Boys & Girls Clubs of America Names 1998-99 National Youth of the Year.

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 17, 1998--Liberty J. Franklin, 17, of Everett, Washington, today became Boys & Girls Clubs of America's (B&GCA) 1998-99 National Youth of the Year.

Cited for her community service, academic achievement and leadership skills, Franklin will serve as spokesperson for some three million Boys & Girls Club members nationwide. The announcement was made at a Congressional Breakfast, co-hosted by Senator Strom Thurman (R-SC) and Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD).

A six-year member of Everett Boys & Girls Club, Franklin was one of five regional Youth of the Year finalists in the nation's capital to compete for the honor. During their visit to Washington, Franklin and the other finalists met with President Clinton and their Congressional representatives.

For earning the National Youth of the Year title, Franklin will receive $10,000 from The Reader's Digest Association, sponsor of The Youth of the Year program. Her duties during the one-year term will include testifying before special sessions of Congress, speaking to influential business, civic and governmental leaders, and traveling around the country to discuss important youth issues and the role Boys & Girls Clubs play in the lives of America's youth.

Franklin, who grew up in a single-parent home in a low-income housing development in Snohomish County where drugs, crime and violence are an everyday occurrence, managed to stay focussed through tremendous faith and courage. She teaches Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, participates in various community service activities, plays basketball and softball, all while maintaining a 3.95 GPA. Currently a senior at Everett High School, Franklin has a class standing of 7 out of 245 and is a member of the National Honor Society, and works part-time at a local bank. She plans to attend the University of Washington and wants to become an orthodontist so that she may provide free dental care to low-income families.

For Franklin, the Boys & Girls Club is a "safe haven" where she finds solace in relationships formed with members and staff. At the Club she developed leadership skills, improved her grades and gained a positive outlook on life. "It is because of the people and programs of the Boys & Girls Club that I am the person I am today," noted Franklin.

The other finalists are Thomas Dickey, 17, of Omaha, Nebraska; Thomas James, 16, of Fort Smith, Arkansas; Larry Lambert, 18, of Claymont, Delaware; and Arissa Madden, 18, of Biloxi, Mississippi. Each will receive a $2,000 scholarship from The Reader's Digest Association.

Participants in the Youth of the Year competition are chosen on local and state levels, with five regional winners vying for the national title. This year marks the first time the initiative received additional support from talk show host Oprah Winfrey. As part of a year-long fundraising campaign, "Oprah's Angel Network" generated some $3.5 million for B&GCA's 50 state Youth of the Year winners, resulting in $25,000 scholarships for the five finalists and 45 other state winners. In fact, enough money was generated to provide academic scholarships for an additional 100 outstanding youth over the next two years.

The Reader's Digest Association, Inc., a global publisher and direct marketer of products that inform, enrich, entertain and inspire people of all ages and all cultures around the world, has sponsored the Youth of the Year program since 1947.

Boys & Girls Clubs of America comprises a national network of more than 2,000 neighborhood-based facilities serving some three million young people, primarily from disadvantaged circumstances.