Selecting Chicagoland’s Youth of the Year with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago
BMO is proud to Boldly Grow the Good through our partnership with Boys and Girls Clubs chapters across our U.S. footprint. Recently, we sponsored the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago’s (BGCC) annual Youth of the Year celebration. Steve Taylor, BMO Chief Administrative Officer and BGCC board member, served as a judge helping to select the local winner, who will advance to the state competition.
The Youth of the Year event showcases the positive impact that the new generation of leaders is making in their Chicago communities, and highlights how they enrich themselves through academics, volunteerism, leadership, development and personal wellbeing. The local competition is narrowed down to ten people, with five advancing to the final round. All ten Chicagoland finalists received scholarships, laptops and an array of prizes, including a Chicago sports package with game tickets to see various sports teams. In addition, the runner up received $5,000, and the winner, Michael G, received a $10,000 scholarship, round-trip airline tickets and a year’s worth of pizza. After the state and national competitions, one winner will be selected to serve as a spokesperson and ambassador for more than three million Boys & Girls club youth.
Hear from Steve Taylor about why he supports the BGCC and his experience as a judge
Why are you involved with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago?
I have been on the BGCC board for about 10 years. I was looking to be involved in the community and have always had an interest in supporting our youth, so the BGCC mission was very aligned with what I was interested in supporting. Not only am I on the board, but BMO also supports Boys and Girls Clubs across the U.S. and Canada, which very much aligns with BMO’s Purpose of Growing the Good in business and life for our communities.
How was your experience serving as a judge for the National Youth of the Year Celebration?
The Youth of the Year is a great event. The event serves as both the culmination of the local competition as well as a fundraiser for BGCC. I really enjoy supporting our youth and hearing their stories. Serving as a judge was a great experience. I would do it again and would highly recommend it to others. It starts with us reviewing a packet of material from the competitors, which included resumes and essays, and then conducting interviews to narrow the competitors down to a final group at the event. The best part for me was interacting with the finalists during the interview round to learn more about their stories and accomplishments.
The Boys & Girls Club is one of BMO’s lead partners for youth development and empowerment, with over 20 chapters funded throughout the U.S. and Canada. In 2024, BMO committed a combined $1.5 million to two chapters in particular – $900,000 for Native youth mental health programming, supporting 10 Native Clubs and 82,000 Native youth for the Boys & Girls Club of America, and $600,000 to advance programming and renew the BMO Scholars program for the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee. BMO Scholars is a part of one of the club’s strongest programs, serving first-generation college students and youth from low- to moderate-income communities. With BMO’s funding, the program aims to reach over 16,000 youth and serve 300 high schoolers and 335 college students.
