out-of-school care. Heather has demonstrated a deep understanding of provider sustainability and a shared dedication to ensuring that youth-serving organizations like the YMCA can thrive in meeting the needs of children and families across North Carolina.
“We appreciate your passion for children,” said Kelly Farr, Incoming Board Chair for the YMCA of Catawba Valley. “Without your support and what you do to help, this wouldn’t be possible. On behalf of the board, we’d like to present you with the Youth Champion Award. This award is in recognition of your leadership and commitment to expanding access to affordable, high-quality out of school care.”
This recognition underscores the YMCA’s mission to strengthen communities by empowering youth, improving well-being, and inspiring action across all backgrounds. House bill 412, passed in 2025, made changes to child care rules to help make child care more available and less complicated for providers. This bill creates a group to look at liability insurance for child care providers, modifying building codes to ensure children can receive child care, and adjusted staff to child ratio among others.
“What an honor. After my meeting with the Y, I sat down with representative Arp. He was talking about childcare regulation and I said, ‘I want in on this. We’ve got an issue.’ I’m very thankful to be a part of it as a co-sponsor.” said Representative Heather Rhyne.
The YMCA of Catawba Valley is grateful for leaders like Heather Rhyne, whose dedication helps ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive.
About the YMCA of Catawba Valley
Driven by its founding mission, the Y has served as a leading nonprofit committed to strengthening community for more than 175 years. The YMCA of Catawba Valley empowers everyone, no matter who they are or where they’re from, by ensuring access to resources, relationships, and opportunities for all to learn, grow, and thrive.