Dennie Wilson
Aquatics and Facilities Director
518.793.3878 Ext 615
Dennie started following her brother to practices and inevitably she joined the “Jamestown Jets” YMCA Swim Team at age 6. She swam year-round in western NY until she started swimming for Jamestown High School. She earned a swimming scholarship at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in in Fine Arts and Crafts/Ceramics with a minor in Art Education.
She had been guest services manager the University of Albany Dippikill Wilderness Retreat Center for nine years. She expanded from working with clay to working with soil and became a registered Master Gardener; she was an Estate Gardener prior to becoming a swim coach at the YMCA. Not surprisingly, her three children all swim and one is now the Membership Director of the Glens Falls YMCA.
When she returned to competitive swimming, after being out of the pool for ten years, she became a competitive age-group swimmer again, but this time as an adult swimmer. Dennie has been a top finisher in many local races. She is a 5-time All-American champion in the 2-mile cable open water distance, and setting an Adirondack record in the 50, 500, and 1650 freestyle. She has earned national top ten times in Freestyle for the 1650 Free, 1,000 Free, 50 Backstroke, and 200 Backstroke (yards and meters).
Her coaching has attracted national attention too; she won the 2011 Kerry O’Brien award from US Masters Swimming for “building membership in communities across the country” and wrote an article for the American Swim Coaches Association Newsletter: “Motivating the New Masters Swimmer.”
In 2016 her relay team broke the record for swimming the length of Lake George in 13:07.07.
Dennie has had a lifelong passion for aesthetics and functionality, she thrives on transforming spaces into beautiful, efficient environments. Growing up alongside her father in the construction industry instilled a deep appreciation for craftsmanship and innovation in every project she undertakes.