Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Youth of the Year recognition is the highest honor a Club member can achieve. 

 

Bria Anderson, a 17-year old junior at Jensen Beach High School, was named BGCMC's Youth of the Year on February 12, 2013 at a ceremony held on the Stuart campus of Indian River State College. 

Bria, an 11-year Member of BGCMC's East Stuart branch, competed against candidates representing each of the Clubs' four other branches.  This was the second time Bria has won the award as she had been named Youth of the Year in 2011. 

The four other candidates for the 2013 Youth of the Yearaward were: Coleen Chan (Hobe Sound), Lovely Davlimar (Palm City), Bridget Duignan (Port Salerno), and Kadesha Singleton (Indiantown). 

Each November, each of the five branches picks one nominee for its annual Youth of the Year competition. Each of these five nominees then works with volunteers from Toastmasters International, a non-profit organization developing public speaking and leadership skills through practice and feedback. The nominees are then judged by local dignitaries from the media and business communities, and a County-wide winner is named.

Nominees are then honored at a reception in February, and all five nominees later attend the annual state Youth of the Year competition. The five youth participate in leadership activities, team building workshops, and spend time meeting other civic-minded teens. State winners will then go on to compete at the national level where he or she will compete for a $50,000 scholarship and an appearance at the White House!