Area Boys & Girls Club members to compete for Youth of the Year

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — Marsheonia Redding and Troy Blackmon, members of the Boys & Girls Club of Youngstown, have been chosen to compete for Youth of the Year at the regional conference in Toledo this weekend.

Marsheonia, a 10th-grade student at Chaney High School, and Troy, an eighth-grade student at Eagle Heights Academy, were chosen by Boys & Girls Club leaders at the state level after having been nominated, written essays, gathered support letters and prepared short speeches.

They will compete regionally where five winners will be selected representing the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest and Pacific regions. Each regional winner receives an engraved plaque and a $5,000 scholarship. The five regional winners go on to participate in the national competition in Washington, D.C.

Participants are recognized at a Congressional Breakfast and get a White House visit with the president. The national winner receives the National Youth of the Year plaque and a $10,000 scholarship.

This is the first time in the 40-year history of the local club that two members have been chosen to compete at the regional level.

The Youth of the Year program is a recognition program that celebrates the Boys & Girls Club experience. It is a year-round program for youths age 14-18 that promotes and celebrates members’ service to the club, community and family; academic performance; moral character; life goals; poise and public speaking abilities.