Toledo teen is runner-up in Ohio Youth of the Year competition

TOLEDO, Ohio – Central Catholic High School senior Ashley Cutcher is state runner-up in the Boys & Girls Clubs 2023 Youth of the Year competition. 

Youth of the Year is Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s signature leadership award. The honor began in 1947 and includes local, state, regional and national competitions.

Cutcher represented Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo during the competition in Columbus, which included an interview and public speech. 

Cutcher is an eight-year Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo member. She first attended the East Toledo Club when it opened at East Broadway Elementary. As a high schooler, she was hired as part of the organization’s Teen Employment Corps at the David Werhmeister Club at Sherman Elementary.

As a TEC Teen, Cutcher assists adult staff with implementing Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo programs and engages with young members as a mentor.

Cutcher’s speech in Columbus detailed how she has grown personally since joining the Boys & Girls Club as a young child, her memories of her first Club field trip to an apple orchard, and how she found a mentor and confidante after her father’s passing from cancer.

“The funny thing about growth is that you are typically the last person to notice it,” Cutcher said. “I was nominated for The Youth of the Year for Boys and Girls Clubs of Toledo, and I thought, ‘Why me? What makes me so special?’ … But I have to remember, I’ve grown.”

Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo selected Cutcher from three local finalists.

At the time, Gerri Peters, director of programming for Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo, said Cutcher exemplifies the organization’s pillars for success: academic success, leadership and good citizenship and is an example of making positive life choices.

Cutcher carries a 4.1 GPA at Central and is a member of the school orchestra. She plans to attend the University of Toledo and aspires to a career in physical therapy.

During the competition, Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo staff and teens joined Cutcher in Columbus. They visited the Ohio Statehouse and met with lawmakers representing Toledo.

Samarion Newell, of Sandusky, Ohio, won Ohio Youth of the Year honors.

Boys & Girls Clubs represent more than 44,000 Ohio youth at more than 65 locations in 26 cities, including eight Clubs in Toledo.