Boys & Girls Clubs of the Chattahoochee Valley (BGCCV) will host its 2nd annual Corporate Youth of the Year and Hall of Fame Celebration sponsored by TSYS on Thursday, February 19, 2015, at the National Infantry Museum at 7pm. At the event, one of four teen club members will be named the BGCCV’s 2015 Youth of the Year winner. This year’s four finalists are N’Zier Bohannon, Austin Leathers, Aysia Miles and Esmael Soto. 

The newly named winner will receive $2,500 to go toward their college education with the three other finalists receiving $1,000 all from the John B. Woodruff, Jr. Scholarship Fund. The Youth of the Year winner will then have the opportunity to compete against other Boys & Girls Clubs members across Georgia for the state title and an additional $1,000 in college scholarships. State winners move on to vie for the distinction of one of five regional finalists who will compete for the title of National Youth of the Year. 

Prior to the awards ceremony in February, contestants will go through a series of rigorous training and preparation exercises for the event. Finalists will prepare lengthy applications and speeches for judging with the help of Assistant Professor of Communications at Columbus State, Dr. Christopher McCollough. This is the second year Dr. McCollough has assisted the finalists with their public speaking and interview skills. In addition, finalists will complete an etiquette course to become well prepared for the semi-formal event and judging.

Judging for the finalists will take place on this Thursday, January 22, 2015, at Georgia Power with influential community members volunteering as judges. Current judges and their respective companies include: Retired Superior Court Judge John Allen; John Flournoy, Flournoy Development; Jake Flournoy, Flournoy Partners; David Lewis, Muscogee County Schools; Judy Dunham, Georgia Power; Jeff Beck, ACOM; Rachel Reis-Obermeyer, Aflac; Dr. Dennis Rome, CSU Dean of Letters & Sciences; William Taylor, Taylor CPA & Associates; Nora Garrard current BGCCV Board President, Jack Turner; and Nancy Williams, Columbus Regional Health. Finalists will be judged on their service to their club and community, academic performance and contributions to their family. 

The event on February 19 will also serve as a fundraising event for BGCCV with sponsorship levels ranging from $1,500 to $10,000. The 2015 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will also take place during the event with Mr. Phil Tomlinson being inducted as the BGCCV Club Alumni and Mr.John Flournoy being recognized as the Service to Youth inductee. The event is open to the public with tickets available at $100 each. To purchase tickets, please visit giving.bgc-colsga.org/YouthoftheYear. For more information on sponsorships and the event itself, visit www.bgc-colsga.org.