The boy and girl of the year at the Baker Youth Center for 2016-17 are Zack Schultz and Laicey Snyder.
The top awards are based on the organization’s six pillars of character, including trustworthy, respectful, responsible, citizenship, caring and fairness, according to BYC Executive Director Tracy Furnivall. The top awards were presented as part of the annual awards celebration.
Schultz has been attending BYC for about five years, and Snyder for about three.
Runners-up were Jake Rhoades and Makayla Fruit.
Furnivall said the Boy and Girl of the Year Awards have been presented since the 1960s. Over the years, the BYC has added awards to over 50 students in Warsaw and over 80 countywide.
“The boy and girl (of the year award winners) are always willing to help, are never in any trouble and they’re solid kids always doing the right thing,” he said.
The club serves about 200 kids a night, so picking 50 kids for the awards is hard, he stated.
A Boy of the Month and a Girl of the Month is picked for every month from August to May.
The Boy of the Month recipients for the year are Hayden Xique, Keatrine Jones, Sebastian Baker, Oscar Salas, Nate Knecht, Kellen Hueber, Shannon Ridley, Ulises Herrera, Maxwell Miller and Schultz.
The Girl of the Month were Fruit, Ruby Shaffer, Alyzah Guerra, Sophia Rios, Teonna Hamilton, Remingtyn Oberg, Laney Dilley, Kasiahh Chupp, Brianna Craft and Madalyn Loftis.
The three girls and three boys receiving the Trustworthy award were Josie Lara, Emma Moss, Carly Schultz, Tyler Antunez, Josh Martin and Dalton McNees. The Respectful award went to Joshua Pratt, Oscar Salas, Cameron Fox, Monica Gomora, Chloe Jones and Colette Blackburn.
Dakota Betts, Natalie Cervantes, Kaci Shaffer, Landon Wilhemi, Tre Clark and Alex Brooks took home the Responsible award; while Kynna Yoder, Jersey Wilson, Kyra Veach, Blaze Strouse, Hunter Shambaugh and Xavier Xique took home the Citizenship award.
Caring award was presented to Anna Ramirez, Izabella Patrick, Yimeli Roqe-Paredes, Finn Sampson, Xander Smith, Michael Manes, with the Fairness award going to Eliza Silveus, Taila Kelley, Shelby Harlan, Carson Chizum, Isaac LaRue and Wesley Martin.
Todd Braddock, Lakeview Middle School teacher and BYC middle school coordinator, presented the junior high awards. Receiving those were Sarah Lynn Northop, Trustworthy; Sophia Bruce, Respectful; Brianna Craft, Responsible; Johl Jones, Fair; Keith Miller, Citizenship; and Haylie Shepherd, Caring.
