By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson Boys and Girls Club named Bostyn Castor its 2022 Youth of the Year on Thursday. Skip Wilson was ecstatic at how the event went.
"I hope everyone in this community has had a chance to see the Crystal Ballroom at the Burt," Wilson said. "It is quite the gem. It is just a great place. We celebrated our 30 years, which was last year, we celebrated it last night and I can't think of a better place to have that event. A special thanks to them, very elegant. Elycia did an incredible job, our new marketing and communications coordinator, setting it up. The decorations were beautiful and the event was beautiful. It's all about our young people. It's all about our Boys and Girls Club members."
Castor knows how strong the others who were competing with her locally are and is glad to have won.
"It's honestly a shock," Castor said. "All three of us were great candidates last night and I'm really honored to be given the title of Youth of the Year. That's the highest honor that a Boys and Girls Clubs kid can have within the club. I'm just looking forward to being an advocate for the kids in my community and I hope that I can go on and make Kansas Youth of the Year and keep going because I feel like I would be a really good person, because I understand what youth are going through and I feel like I have the resources to be a good advocate for those kids."
Castor believes its important that kids are honest with themselves and each other if they're going to change their communities and their country.
"I think the first thing that you have to do is obviously talk about things that are happening," Castor said. "I know, just recently, with our generation, that's something that we've been doing more. We're talking about things that usually are more controversial or wouldn't be talked about. I think that's one thing that's great. I think that our generation is going to be a generation that changes a lot and I really hope we do. I think that starts with us having conversations and getting our opinions out there and questioning things that happen."
Castor's next competition is the state event in March. Discussions are still ongoing as to whether that will be a virtual or in person event.