Boys & Girls Clubs of North County celebrates Rising Stars

FALLBROOK – The Boys & Girls Clubs of North County celebrated their annual Rising Star Award ceremony, May 23. Over 100 guests attended the event to help recognize a few of the club’s outstanding members, staff and volunteers.

“We look forward to this evening every year,” Lisa Ware, director of operations for the Boys & Girls of North County, said. “Through this event, we have the opportunity to acknowledge our members’ accomplishments in the presence of their friends and families.”

The evening began with the presentation of the Rising Star Award. This award grants honorees $200 toward school expenses. The Ridgecrest Family Endowment Fund was created in 2008 at the Legacy Endowment Community Foundation by Laurenn Barker and her brother, Sandy Prater, as an incentive to encourage youth to stay on the positive path toward high school and college. This year’s Rising Star recipients were Santiago Ramirez Gaspar and Isabella Magana.

After the presentation of the Rising Star winners, the club recognized a boy and girl of the year from each of the eight club sites. Youth members were also selected by their staff to receive awards in the areas of academics/reading, athletics, sportsmanship and citizenship.

At the end of the evening one member is selected as the Youth of the Year. It is the highest award a club can bestow on one of their members. This year the Boys & Girls Clubs of North County introduced Jasmine Wilson from Potter Junior High School as their Youth of the Year.

After the members are presented with their awards, the club recognized Sheila Cortez as their Coach of the Year. Cortez stepped in when the Vallecitos soccer team needed a coach, and her practices helped to equip her players with the knowledge and skills they needed to take them to the championship game.

The club awarded Miguel Gonzalez as the Volunteer of the Year for his continued support of club activities like Boys & Girls Club Week, club sports programs and the annual auction.

Finally, Chris Clements, was awarded the Staff MVP for his efforts in creating a fun, engaging and educational atmosphere for the members at the Vallecitos after school site.

For more information on the Boys & Girls Clubs of North County, visit http://www.bgcnorthcounty.org. For more information on Legacy Endowment Community Foundation, call (760) 728-3304.

Submitted by Boys & Girls Clubs of North County.