Character & Leadership Development

“The staff members are our friends.  Being a member of the Club is cool we get to do a lot of fun stuff.”

Youth of the Year is a national program that recognizes our young people’s commitment to the Club, community, family and education. Our 2007 Youth of the Year motivates young people to be their best.

Quae is a sophomore at Union City High School where his favorite subject is Algebra.  In addition to school he divides his time between volunteering at the Club, singing in the choir and church activities.  Quae volunteers with the Club’s youth program because he believes that the Club develops leaders, teaches sportsmanship and shows young people how to work together toward a common goal.  His long term goals are to graduate college and to become the CPO of a Boys & Girls Club.

As the Youth of the Year, Quae is an ambassador for Boys & Girls Club of Northwest Tennessee during special events and meetings.  He also represented Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Tennessee in the state Youth of the Year competition held in Nashville in April 2007.

State Youth of the Year has the opportunity to move forward to the regional and the national competitions. At the state level, the youth could win a $1,000 scholarship. The five regional winners selected among the state winners will compete for the national honor in Washington, D.C., where the President will install the National Youth of the Year officially in a White House ceremony. The youth receives $10,000 scholarship at the regional level, and a $15,000 scholarship award at the national level.

Torch Club is a small-group leadership development program targeted to youth ages 11 to 13.  Torch Club members elect officers and plan and implement their own activities and community service projects. Each Torch Club receives an official charter from Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

Torch Club members are dedicated to bettering their community.  They have completed several service projects in Union City and Obion County.  Projects include a book fair to promote literacy in our community.  More than 340 free books were given out.  Recently the Torch Club has teamed up with the Obion County Health Department to teach others the dangers of smoking.  Club members will be teaching awareness by using skits, essays and speeches to reach others.  The Community Clean-Up Project is an ongoing project if the Torch Club.  Each week club members go to different areas surrounding our club and help beautify our community.