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2008 Youth of the Year
March 28, 2008– Boys & Girls Clubs of the Western Reserve held a local Youth of the Year competition on March 6, 2008 between four Teens from the Summit and Portage county Clubs. Mario Anderson age 16, Christian Bowie age 16, Brittany Graf age14 and Peyton Williams-Lacy age 14 participated in the competition. Among the judges were Ann Brennan, community leader, Mary Beth Carroll, President of FirstEnergy Foundation, Andre Dominick, Enterprise Manager for Lexmark, Leslie Goldwater-Nelson, Program Officer for GAR Foundation, Terry Hunt, President of national accounts for Med-Line ,Barbara Johnson, owner of Jewelry Art, Fred Johnson, Corporate Vice President of Davey Tree, Suzanne Rickards, community leader, Robbie Stillman, community leader and long time Boys & Girls Club volunteer, State Representative Vernon Sykes and Summit County Juvenile Judge Linda Tucci-Teodosio. Mario Anderson was chosen as the local winner for the Youth of the Year competition, receiving a $1,000 college scholarship and a $100 gift card to Target from the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Western Reserve. Mario will proceed to the State Competition in Livonia, MI to compete for another $1,000 scholarship and if he wins will go on to participate in the regional competition. The other participants were awarded a $50 gift card to Borders and a $100 gift card to Target.
Each member had to prepare a packet that included transcripts, letters of reference and letters from the Boys & Girls Club staff. Each packet was sent to the eleven judges who evaluated and scored the packets on home and family; moral character; community; school; service to Club; life goals; ability to overcome obstacles; and essays. On the evening of the Youth of the Year competition, the four candidates gave five minute speeches and were interviewed for 20 minutes by the judges. The judges further evaluated the candidates on poise and public speaking.
The Youth of the Year program is Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s premier youth recognition program for Club members. This program promotes and celebrates service to Club, community and family; academic performance; moral character; life goals; and poise and public speaking ability. The Youth of the Year program is effective because it is a year-round tool for fostering young people’s character, personal growth and leadership qualities. Boys & Girls Clubs recognize members, age 14-18, who were Youth’s of the Month. The local winner will go to the state level and then go on to participate in the regional competition. The five regional winners will each receive an engraved plaque and a $10,000 scholarship and move on to compete on the national level. The National Youth of the Year receives an additional $15,000 scholarship and is installed by the President of the United States. Reader’s Digest Foundation has sponsored the Youth of the Year program for more than 60 years.
The Boys & Girls Clubs serve at-risk youth through three main locations in inner-city Akron and one in Ravenna; Akron After School partnerships and GirlPower! programs in local elementary schools; and a Saturday Club for Perkins Middle School students in conjunction with the Knight Foundation. The Clubs serve hundreds of kids each year, providing positive, enriching activities during the hours that are widely considered to be the most dangerous for children – the hours after school. Clubs provide both a short term and long term benefit to the community, Parents know their children are safe, receiving high quality services, completing their homework and having their bodies and souls nourished. At th esame time children learn, have fun and are exposed to a myriad of activities and interests, opening their eyes to a wider perception of opportunities available to them. The goal is nothing short of changing Club members’ view of the world and, through them, the world itself.
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