Girls Club

It took a lot of hard work for Daniela Russu to win the Washington County Boys and Girls Club 1999 Youth of the Award. But the first step may have been the toughest - getting here, from half a world away. Russu, 16, is a native of the Ukraine, a country that was once part of the former Soviet Union. She came here with her family in 1994, in search of a land more tolerant of her father's profession as a Baptist minister. It wasn't easy. "I was 12. I had to give up all my friends and come to a different society and English was problem for me," Russu said.

The Boys and Girls Club of Washington County held its 23rd Annual Steak and Burger Dinner on Thursday night that featured former Baltimore Ravens kicker Matt Stover as the Keynote Speaker. “It means the world to me to be able come here and help a cause that's greater than any one person,” said Stover. Stover played with Ravens from 1996-2008 and retired from the NFL after playing the 2009 season with the Indianapolis Colts. He was part of the Ravens' Super Bowl championship team following the 2000 regular season and was inducted into the team's Ring of Honor in 2011.

By JULIE E. GREENE Staff Writer Girls Inc. has suspended weekly swimming outings at the YMCA until the Y assures officials that it is safe, the after-school program's board president said Tuesday. Girls Inc. board President Angie Sievers said the group suspended the swimming outings immediately after the Sept. 11 accidental drowning of 7-year-old Kari Trumpower, a member of the group. She said Girls Inc. has demanded that the YMCA provide a written proposal detailing its safety measures.

Asserting they have "squatter's rights," a Boonsboro attorney and his wife are challenging The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington, D.C.'s, right to 26 acres in Washington County that was given to the organization. Three plots encompassing 26 acres near Park Hall Road were deeded to the organization by the Walter Cinibulk Family Trust in December 2000. In February 2001, the Boys and Girls Club received a letter from Boonsboro attorney Matthew Leefer claiming possession of the property.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A total of $40,000 in state grants distributed Thursday in the Eastern Panhandle will help Little League baseball, a Boys and Girls Club in Jefferson County and improvements to city hall in Harpers Ferry. The Martinsburg Little League will sponsor the state tournament for 12-year-old players next summer at Oatsdale Park in Martinsburg, said state Sen. John Unger, D-Berkeley. Unger gave a $15,000 grant to the local Little League to prepare the fields at the park for the tournament.

This year's Great American Smokeout will be observed Thursday. The Boys and Girls Club, Washington County Health Department and Tobacco Free Washington County Coalition plan to man a booth from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Valley Mall with informational materials about secondhand smoke, quitting tobacco use and preventing tobacco use. Smokers also may sign up for free "Stop Smoking for Life" classes. A wellness walk is planned from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at HCC. For more information, go to www.hcc.

Even though Cheli Payne grew up on a farm, 4-H activities always seemed to get in the way of sports, especially girls softball. Today, Payne is the mother of three girls, two of whom - Desiree, 15, and Miranda, 11 - are into 4-H, from raising and showing market and breeding Boer goats to photography and cooking. Taryn, the 5-year-old, “is too young yet,” Payne said. The Payne family raises goats at Pine Brook Boers, their farm in Hedgesville, W.Va., and Payne, true to her first love, still is involved in girls softball.

laurae@herald-mail.com Despite losing a state grant, the Washington County chapter of the American Red Cross will break ground next month on a new headquarters off Eastern Boulevard. The nonprofit has been planning the new $2 million building for more than three years. It has outgrown its cramped 2,400-square-foot headquarters at 113 S. Prospect St. in Hagerstown. In 2001, the state awarded the Red Cross $300,000 for the project. But when the nonprofit returned to the Maryland General Assembly the next year for more money, they were put off. The legislature turned down all nonprofits statewide that asked for grants.

by Ric Dugan / staff photographer Club director hopes to be an inspiration By CLYDE FORD Staff Writer, Charles Town CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Tim Grove remembers how coaches influenced his life when he was growing up and playing on different sports teams. They gave encouraging words and pats on the back. Maybe without even realizing it, they helped shape his life and guide him. "All my life I've had coaches ... who inspired me. Hopefully I can pass on a helping hand or a listening ear like those coaches did for me," Grove said.

Berkeley County Youth Fair begins in W.Va. By ANDREW SCHOTZ / Staff Writer, Martinsburg MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Judges trained their critical eyes Sunday on everything from cucumbers to science exhibits, all entries in this week's Berkeley County Youth Fair. The fair will be at the Harry D. Shelley Park, off Flaggs Crossing Road east of Martinsburg, today through Saturday. Final preparations were underway Sunday. Booths selling cotton candy, funnel cakes and candy apples were set up. Nearby, rides with names like Tempest and Sizzler were nearly ready to go. Doug Hovatter, a Berkeley County 4-H agent for West Virginia University Extension Service, said the youth fair and one like it Indiana are the only two in the country open just to youngsters.

