At a luncheon Friday afternoon at the Mathews Family YMCA, friends and coworkers came out to wish Sheila Pillath well on her retirement. Pillath, executive director for the Gloucester and Mathews YMCA branches, is stepping down after a 22-year career with the Y organization, including nine locally.

Pillath came to the Mathews YMCA in 2009. When the Gloucester Y opened in early 2016, she took on the responsibility of serving as branch manager there as well.

“It gave me an opportunity to improve the quality of life of people; that’s what I really feel my calling is to do,” Pillath reflected.

In her time in Mathews, Pillath supervised a capital campaign committee that secured the funds for the new Mathews Family YMCA as well as personally overseeing operating resources.

Speaking of the importance of the organization in the county, Pillath said, “It becomes the center of a community and becomes the ‘third place’ for a lot of people … you have ...