The Rotary Clubs of Gig Harbor Midday and Rotary North bestowed the Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) on local students from Gig Harbor High School and Henderson Bay High School. The following students receiving this award were Cassius Via, Lauren Wrolson, Liam Bass, Scarlet Marden, Charlie Edgar, Jackson Davis, Noah Cedarland, Raine McDonald, and Chiarra Buster. The award recognizes local students for their capacity to be community and school leaders as seen in their dedication to community service.
Selected students receive a scholarship to attend the RYLA Northwest program, one of the longest-running RYLA programs in North America. Each year, Rotary Clubs from Districts 5020 and 5030 (King, Pierce, Thurston, Kitsap, Jefferson, and Clallum counties in the United States and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada) sponsor High School sophomores and juniors to attend this four-day conference focusing on leadership, team building, and community service. 104 students were selected to attend the conference June 7-10, 2023, at YMCA Camp Colman in Longbranch, WA.
Through the course of the program, students took part in personal development activities and team building exercises that challenged them to step outside their comfort zones, practice new leadership skills, and learn about community engagement. The RYLA attendees also heard from local leaders about leading during times of adversity, the importance of diversity and accessibility, and the benefits of community engagement and service.
The RYLA program is organized by Rotarian volunteers and executed by young leaders ranging from 18 to 26, all of whom are alumni of Rotary youth programs.
Rotary is a worldwide organization of more than 1.4 million business, professional, and community leaders. Members of Rotary clubs, known as Rotarians, provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.
There are 33,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas. Clubs are nonpolitical, nonreligious, and include members of all cultures, races, genders, and creeds. The Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotarians and friends of the Foundation who share its vision of a better world.
