Young Marine of the Year Winner Announced

Winners announced for each of six divisions

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[Washington D.C.] – The Young Marines youth organization has named six division winners in the “Young Marine of the Year” award. They are:

• Division 1 – SgtMaj Pierce Gilman, 16, of Candia, New Hampshire. Gilman is a member of the Boston Young Marines. He is a sophomore at Trinity High School.
• Division 2 – SgtMaj Dakota Richter, 16, of Crestview Hills, Kentucky. She is a member of the Northern Kentucky Young Marines and is a junior at Dixie Heights High School.
• Division 3 – SgtMaj Austin Cobb, 17, of Cary, North Carolina. Cobb is a member of the Capitol City Young Marines, and he is a junior at Cary High School.
• Division 4 – SgtMaj Shana Perez, 15, of Waco, Texas. She is a sophomore at Texas Christian Academy and a member of the Heart of Texas Young Marines.
• Division 5 – SgtMaj Corin McKee, 16, of Plainfield, Indiana. McKee is a member of the Central Indiana Young Marines, and he’s a junior at Plainfield High School.
• Division 6 – SgtMaj Ian Search, 16, of Sweet Home, Oregon. Search is a member of the Linn-Benton Young Marines. He is a junior at Sweet Home High School.

All six honorees have been invited to travel to Guam and Iwo Jima for the annual Reunion of Honor trip. Also going are the two winners of the Young Marines’ annual Jimmie Trimble scholarship; the national Young Marine of the Year – SgtMajor McCall Beringer; and Mike Kessler, national director and CEO of the Young Marines.

“The trip gives each division winner a chance to showcase the program and the good work done by the Young Marines with veterans,” Kessler said. “The trip serves as an invaluable history lesson unable to be found in any book. Also, I get to know them and see how each interacts with others. If selected as the National Young Marine of the Year, he or she will work for me, so this piece is important.”

How it works
 
The Young Marines organization is divided into six divisions across the United States. Each Young Marine goes through a series of selection processes starting at the unit level, going through battalion, regiment and on to the division. At the division level, the packages (portfolios) of the final candidates are reviewed for consideration.

Annually, one Young Marine of the Year is selected from each division. From these six winners, only one will be named the official “Young Marine of the Year” which will be announced in May, 2013.

The Young Marines is a national non-profit 501c(3) youth education and service program for boys and girls, age eight through the completion of high school. The Young Marines promotes the mental, moral and physical development of its members. The program focuses on teaching the values of leadership, teamwork and self-discipline, so its members can live and promote a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.

Since the Young Marines’ humble beginnings in 1959 with one unit and a handful of boys, the organization has grown to over 300 units with 10,000 youth and 3,000 adult volunteers in 46 states, the District of Columbia, Germany, Japan and affiliates in a host of other countries.

For more information, visit the official website at: http://www.YoungMarines.com.