Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County Celebrates Success at Their 2017 Annual Youth of the Year Competition and Annual Celebration.

It was a fantastic night of celebration, Wednesday February 22nd at the Santa Lucia River Club Ballantrae. Over 250 community members came out to support the Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County and the Youth of the Year candidates, Resharrd Coleman, Jennifer Louis, Markia Jones and Aleshia Johnson.

The candidates represented their Clubs well each asking for a call to action from the crowd to join the Boys & Girls Clubs and support the youth of St Lucie County. The night was filled with emotion, recognition and fun culminating in the reveal of this year’s Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County’s Youth of the Year winner, Aleshia A. Johnson.

“Youth of the Year is the Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County’s premier youth recognition program celebrating the extraordinary achievements of Club members. The Youth of the Year embodies the values of leadership and service, academic excellence and healthy lifestyles.” said Assistant Police Chief Rich Del Toro, Vice President of the Board for Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County.

All of the candidates embody these values and were rewarded for their hard work and accomplishments. Each candidate received a $1,000 scholarship and $250 in cash from the Youth of the Year title sponsor, Ken & Aileen Pruitt, laptops from the Peter W. Busch Family Foundation, passes to the St. Lucie County Fair and goodies from Natalie’s Orchid Island and Jucie Co. and the Feathered Nest.

As the 2017 Youth of the Year winner, Aleshia was presented with additional educational scholarships including, $2,000 from Natalie’s Orchid Island and Jucie Co. and $1,000 from the Port St. Lucie Downtown Lions Club. Aleshia was also provided a sponsorship to attend an upcoming Honor Flight compliments of Dr. Shamsher Singh.

From here, Aleshia advances to State Competition where she will compete against other county winners for the state title and the opportunity to advance to regionals. Ultimately five Regional Finalists travel to Washington DC in September to compete for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s National youth of the Year title.

This year’s judges led by Travis Leonard from A & G Concrete Pools included Gertrude Walker- Supervisor of Elections, Brandon Smith – Southern Eagle Distributing, Frank Tranchilla – Natalie’s Orchid Island & Juice Company, Susan John – Coca Cola Beverages Florida & Jolien Carballo – City of Port St. Lucie

Joining presenting sponsors, Ken & Aileen Pruitt this year in making this celebration possible were GL Homes, FPL, Marisol’s Photography, Traxx Entertainment and Santa Lucia River Club Ballantrae.