The Boys and Girls Club of Washington County held its 23rd Annual Steak and Burger Dinner on Thursday night that featured former Baltimore Ravens kicker Matt Stover as the Keynote Speaker. “It means the world to me to be able come here and help a cause that's greater than any one person,” said Stover. Stover played with Ravens from 1996-2008 and retired from the NFL after playing the 2009 season with the Indianapolis Colts. He was part of the Ravens' Super Bowl championship team following the 2000 regular season and was inducted into the team's Ring of Honor in 2011.

Everyday in the Eastern Panhandle there are individuals making a difference in the life of a child. On Thursday, May 2, the Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle will honor the memory of one of these individuals who touched the community and the lives of many local children. The Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle's 2013 Champion for Youth Honoree is Robert “Bob” Miller, a long-time Berkeley County resident and owner of Miller's Electric, who died of a heart attack earlier this year just two months shy of his 57th birthday.

It's the place where kids want to be and the place where their parents can feel good about it. And, according to club leaders, the Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle offers services to nearly 1,000 members ages 6 to 18 from the three-county area. The Martinsburg unit has 600 members, Jefferson County has 350 and Morgan County has 250, said Stefani Pierson, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle. On Wednesday, the club's corporate board of directors hosted a one-hour open house to showcase recent improvements made at the Martinsburg club, which meets in a city-owned former armory building at 105 W. John St. The event included a tour of a new ceiling in the gymnasium, new commercial kitchen and other improvements completed in recent years, Pierson said.

The Boys & Girls Club of Chambersburg and Shippensburg (Pa.) are preparing to welcome many of the area's leading restaurants to compete in its second annual Wing Challenge at Chambersburg Country Club. Held on Jan. 27 from 2 to 5 p.m. and open to the public, the event will include wings from area restaurants. The cost of entry is $20 per person. All proceeds from the event will benefit the area's local Boys & Girls Club, according to a news release. In 2012, the Boys & Girls Club welcomed more 150 guests, or “judges,” to its first wings event.

Thursday evening at LJ's & The Kat Lounge was both a reward for a year of participation and a lesson in etiquette for a group of young women and a young man from the Boys & Girls Club at Noland Village. The group arrived at LJ's in style, pulling up in a limousine provided by E.G. Specialized Limo Service. Once inside, they sat down for their seven-course meal with each setting having a dozen knives, forks and spoons on a wine-colored linen tablecloth. As each course is served, LJ's owner Alex Tiches told them before dinner, the diner goes from the outside utensil inward as the meal progresses.

Even though Cheli Payne grew up on a farm, 4-H activities always seemed to get in the way of sports, especially girls softball. Today, Payne is the mother of three girls, two of whom - Desiree, 15, and Miranda, 11 - are into 4-H, from raising and showing market and breeding Boer goats to photography and cooking. Taryn, the 5-year-old, “is too young yet,” Payne said. The Payne family raises goats at Pine Brook Boers, their farm in Hedgesville, W.Va., and Payne, true to her first love, still is involved in girls softball.

Desmond Ingram is a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan, but he seemed fine with sharing the Hager Hall stage with a Washington Redskins player. The 16-year-old South High School junior was named 2012 Youth of the Year before a record-setting crowd Thursday night at the Boys & Girls Club of Washington County's 22nd annual Steak & Burger Dinner. “It feels really good,” Desmond said. “I'm pretty nervous to give my speech, but it feels really nice.” Redskins cornerback Josh Wilson, who credits the Boys & Girls Club in his hometown of Upper Marlboro, Md., for getting him started in organized sports, served as the evening's keynote speaker.

The 22nd annual Steak and Burger Dinner to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Washington County will feature Josh Wilson of the Washington Redskins as the keynote speaker.  The dinner, scheduled for Thursday, April 12, at Hager Hall Conference & Event Center, includes a silent auction, performances by Boys & Girls Club members and the Andrew Hoffman Youth of the Year Award announcement. Wilson played at the University of Maryland before being drafted by the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson, whose father, Tim, also played in the NFL, spent one year playing for the Baltimore Ravens before joining the Redskins.

Educators, mentors and parents are putting an extra emphasis on literacy skills to help America's youth beat the odds and graduate. Boys & Girls Clubs of America is no different. With support from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, the club has teamed up with Developmental Studies Center to implement AfterSchool KidzLit, a reading enrichment program for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Boys & Girls Club of Washington County is one of 10 organizations across the country selected to receive a $5,500 grant to implement the after-school program for its youth members.