Please mark your calendars for the 2010 Arizona State Youth of the Year Legislative Breakfast presented by the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on Tuesday, April 13, at the Sheraton Downtown in Phoenix from 7:15 am – 8:30 am.

 
Congratulations to the 2009 State Youth of the Year!

Precious Wilson
Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley

Seventeen-year-old Precious Wilson of Tempe was named 2009 Boys & Girls Club State Youth of the Year at the 9th annual Arizona State Legislative Breakfast presented by the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on Tuesday, April 21.

Wilson, a nine-year member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley’s Ladmo Branch in Tempe stayed active with ballet classes, playing violin and cello, church ministries, choir, cross-country, countless hours of community service with Arizona Veterans and cleaning up the neighborhood where her Club is located. Wilson is a graduate of Marcos De Niza High School and is attending Northwood University in Palm Beach, Florida. She will double major in Business Management and Dance and would like to own a dance studio someday.

Terry Porter, a former NBA All-Star player and member of the Boys & Girls Clubs Hall of Fame, was the keynote speaker at the breakfast. “These candidates have done an unbelievable job,” Porter said during his speech. “It’s up to us to help young kids get a higher education. We honor kids who make the most of a great opportunity and to the supporters who made it possible.”

As State Youth of the Year, Wilson took home a $1,000 scholarship from Readers Digest and a $1,800 scholarship from the Fiesta Bowl. Additionally, Wilson has already received a $20,000 educational fund from The Victoria Lund Foundation, a supporter of the East Valley Youth of the Year Banquet.

The three State Youth of the Year semi-finalists were:

• Christina Eastin (far left), Boys & Girls Clubs of the Colorado River

• Stephanie Gonzales (second from right), The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Yuma

• Peter Anderelli (far right), Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale

The remaining candidates were:

• Breanna Corey, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Phoenix

• Tiffany Faulkner, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Casa Grande Valley

• Mark Quijada, Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson

• Tiffany Wojtak, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Youth Center

• Alyssa Yazzie, Boys & Girls Club of Mohave Valley

Judges for the 2009 competition included: Win Holden of Arizona Highways Magazine and the Fiesta Bowl Board; Chief Pennie Gillette-Stroud of the Arizona Department of Public Safety; the Honorable Cecil Patterson, Retired Arizona Court of Appeals Judge; LuAnn Leonard of the Arizona Board of Regents; and Marc Martinez, Reporter/Anchor for Fox 10 News.

After the legislative breakfast, Wilson and the three semi-finalists visited the State Capitol where Wilson led the pledge of allegiance on the floor of the Arizona House of Representatives.