Yokosuka Kinnick High School Student Selected as Regional Youth of the Year
May 7, 2010
By Mark Elrod, CFAY Public Affairs

Recently, Nile C. Kinnick High School student Andrew Brenyo was selected as the Boys and Girls Club of America (BGCA) Regional Youth of the Year (YOY) and presented a plaque for his accomplishment during the Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY) Month of the Military Child celebration.

“It is an honor to represent organizations that have done so much for me,” said Brenyo. “The Boys and Girls Club of America and the Yokosuka Teen Center have provided me and many other youth with many great opportunities. It is also great to have a place to go to that feels like home. I know I am always welcome at the teen center. I always feel comfortable being there.”

The YOY program aims to develop BGCA members who are well-groomed, speak clearly, and are knowledgeable spokespersons for their club and community.

According the BGCA Web site, since 1947, the YOY program, which is nationally sponsored by the Reader’s Digest Foundation, has recognized outstanding contributions to a member’s family, school, community and BGCA, academic excellence and personal challenges and obstacles they have overcome.

“Andrew, to me, is the definition of a perfect Youth of the Year candidate for several reasons,” said CFAY Morale Welfare and Recreation Division Teen and Youth Program Coordinator Lee Leach. “He has proven to be a leader among his peers.”

According to Leach, Brenyo has spent several hours providing service to the local community and has enriched the lives of those around him with his musical talent.

“My whole family likes to get involved in the community,” said Brenyo. “So, I am following their example. I also like the idea that I can use my music to help various charities and to support a variety of diverse base events.”

In addition to Brenyo and his family working together in the community, they work together at home as well.

“I have a special needs sister so it takes more work and patience,” Brenyo said. “My family works as a team and I need to do my part to support them.”

Andrew has been an active member of the CFAY Youth Club for several years, participating in a variety of programs and taking advantage of mentorship and opportunities provided to him through the club.

“One person who works in the Teen Center that I talk to a lot and get advice from is Mike Gordan, Brenyo said. “One of the people I work with musically is Paul Ergus. Paul helps me not only with music but with life in general.”

According to the BGCA Web site, in addition to receiving an engraved plaque, each Regional Youth of the Year receives a $10,000 scholarship.

For more information about BGCA, visit their Web site http://www.bgca.org/.