Kainen Bell has won Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington’s Youth of the Year award.
Bell, a senior at Stadium High School, advanced to the statewide competition after winning the organization’s South Puget Sound Youth of the Year award earlier this month.
The 15 finalists gathered Wednesday at Qwest Field in Seattle to be interviewed by judges and to give the speeches they had written for the competition.
They traveled Thursday to the Governor’s Mansion in Olympia, where Gov. Chris Gregoire announced the winner.
Bell volunteers at the Al Davies Boys & Girls Club in Tacoma. He’s a member of the National Honor Society, African American Club and Educational Talent Search, as well as the football and track teams. He also is a Palmer Scholar who intends to attend Morehouse College.
The win at the state level includes $4,500 in scholarships. It brings his scholarship totals in this competition to $8,000.
Bell will compete in the regionals in California this summer. National finalists will compete in Washington, D.C.
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