Matt and Janice Kurth, Marty Peters, Jim and Bernadette Watkins and Mary Alice Peters at Youth of the Year Celebration
Karl and Suzy Wagner with Larry Twomey and Carol Moore
Joe McLeod gets the 50s vibe
Back to the track for several of our members to celebrate outstanding members of Boys & Girls Clubs (BGC) of San Dieguito, a major beneficiary of Rotary Club of Del Mar. Attendees and staff alike played to the theme of the 50s and Eric Nelte’s 1955 T-bird was featured right by the dance floor. Kicking off the program, CEO Marineke Vandervort welcomed guests and remarked on the growth of the program over its 53 years- from just 50 boys to now over 7,000 boys and girls who are members of the seven clubhouses. The annual budget grew too: from 25,000 dollars 50 years ago to nearly 7 million dollars today.
Youth of the Year celebrates the achievements of seven outstanding club members who embody the values of leadership and service as well as maintain academic excellence and a healthy lifestyle. They represent the impact that Boys and Girls Clubs can make in the lives of young people. Bella Andrade, Richar Ramos Hernandez, Cole Snider, Kyle Shyffer, Ron Jay Torres, Megan Woelkers, and Nick Young were Youth of the Year nominees. Cole Snider was named Youth of the Year and will be entered in the regional competition as part of the selection of national youth of the year. Cole will be a senior at San Dieguito Academy and benefitted from BGC of San Dieguito basketball leagues. To give back to the club, he and his brother founded “Access Basketball” at BGC San Dieguito and began holding skills clinics every Friday afternoon. Cole said he values the skills he’s learned mentoring younger club members and coaching basketball at Capri Elementary. All nominees were awarded an HP laptop and a $1,000 scholarship. Their stories provided motivation for a successful Raise the Paddle session, which raised around $50,000 to benefit BGC San Dieguito members. View photos from the day at the club website and visit the Google Photo album to download any pictures you like.