Youth of the Year

Youth of the Year Brittany Barksdale with her family.

On January 9, we hosted our annual Youth of the Year competition to select our official youth representative for 2014. The event included the Youths of the Year for our San Pedro Club, Port of LA Club and Wilmington Club competing for the coveted spot. We are proud to announce that Port of LA Club member, Brittany Barksdale is the 2014 Youth of the Year for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles Harbor. 

In November and December of last year, our three Clubs held their own Youth of the Year competitions to select an exemplary youth who would represent their Clubs. Brittany was chosen by the Port of LA Club in December and by our organization earlier this month due to her hard work and strong values. She is a senior at Port of LA High School where she is the president of the Black Student Union and member of the cheer team. At the Port of LA Club, she serves as president of the Keystone group, leading her peers in volunteer activities for the community. Brittany will go on to represent our organization at the Youth of the Year competition for Boys & Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles County and, if successful, will continue to compete in additional regional competitions.

The Youth of the Year competition is designed for the most dedicated youths in our organization. Ashley Escobedo was selected as the Youth of the Year for our San Pedro Club where she serves as president of her Keystone group and works part time in our high school center. She is a senior at CALPAC charter high school. Crystal Cabello was selected as the Youth of the Year for our Wilmington Club where she works part time as a staff and role model to our elementary school youth. She attends Long Beach City College and is also part of her Club's Keystone group. All three Youths of the Year demonstrate our mission in their daily activities. We are very proud of their accomplishments!

Selecting our Youth of the Year was a challenging process for our volunteer judges. A special thanks to Eileen Hupp of the Palos Verdes Chamber of Commerce, Betsy Brien of Phillips 66, Steve Faichney of Valero and Rosa Pesenti of Xerox who selected our Youth of the Year as well as Ryan Ferguson and Gabriela Medina of Councilmember Joe Buscaino's Office, Isaac Finch of Fin-wall & Associates, George Mayer of Coastline Equity, Oscar Salcedo of I Heart Wilmington, Joseph Kuban of LAPD Sheriffs' Dept. and Alma Ortiz of Hojas Tea House & Cafe for serving as judges at the individual Club competitions.

All three Youths of the Year from our organization.