Meade senior wins Youth of the Year award | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

Anne Arundel had named its top youth a few days after she had already competed for the statewide honor due to scheduling complications.

"It was a real dilemma for us," said Reggie Broddie, club chief professional officer. "Our person had already competed. I was pleased she won ours. It would have been a bummer to lose twice."

It's been a rough road for the 18-year-old Meade High School senior, but she has already made big plans for her title and scholarship, hoping to major in computer science or math at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

But first she needs to cool off a bit.

"It's just so exciting," she said following Thursday night's dinner. "My blood was going and my heart was beating and I'm very hot - I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight."

A member of the Van Bokkelen club since 2005, Miss Richardson has overcome her hearing disability and aids in each ear to serve as a junior adviser and past president of the group's Keystone Club.

"It's showed me how to be a good citizen and meet lots of people," she said.

The Boys and Girls Club of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County gives the Ed Casey Youth of the Year Award to teens involved in the club who make outstanding contributions to their community, school and family, in addition to the Boys and Girls Clubs. The award is named for the former executive editor of Capital-Gazette Newspapers, who co-founded the club.

Finalists for the competition are subject to rigorous interviews. Judges for this year's competition included Annapolis Mayor Ellen O. Moyer and Alderman David H. Cordle, R-Ward 5.

"She's a shining star," Mr. Broddie said of Miss Richardson. "She didn't allow her disability to keep her from reaching her goals."

Other finalists for the award were Chu-keyse Mack, a 16-year-old junior from the Meade Village club who attends Meade High; Wayland Mullins, 14, a freshman at Annapolis High from the Bywayer club; John Wesley Pindell IV, 17, a senior at Annapolis High from the Bates club; and Lushawn Raynor, 17, a Glen Burnie High student from the Freetown Village club.

"This program is a springboard to doing great things," Mr. Broddie said.

For being named Youth of the Year, Miss Richardson received a $500 college scholarship, certificate and medallion as Youth of the Year.

In addition to the Youth of the Year award, the club also was celebrating its second year at Wiley H. Bates Heritage Park and its 20th year in the county.

When it was started back in 1988, the dinner drew a crowd of only about 35 people and the club itselfhad only a few hundred members, Mr. Broddie said. The club now has

more than 4,500 members.

The club also inducted its first class of members into the Hall of Inspiration, their version of a hall of fame. Inducted this year were Mr. Casey; LaVerne Gucker, who opened branches at Freetown, Meade Village and Van Bokkelen; Betty Turner, who helped partner the club with county schools; and former club winner and three-time Youth of the Year Shawna Williams.

Early estimates on the annual dinner and fundraiser showed nearly $200,000 in ticket sales and another $15,000 from the live auction alone. Tickets for the dinner were $150 each. In addition, keynote speaker Billy Ripken - a former Baltimore Oriole, 12-year major league baseball veteran and current co-owner of Ripken Baseball - donated $20,000 to the club from the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation.

"It broke the bank," Mr. Broddie said. "It's our record."

Staff writer Andrew Childers contributed to this story.