Boys & Girls Club names youth of the year

What Josh Minter couldn't find at home, he found one within the walls of the Boys & Girls Club of Western Nevada.

"It filled an emptiness," he explained. "This is a place to escape. I can't imagine my life without the club."

Nearly a decade after he first walked into the clubhouse, Minter, 18, was named Youth of the Year at the Awards Banquet on Thursday night.

"It's a great honor," he said from the Stewart Street complex that afternoon.

Minter said when he first started going to the club, it was merely day care. It wasn't until he was about 13 that it became an integral part of his life.

"I was going through those teenage times and it really helped out," he said. "I did my homework here and kept my grades up."

And it filled a void left at home.

"Since my father wasn't there, I had no one to learn from," he said. "The guys who used to work here like Travis Crowder and Tim McCullough were like a father figure for me. They were there and I could talk to them about anything."

Initially uninterested in sports, he learned to love them through the club and played three years of varsity football at Carson High School.

Crowder, now executive director of Lyon County's Boys & Girls Club and McCullough attended all of Minter's games.

Known now to the younger kids as "Mongo," Minter said he hopes to give back some of what he has received over the years.

"I need to be the same thing for them," he said. "I hope kids can come here and what they don't have at home, they find in me."

Club member Taylor Pierce, 9, recognizes Minter's influence.

"He's really cool," she said. "He likes kids and he likes to play with us."

Angela Augusta, 8, said Minter is "really good at playing 'Army, Navy.'"

Minter plans to earn a degree in recreation then return to the Boys & Girls Club as either a youth or sports director.

Youth of the Month and other community awards were also handed out during the banquet.

AWARD RECIPIENTS 2002

Volunteer Service Award

Capital Campaign Steering Committee

Gary Andreas, Lori Haney, Brent Holderman, Helaine Jesse, Dwight Millard, Kelli Newman, Brenda Robertson, Jennifer Russell, Gary Sheerin, Joann Sheerin, Rosemary Smith, Marv Teixeira, Roger Williams

Marketing Achievement Award

Steve Reynolds, Sign Pro

Distinguished Service Award

Carol Sheeks, Carson City School District summer food program

Mentor of the Year

Bob Thrower

Program Volunteer Award

Jean Hesse, sewing instructor

Employee of the Year

Melinda Fowler, program director

Youth of the Year

Josh Minter

Dinner entertainment provided by club members Crystal Diller, Sarah Barragan, Charyl Petersen and Carol Petersen.