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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Clayton Karambelas, of Kingston, received the 2017 Robert K. Mericle Leadership Award at the Wilkes-Barre YMCA&#8217;s annual Leadership Dinner at the Westmoreland Club on Thursday night.</p><p>The award is described as &#8220;an honor for an individual who demonstrates exemplary efforts in furthering the mission of the YMCA.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;The years have flown by,&#8221; said Theresa Karambelas, who spoke for her husband. &#8220;Clayton knows so many people, he&#8217;s been associated with the Y for so many years.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;We were able to put the Men&#8217;s Health Club in a few years ago. Years ago, he&#8217;d be floating around all of these people trying to get them to join the Y. That was his big claim to fame, membership,&#8221; she continued.</p><p>Karambelas is the longest continuous member of the Wilkes-Barre YMCA alive today. He was a member since the age of 10; he recently celebrated his 90th birthday. Karambelas is the previous owner of the Boston Candy Shop &amp; Restaurant, C.K. Coffee, and C.K. Consulting.</p><p>&#8220;Clayton is a fixture of the area. He&#8217;s like the Energizer Bunny, he just doesn&#8217;t stop doing good for the community and the YMCA,&#8221; noted Robert Mericle, the award&#8217;s namesake.</p><p>&#8220;This is a fabulous evening to recognize two very worthwhile recipients,&#8221; said Charles Barber, president of the Luzerne Foundation. &#8220;Clayton and Theresa Karambelas personify philanthropy in the community. They&#8217;ve been so active in so many different things. Clayton, certainly, with the YMCA&#8212; decades, and decades, and decades. You can&#8217;t say enough with his diligence, his persuasiveness, and his desire to help the YMCA so it can help others.&#8221;</p><p>Meanwhile, attorney Eric Mahler, of Mountain Top, received the Frank M. Henry Layperson of the Year Award.</p><p>The Henry Award &#8220;recognizes an unsung hero at the YMCA.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;This is a great honor,&#8221; Mahler said. &#8220;For many years now, I&#8217;ve been coaching at the YMCA as a swim coach, donating my time to do that. I think it&#8217;s a wonderful recognition, but more so, I think it&#8217;s a recognition of what the YMCA does. To see all the people out here tonight supporting the YMCA, and its mission, that really to me is important. I&#8217;ve been at the YMCA since I was about 3 years old. To see all that coming back to the YMCA tonight is special to me.&#8221;</p><p>Other award recipients included Michael J. Hirthler, who received the George Brandt Community Service Award. Hirthler has volunteered at the Y for more than 60 years.</p><p>Air Excellence, a ventilation and air conditioning company in Plymouth, received the 2017 YMCA Corporate Leadership Award for being an &#8220;exceptional corporate supporter of the YMCA.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">New York Life financial services professional Carla Jagodzinski looks over silent auction items at the Wilkes-Barre YMCA Leadership Dinner at the Westmoreland Club on Thursday evening. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL100617YMCA_2.jpg</photo0><caption0>New York Life financial services professional Carla Jagodzinski looks over silent auction items at the Wilkes-Barre YMCA Leadership Dinner at the Westmoreland Club on Thursday evening. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL100617YMCA_1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes University nursing professor Kathleen Hirthler, of Shavertown, left, congratulates longtime friend Clayton Karambelas on receiving the Robert K. Mericle Leadership Award at the Wilkes-Barre YMCA Leadership Dinner at the Westmoreland Club in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL100617YMCA_1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Wilkes University nursing professor Kathleen Hirthler, of Shavertown, left, congratulates longtime friend Clayton Karambelas on receiving the Robert K. Mericle Leadership Award at the Wilkes-Barre YMCA Leadership Dinner at the Westmoreland Club in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Katherine Pugh</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div>

Wilkes-Barre YMCA honors outstanding volunteers