Fourteen teenagers from around the state are competing for Arizona Youth of the Year by the Boys & Girls Club. The winner will be announced at a breakfast on April 22 in downtown Phoenix.
Their stories are inspirational about how they have succeeded despite living in poverty, surrounded by drugs and violence and being raised by single moms. These teens have found their inner strength at the Boys & Girls Club. They act as mentors for younger kids and volunteer at the Clubs. They also are great examples by being successful and active in high school. All 14 kids plan to go to college and pursue professional careers.
The fourteen candidates are:
• 18 year-old Jarmarkus Anderson of Phoenix
• 18 year-old Brett Armstrong of Safford
• 16 year-old Joaquin Campos of Casa Grande
• 17 year-old Allison DeVane of Goodyear
• 17 year-old Christina Eastin of Bullhead City
• 16 year-old Glenda Esquivel of Somerton
• 18 year-old Mara Graves of Tucson
• 16 year-old Emily Holzmann of Prescott Valley
• 17 year-old Tessa Kozlowski of Vail
• 18 year-old Katie Loker of Scottsdale
• 15 year-old Taylor McDowell of Mohave Valley
• 17 year-old Harmony Nelson of Mesa
• 14 year-old James Thornton of Sierra Vista
• 18 year-old Paige Wyles of Cottonwood
Here is a link to a package of stories about these remarkable kids.
http://www.azcentral.com/specials/special44/articles/0410edboys0420intro...
Check out their stories also in the April 20 Valley and State section's education page.
Here's more from the press release from the Boys and Girls Club:
Fourteen outstanding teenagers throughout the state of Arizona will come together on Tuesday, April 22nd for the 8th Annual Arizona State Youth of the Year “Best of the Best” Legislative Breakfast presented by the Fiesta Bowl. The event will be held at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix from 7:00am-8:30am.
The keynote speaker is Sergeant Ed Alameda, with the City of Maricopa Police Department. Alameda is a former member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson. He is also a past State of Arizona, Pacific Region and National Youth of the Year (1982). All fourteen candidates will receive a $1,000 educational scholarship from Fiesta Bowl and the overall winner will receive $3,000 from Fiesta Bowl and $1,000 from Reader’s Digest. The state winner will represent Arizona in the regional competition to be held at Disneyland, CA in July. The regional winner will then advance to the National Youth of the Year competition in Washington, D.C. in September and meet President Bush in the Oval Office.
Sponsored by Reader’s Digest, the National Youth of the Year program is designed to promote and recognize service to community and Club, academic performance, contributions to family and spiritual life and the setting and achieving of positive life goals. The five regional winners will each receive $10,000 in educational scholarship from Reader’s Digest and the overall national winner will receive $15,000 in educational scholarship and will be congratulated by the President of the United States in a ceremony at the White House.
The State of Arizona Youth of the Year competition has produced regional and national winners. In the seven years the legislative breakfast has existed, four out of seven State of Arizona Youth of the Year winners went on to win the regional title. One of those regional winners, Donald E. Smith from the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley, captured the national title in 2002. For more information regarding the Arizona State Youth of the Year “Best of the Best” Legislative Breakfast or for photo requests, contact Mindee Padilla at mindeep@clubzona.org or 480.820.3688.
About the Boys & Girls Clubs Arizona Alliance
The Boys & Girls Clubs Arizona Alliance (http://www.azabgc.org) is made up of 21 Organizations comprising 72 Clubs sites across the state. Those Club sites offer programs and services which promote and enhance the development of boys and girls by instilling a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging and influence. Boys & Girls Clubs in Arizona serve over 140,000 kids each year, and that number continues to grow. Boys & Girls Clubs are a safe place to learn and grow -- all while having fun, making it truly The Positive Place for Kids.
Lori Baker is mom to two daughters, 21 and 23 years old. She is
editor for the Valley and State section's Education and Environment pages in the Arizona Republic.
It's always great to see
It's always great to see positive stories about teenagers. I think there are more out there than we ever hear about because the "troubled" ones get all the attention. Thanks for sharing this!
Susan & Neil Hampton have three spectacular children, Alexander, Isabel and David, plus one amazing teenager, Eric. Susan does community outreach for arizonamoms.com.
“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” - Margaret Atwood