Page 16 - South Mississippi Living - December, 2024

COAST NOTE
story by Cherie Ward
photo courtesy of Boys & Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast
Aria Grady, a Pass Christian High School Senior, has been tapped as the Youth of the Year for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast.
It’s an accomplishment she’s been striving toward since she was only six years old and noted the club has helped her grow into the young woman she is today.
Grady, a member of the Qatar Center, recently received the leadership and academic excellence honor at the 57th Annual Meeting & Youth of
the Year Celebration at the Great Southern Club in Gulfport, which has an accompanying $1,500 scholarship.
Also vying for the award were Roxas Jordan of the East Biloxi Unit, Richard Shorty of the IP Center, Jacque Hartzog of the Forest Heights Unit, Trevion Allen of the Hancock County Unit, and Joseph Daniel of the Qatar Center.
Youth of the Year winners and candidates are role models for the younger kids enrolled in the clubs and encourage them to also seek the honor.
Grady now advances to the statewide round where she will contend for a $2,500 scholarship and the honor to represent Mississippi in the National Youth of the Year competition.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast annually serve over 6,700 children from Harrison and Hancock Counties.
Aria Grady
NAMED YOUTH OF THE YEAR
16 | December 2024
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