Denise Rendon, Aquatics Director
Denise has been Aquatics Director since July of 2024. She started as a Y fitness participant, fell in love with the Y’s warm water therapy pool and patrons, became a regular attendee of aquatic fitness classes, and a YWCA of Pekin member. Soon she moved into subbing in Aqua Aerobics classes and in November of 2023, she joined our team as an Aquatic Fitness instructor. In July she took over as Aquatics Director. Denise is American Red Cross Certified as an Ambassador for Water Safety, in Lifeguard Management and Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED. She is Silver Sneakers certified in Foundations, Classic, Circuit, EnerChi, Splash and Nutrition as We Age. She is an SAI Starfish certified instructor for Adapted Aquatics, Star Babies and Tots, and Swim and Stroke School. She is an Arthritis Foundation Program leader and has her Fitour Advanced Aqua Instructor certification. Denise is a member of the Y Reserves.
Diane Aleshire, Aqua Aerobics Instructor
Diane is Retired from the Air National Guard. She joined the Y in October 2023 due to an arthritic knee and also in hopes of weight loss. She quickly became an instructor August 2024
Janell Allen, Aqua Aerobics Instructor
Janell Allen is retired from the State of Illinois after 35 years of service. In her career she worked for several State Agencies mostly in Human Resources. She became a member of the YWCA and started attending water aerobics classes in late 2016. Janell enjoyed it so much she asked to be trained as an instructor and started a water aerobics program at the outdoor pool in her hometown of Mason City in June 2017. Janell was hired by the YWCA in September 2017 as a water aerobics instructor and she holds a valid CPR AED certification from the Illinois Red Cross.
Heather Bouchez, Aqua Aerobics Instructor
Heather joined the YWCA after she discovered during water therapy for her bad knee that a workout in the water is a wonderful way to stay in shape and enjoy a group of wonderful people. After a weight loss surgery, she decided to continue to hold herself accountable by joining the aquatic fitness team to provide a fun workout to our patrons while staying committed to a healthier version of herself. She is a single mother to 2 beautiful daughters and has a young grandson. Heather also has another full time job as a supervisor for a nonprofit organization where she assists individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities find competitive integrated employment within the community. She enjoys helping others reach their full potential whether she is helping someone find a job or staying committed to staying healthy through our fun aquatics workouts.
Elizabeth Curtis, Aqua Aerobics Instructor, Swim Instructor
Elizabeth Curtis learned to swim at Ohata Swimming, in São Paulo, Brazil. She also worked through several levels of Red Cross swimming lessons. Elizabeth was trained as a Red Cross First Responder and in Water Safety and worked for ten years at summer camps, in both a pool and at outdoor waterfronts. She always loved swimming and took water aerobics classes at the YMCA in Iron Mountain, MI. Elizabeth joined the Pekin YWCA in 2023, earning SAI Starfish Swimming School, Starfish Stroke School, and StarBabies certifications. She has taught all ages, from babies to adults. She currently holds Red Cross certification in Adult/Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED. YWCA Pekin has a vibrant aquatic aerobics community, and Elizabeth has taught deep and shallow water aerobics classes. She holds Silver Sneakers Splash certification.
Stephen Delicath, Swim Instructor
My name is Steve Delicath and I have been in the water since I started swimming competitively at the age of 10. I swam on my summer swim team growing up, and also on my high school team all four years. I really enjoy helping children and adults learn how to swim. Just being able to share something I already love with others is a blessing.
Emma Hammond, Lifeguard
My name is Emma and I am one of the lifeguards! I just started working at the Y in September but got my Red Cross lifeguard certification this spring and worked at the Tremont pool. While I enjoy working outside and soaking up the sun, I enjoy it just as much to sit by the warm inside pool and watch over all of the amazing Y members. I enjoy what I do and love watching over the pool for the safety of those swimming!
Abigail Hayden, Lifeguard
I started working as a Lifeguard at the YWCA in late August. I’m a senior in high school and I am studying to be a nurse. I’m certified through the AHA, Ellis and Associates, and I’m almost an Eagle Scout.
Dannie Powell, Lifeguard
Kylie Schimmelpfenning, Lifeguard & Swim Instructor
My name is Kylie Schimmelpfenning I have worked at the YWCA for 4 years. I am a Red Cross-certified lifeguard as well as a certified swim instructor through Starfish Swimming. I am a senior in college majoring in nursing at SFMCCON and graduate in May 2025.
Molly Virden, Aqua Aerobics Instructor
I’m Molly Virden and I became an aquatic fitness instructor at the Pekin YWCA in August of 2024 after participating in both shallow and deep water fitness classes. I lived in Phoenix, AZ for 13 years and was active at the local community center where water fitness classes were held. It was always my favorite way to exercise and it provides amazing benefits. When I realized that the YWCA in Pekin had a pool and offered water fitness classes I was thrilled and became a regular attendee. I love getting fit and making friends.
Joy Williamson, Aqua Aerobics Instructor
I graduated from Millikin University with a B.S. in Management Information Systems. After spending many years working in IT, I chose to quit working full-time when my 2nd child was born. My relationship with the YWCA began when I enrolled my children in swim lessons. Once my children were in preschool, I began spending more time at the YWCA by taking water aerobics classes and using the cardio room. My employment at the YWCA began in 2018, first as a substitute aqua aerobics instructor and shortly thereafter as a regularly scheduled deep water aerobics instructor. As of today, I’m still teaching both aqua and deep water aerobics. You can also find me teaching several land-based Silver Sneakers classes.