The Youth of the Year Banquet was a wonderful time to celebrate all of the Club members' and staff's accomplishments throughout 2021-2022.

Congratulations to Ethan Richter, Olivia Scheid, Hayley Entzminger, and Mikayla Kleifgen!

Ethan Richter is our BGC of Portage County Youth of the Year recipient for 2022! Each year, candidates complete a challenging application packet and present their achievements to a panel of judges. Ethan’s daily kindness and helpfulness, leadership, respectfulness, and willingness to help as Keystone President made him an exemplary candidate. Ethan uses his generosity and humor as a great example of what being a respectable, responsible, and safe Club member is whether in the gym or during programs.

Olivia Scheid is our BGC of Portage County Jr. Youth of the Year recipient for 2022! This award seeks to recognize young leaders within our Club sites while also fostering members’ emerging leadership abilities and preparing them for later participation in the Youth of the Year Contest.
Our 2022 Jr. Youth of the Year is a shining example of a safe, responsible, and respectable Club member. Olivia is polite and friendly to everyone in the Teen Center, and always willing to try something new. She uses her amazing personality to connect with many other members of the Teen Center, through different programs and Friday Late Nights.

Haley Entzminger is our 2022 Youth Development Professional of the Year! This new award is meant to recognize our rockstar staff that goes above and beyond to meet the needs of our kids at the BGC. Even after graduating, Haley continued working at the Boys & Girls Club. She has worn many different hats; from an intern to Program Leader, Fine Arts Specialist, even co-hosting last year's Youth of the Year Banquet in a drive-through format, she has stepped into a Social-Emotional Specialist role to meet the kids who need the club the most and most recently stepping into a leadership role as our Plover Center Assistant Director. She has continuously stood out and stepped up in many roles to meet the needs of our Plover Center kids. Even wearing bunny ears when duty called!
Haley has a passion for working with youth and making a positive impact in the lives of all kids.

Mikayla Kleifgen, our Director of Resource Development & Marketing, is our 2022 Staff of the Year! She does so much in her role that it’s hard to believe at times how she does it. She is fast, creative, flexible, energetic, positive, competitive, has a big heart, and always eager to move on to the next project. The Taste of Wine & Cheese event this past Friday night solidified this award decision, as this year's event was a record-breaker for our Club, BY FAR, raising $100,000 more than it has ever before! Mikayla oversees our fundraising, marketing, social media pages, an annual campaign, and event planning. She works with our donors, Board Members, and even works with Club members to put together fun videos to tell our Club story. Fundraising has not been easy with the pandemic. Mikayla continued to keep the Club front and center with our donors through many creative ways. She never complained or became frustrated with things out of her control. She simply smiled, came up with new approaches and solutions, and remained focused on serving our Club kids. We are so proud of Mikayla and all she has accomplished already in her bright, 5-year career with our Boys & Girls Club.

And a big congratulations to all of the other wonderful Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Month recipients throughout Portage County. You're all bright, shining role models for our Club members, and have wonderful futures ahead of you!

More pictures of award recipients and the event can be found on our Facebook page! www.facebook.com/bgclubpc