photo by: Contributed

Arabella Gipp, pictured here in the center, represented the state of Kansas at the Boys & Girls Club Southwest Region Youth of the Year contest in Dallas this week. Also pictured from left to right are Ethan Clapsaddle; Arabella's mother, Jess Gipp; Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence CEO Monica Dittmer; and Chris Austin. They were part of Arabella's mentor team that traveled with her to Dallas.

Lawrence Boys & Girls Club member Arabella Gipp may not have won the Southwest Region Youth of the Year contest in Dallas this week, but she told the Journal-World the experience meant a lot to her nonetheless.

Gipp, a student at Lawrence High School, represented the state at the regional contest this week. She was up against seven fellow youth representatives from Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and New Mexico.

“It means a lot to be able to represent Kansas and Lawrence because they’ve given back to me for so long,” Gipp said. “It’s been really awesome to meet new people from across the country also representing their communities.”

To get to the regional contest, Gipp was first named Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence’s Youth of the Year in January, then won the statewide honor in March.