Congratulations to the WA State Youth of the Year nominees and recipients!

Each year, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington State hosts the WA State Youth of the Year program. This year’s three-day youth leadership event kicked off with a reception at the Governor’s Mansion in Olympia, where participating youth were officially introduced and presented the work they've done in their communities. The 16 finalists participated in leadership development activities, including an interview practice workshop hosted by the Washington State Employees Credit Union and a speech prep workshop at the Henry T. Schatz Boys & Girls Club in Lakewood. For fun, they went to a selfie museum and visited some of Seattle's best sites in a limousine.

HCA would like to congratulate the WA State Military Youth of the Year, Natalia S.R. from Hillside Youth Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and the WA State Youth of the Year, Kurt C. Jr., from Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County. Both Natalia and Kurt will advance to the Pacific Region Youth of the Year competition which will take place on June 3–4 in Los Angeles, CA.

Congratulations to all 16 finalists and thank you to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Washington State for their dedication to prevention work across Washington.