The Exchange Club 2021-22 Youth of the Year program was held at Rustic Grill on Tuesday, April 26. The winner, Savannah Reynolds, will advance to the State Exchange Club competition, and then possibly to National at the state level to compete for $10,000.00. Members of the club are Salma Cueva Santana, ECI; Grace Catherine Hood, DEA, second place; and Savannah Reynolds, SHS, first place; Landon Godman, ECI; Rylie Rowland, DEA; Paul Warren, SHS; with Mark Williams, Program chairman. Hood was selected second overall in the competition which recognizes outstanding young people in the community.
Each school (ECI, DEA, SHS) counselor nominates one male and one female, and they are then judged anonymously by judges who total the scores for the places.
This is a quote from my actual program: “The process for selecting the National Youth of the Year begins at the local club level. Exchange Clubs provide a yearly recognition of outstanding youth in their communities. Each club selects a Youth of the Year and forwards an application for district (or state) judging. District honorees are judged at the national level for the final selection of the prestigious National Youth of the Year. The National Youth of the Year receives a $10,000 scholarship and the opportunity to address hundreds of Exchangites at the National Youth Recognition Luncheon. In addition, the recipients winning essay is featured in Exchange Today magazine.
The YOY application scores the youth on several sections of achievement - School related activities, Community service activities, grades, special achievements and awards, and finally, the essay. All these are scored and totaled up allowing us to come up with overall scores and the winner(s).
The Scholarship awarded on the local level is $450 for first place and $350 for second place”, stated Mark Williams.
