Creating My Y…Creating My Family
The family that swims together…could be a motto for the DeGarmo family. Now the parents of two teenage lifeguards, Mark and Kelley DeGarmo tell a story of a lifetime of swimming. Morgan, their 16-year-old daughter, remembers pool parties with the yellow submarine at the indoor pool at the Amon G. Carter, Jr. Downtown YMCA and both teens remember going to the YMCA to swim laps as a family activity. But their swimming days date back further than that – Kelley joined the YMCA in 1988 and swam during both pregnancies. She even swam the day that Dillon, her 17-year-old son, was born. So, in a way, both Morgan and Dillon were born to swim.
Many family activities at the YMCA revolve around the five indoor and eleven outdoor pools operated by the YMCA of Metropolitan Fort Worth. Families get involved in summer events such as dive-in movies at poolside, swim team competitions, water exercise classes and swim lessons. In fact, in 2008, the YMCA taught 4,179 swim lessons throughout Tarrant and Hood Counties.
“The YMCA is a great family place,” said Kelley. For the DeGarmo family and many others across Tarrant and Hood County, swimming, participating in swim teams, enjoying “dive-in movies” at poolside and other aquatic activities help bring them together.
