Boys & Girls Club to name Youth of the Year at public ceremony Thursday

The Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence will hold its annual Youth of the Year competition on Thursday.

Three Lawrence high school students are candidates for the annual scholarship and recognition program: Marcya’ Floyd, a senior at Free State High School; Jazmyne McNair, a junior at Lawrence High School; and Verneisha Jackson, a senior at Lawrence High School.

After months of preparation, the three candidates will give their speeches on stage at Liberty Hall, 644 Massachusetts St. The program is free and open to the public and begins at 7 p.m.

Prior to the speeches, a panel of five judges — including State Rep. Barbara Ballard — will interview the candidates and evaluate essay and short answer questions that each candidate completed as part of the competition.

Once the speeches are complete, the judges will announce the winner, who will then represent Lawrence in the state competition. State winners each receive a $5,000 scholarship and advance to regional competitions, where they can potentially win an additional four-year, renewable scholarship of $10,000, and go on to the national competition, according to the club website.

Club participants ages 14 to 18 are nominated for the competition by either a high school teacher or staff member of the club and represent the club’s mission of creating productive and caring citizens. Information about each candidate is below, provided by the club:

Marcya’ Floyd
The 2016 Youth of the Year competition marks the third-consecutive for Floyd. She is the daughter of LaToshia Floyd and Edward Booth, and the proud oldest of four younger sisters. Each year she has shown more and more progress in the Youth of the Year program, including her public speaking prowess. She is a senior at Free State High School and has particular interest in studying education. Though she is undecided on her college destination, she has visited Kansas, Kansas State, Baker, Johnson County Community College and others. She is training to run track in college, primarily the 400-meter, 100-meter, 4×400-meter relay and 4×100-meter relay events.

Verneisha Jackson
Jackson is participating in the Youth of the Year competition for the first time. The daughter of Doris Jackson, Verneisha has two sisters. She is a senior at Lawrence High School and is planning to major in Pre-Med with a special interest in social work. Jackson will attend Hinds Community College in Vicksburg, Miss., before transferring to a four-year university. She was a competitive cheerleader for three years and a member of the indoor track team for two seasons.

Jazmyne McNair
The youngest in the competition, McNair is a junior at Lawrence High School, but displays the productivity of keeping up with people twice her age. The daughter of Melissa Johnson, Jazmyne has been a member of the LHS orchestra for three years, the choir for three years, the forensic team for three years and has been part of more than 10 concerts and plays. McNair has volunteered as a Sunday school teacher for all age levels at her church since seventh grade. Though she is still a year away from college, McNair has aspirations of majoring in music therapy or music education.