The kids are the point.
That was the message at Tuesday evening's Youth of the Year banquet, where the Boys and Girls Club of El Dorado highlighted long-time member-turned-staffer Summer Smith, pitched their services to the community and delved into the role athletics play in youth development in a question-and-answer session with Razorbacks football coach Sam Pittman.
Greeting guests as they entered the First Financial Music Hall were some of the younger members of the BGCE, while older children helped usher attendees to their seats.
Karissa McDonald, executive director of the Arkansas Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs, began the annual fundraiser's program with a pitch for support, emphasizing the role Boys and Girls Clubs play in childhood growth. She asked guests to think of a teacher, coach or other adult mentor who had an outsize impact on their lives.
"For many kids in your community, and all across the State of Arkansas, that person, and that place, is at the Boys and Girls Club," she said. "All across the State of Arkansas, we have 72 sites that serve kids every day, after school and during the summer time, when they need us most. When they're left vulnerable and unsafe, without a place to go, the blue doors are open and they're here to make an impact on kids."
McDonald highlighted some of the programs offered by Boys and Girls Clubs around the state, including in El Dorado, like Career Launch, where Club members can explore future occupations, and Power Hour, an hour set aside each day for Club member to focus on their homework and other academic requirements.
"We serve kids and set them on the path to a great future by preparing them to graduate from high school and be ready, with a plan for success, whether that be to go off to a skilled labor trade school, maybe it's a university, or be prepared to enter the workforce, and have those skills that every employer desires," McDonald said.
Noting the mental health crisis that impacts one in six children, McDonald said Boys and Girls Clubs also provide children with regular contact with adults who care for them at a place where they're safe and their needs, both material and emotional, can be met.
"Every day these kids are coming into the club, they're greeted by somebody who believes in them, somebody who's invested in them and somebody who's giving them a chance," she said. "They've looked at them like that teacher or preacher or coach looked at you when you were a kid."
And children who attend Boys and Girls Clubs are more likely to find success before they age out of attending their local Clubs. McDonald said 95% of teens who are Club members in Arkansas avoid risky behaviors, and 97% are expected to graduate high school on time.
"These kids are the next generation, and you can bet that if there are more of those kids coming out of the Club like Summer, who you'll hear from in just a minute, that there is hope for the future. I know we worry about it every day when we see the news and everything that's going on, but I promise you that if you just walk behind the blue doors of a Club, you'll find that there is hope in the future, hope for tomorrow, with these kids coming out of this program," she said.
BGCE Executive Director David Lee took the stage next, and the unthinkable happened: the notorious Longhorns fan led guests in calling the Hogs.
"I've been hesitant to do this... I've had several requests to do this, and everyone that knows me knows why," he joked as he asked attendees to stand.
Lee introduced Summer, the 2023 BGCE Youth of the Year. Summer is a senior at El Dorado High School who joined the Club at 6 years old, became a junior staffer her freshman year of high school and has been a full staff member since her junior year at EHS.
Noting her academic accomplishments, which include a bevy of scholarships that will support her upcoming studies in nursing at the University of Central Arkansas, Lee said Summer exemplifies the BGCE's mission to instill values of service, academic excellence and dedication to a healthy lifestyle to children, while also developing them as leaders.
Lee played a video that showed Summer working with children at the BGCE Northwest Unit before welcoming her to the stage to say a few words. Visibly nervous at first, Summer could be observed becoming more comfortable as she talked about her positive experiences at the BGCE.
Summer said that as a Club member, her favorite parts of visiting the BGCE were when she got to go to the dance room or the gym. She recalled a summer dance showcase the BGCE organized one year to let their members show their stuff.
"Our parents were invited, friends were invited, staff were invited and we just showed off our dance moves and had fun," she said.
The gym was host to more dodgeball games than one could count, and while the competitions could get a little crazy at times, Summer said it was always a blast to play.
"One thing about dodgeball – it got real competitive," she said. "If you came in the gym, you were probably going to get hit with a dodgeball."
Once she became a junior staff member, Summer worked in the BGCE library, and when she became a program staff member, she began working in the STEM room, where she did science projects with Club members. She also still works in the library and tutoring kids at the Club.
"I want the kids to learn a little bit of everything," she said.
Working with disabled children has been gratifying and informative, she said, and through her work, she has become close with the younger Club members.
"The Club is definitely like a family, and it's definitely also like a home away from home. Being at the Club at the age of 6, when I walked through those doors, I immediately felt safe, cared for and loved, and that's something I make sure, when I'm working with those kids, that they feel safe, loved and cared for, because when they're not in my care, when they leave that environment, I don't know where they're going," she said.
Summer said she sets a daily goal for herself and the children she works with at the Club in order to help them all live up to their full potential.
"I want to teach these kids to be the best versions of themselves, because that is something that I was taught at the Boys and Girls Club, and it's something that helped me become the young lady that I am today," she said.
Becoming emotional, Summer gave thanks to those who have helped her as she's grown into a college-bound young woman, including her parents, grandparents, First Baptist Church – Cordell and BGCE staff, including Sharon Payne, Deneisa Jamerson and Lee.
"I couldn't have this opportunity to be here without Mr. David. He has known me from the age of six, and ever since I walked into that Club, Mr. David and me were really close," Summer said.
Speaker of the House Matthew Shepherd thanked Summer for her contributions to the Union County community before introducing the evening's keynote speaker, Coach Pittman. In a "fireside chat" format, Shepherd interviewed Pittman about the role athletics play in youth development, what it takes to play at the collegiate level and how coaches and other mentors can develop students into leaders.
"You know, I played youth sports and it's about the unity, the friendship – you can meet someone like Summer spoke about with some type of coach, leader, friends. It gives you an activity to do, and I think if we all were on a team, the world might be a little bit better, to be perfectly honest with you," Pittman said.
The coach said good character and determination are key to being a successful athlete.
"The will to play – willing to play hard – and having a great character, that'll take you a long way in football; probably take you a long way in life," he said.
Shepherd also noted that returning quarterback KJ Jefferson has established himself as a leader of his team, and Pittman said it's up to mentors to show young people how to become leaders.
"You're looking for loyalty, honesty – our mouth is so powerful, our mind is so powerful; what comes out of our mouth has a lot of power, and what our minds let us believe is so powerful – so you're looking for guys who are loyal to you, honest to you, love the game, know how to work," Pittman said. "That's what I'm looking for out of the guys on the team, but I think they're looking for the same thing out of us coaches."
Pittman also shared some words of wisdom for the young people in attendance.
"It's all about what you're willing to work for and what your mind is allowing you to achieve," Pittman said. "You've got to have a driving force, I believe, to reach whatever you deem a success. Whatever you deem a success is success, because you've reached your goal. I would just encourage you to set that bar as high as you can."
Lee said on Wednesday that while the final total of funds raised Tuesday hadn't been calculated yet, he knows the event was a success. In addition to tickets, guests also had the opportunity to purchase a VIP meet-and-greet with Pittman and bid in a silent auction that was held during the fundraiser. All funds raised will go toward operating the BGCE.