Madison, WI – On Tuesday at 5:00 pm, Boys & Girls Clubs of Wisconsin will announce their 2022 Youth of the Year winner, the highest honor given to a club member. The top five finalists will speak at the awards ceremony, and will be joined by Packer Star Aaron Jones, Bucks Legend Sidney Moncrief, Emmy Award winner Charlie Berens, and an all-star cast of club alumni. Bally Sports Wisconsin — in conjunction with the Packers, Brewers and Bucks — will award $20,000 in scholarships to all winners. The celebration will stream over Facebook Live at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/BGCWIS
Now in its 72nd year, the Youth of the Year program honors our nation’s most awe-inspiring young people on their paths to great futures. Each year Wisconsin clubs from 161 sites across 59 cities select representatives to compete at the local level, with winners advancing to state, regional and national competition. Each competing Club member has to meet academic and community service requirements, write essays, submit letters of endorsement and prepare a three-minute speech. The winners were selected by an esteemed panel of fourteen judges on Friday, who included:
- Rachel Graham, Wisconsin Appellate Judge, District IV Court of Appeals
- Bobbi Jo Eisenreich, Corporate & Foundation Giving for Green Bay Packers
- Arvind Gopalratnam, Executive Director of Milwaukee Bucks Foundation
- Alexzandra Shade, Dir. of Corporate Social Responsibility CUNA Mutual Group
- Maggie Gau, Chief of Staff for Governor Tony Evers
- Makda Fessahaye, City of Milwaukee Director of Employee Relations
- Savion Castro, Board of Education Madison Metropolitan School District
- T.R. Williams, Assistant Deputy Secretary, Department of Health Services
- Jodi Scholbe, Senior Marketing Consultant for Bally Sports Wisconsin
Wisconsin clubs serve over 140,000 youth, more per population than any other state in the country, and more youth than any other Wisconsin organization outside of the public school system. Clubs also provide over 2.1 million meals and snacks each year at no cost, because it’s hard to learn and grow when you’re hungry.
