Courtesy Photo Bradley Somers

Bradley Somers, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Alpena, has received the Youth Volunteer Corps of Alpena’s Champion of the Year award, a brand-new award that was bestowed during the Corps’ virtual ceremony on Oct. 17.

“I’m humbled and grateful to be recognized by the Youth Volunteer Corps program with the YVC Champion Award,” Somers said. “?Supporting our youth volunteers as they develop into the leaders of tomorrow is important for any organization. This is not an individual award and being bestowed such an honor is a testament to the incredible team we have at the Boys and Girls Club of Alpena and the hard work that we all put forth to serve our youth and the community. Our organization does not do what we do for accolades. We work to consistently step up to change lives for the better and believe in our next generation of leaders by making our community, and others, a better place to live through civic involvement, kindness, education and leadership.”

He started as an AmeriCorps member, directed the YVC program for four years, and now has been the executive director of the Boys and Girls Club since 2013.

Under his direction, the Alpena YVC program is consistently in the top 10 for most hours served, and has been a gold level affiliate since 2011.

Somers has dedicated his time within the Youth Volunteer Corps and Boys and Girls Club of Alpena toward engaging youth in programs to help them develop into positive, and successful adults with a commitment to serve their community long-term. Along with this award, nine youth received awards for completing at least 100 hours in one year of service.

Youth Volunteer Corps of Alpena is an affiliate of an international organization that engages youth in numerous service-learning projects to help their community and helps them commit to a lifetime of service.

Each year, the organization goes over the statistics on each program and has an award ceremony to recognize youth and leaders within for their hard work.