March 21st was a historic day for our young Club. Brenna Cherry departed for Seattle under gray skies and the chance of a pass closure to represent the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties at the Washington State Youth of the Year competition at Seattle University.
Ms. Cherry faced stiff competition at the Prosser competition that was held in November during the Dinner with Friends. As the Prosser Youth of the Year, Brenna earned a $500 scholarship, and the ability to represent the Club at the area competition in Pasco in January. Up against a strong field, including a State Youth of the Year finalist from 2010, Brenna brought additional notoriety to the Prosser Club by earning an additional $1,000 scholarship and title of Youth of the Year for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties.
At Seattle University, Brenna competed alongside 13 strong candidates representing nearly 80,000 Club kids in Washington State. It was a deep field that included many youth who have overcome significant obstacles to become leaders for their generation. Finalists were surprised at the end of the competition and celebratory dinner with brand-new state of the art laptops courtesy of Microsoft.
After a fun trip from Seattle to Olympia aboard a stretch Escalade and an overnight stay at the Red Lion, the Youth of the Year finalists gathered together and went to the Governor's Mansion for breakfast and the announcement of who was selected to represent the state. Following remarks by both Lt. Governor Brad Owen and Governor Christine Gregoire, the Community Service Award was bestowed upon Twristan Waite, a member from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Washington in Vancouver, WA.
As Governor Gregoire began talking about the honor of being selected State Youth of the Year the tension mounted; as she read the name of Brenna Cherry aloud, her family and Club staff stood stunned amidst the applause and congratulations being offered, as Brenna became the first High School Junior in many, many years to become the Washington State Youth of the Year. Not only that, but Brenna is also the first State Youth of the Year for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties and the first for any organization in Eastern Washington.
Thanks to Key Bank, the title sponsor of the Washington State Youth of the Year, and national sponsor Tupperware, Brenna will head into her senior year with at least $5,000 in scholarships tucked away for her post-secondary education, where she hopes to become a pediatric dentist. Ms. Cherry will now begin preparing for the regional competition this summer in Los Angeles where she will compete against youth from 10 other western states to serve as ambassador for the Pacific Region for National Youth of the Year in Washington, DC this fall.
