Teens and staff mentors from Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin, Boys & Girls Club of Lewis County, and Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County recently gathered in Ellensburg at the Lazy F Camp and Retreat Center for a hands-on weekend of Youth of the Year preparation and fun. This Youth of the Year retreat has been going on for about 10 years now.
Teens arrived Friday evening and participated in ice breakers to got to know one another, to become more relaxed around each other. Then they played games and set goals for themselves. The rest of the weekend was a mixture of more fun and games but also in-depth preparation for their organizations’ Youth of the Year events which are coming up. Some organizations had already had their events and so their youth prepared for the Washington State Youth of the Year, set to kick off in late March. This retreat involved speech prep and delivering their speeches in front of each other, hearing feedback on said speeches, and refining them. Teens also engaged in mock interviews to test their interview skills. This was a way to improve their presentation amidst judges and the audience alike.
The weekend ended for the youth at noon on Sunday, but many memories and bonds were formed. Now the teens will head to their respective organizational Youth of the Year events and from there, the winners will head to the 2026 Washington State Youth of the Year.