The Prescott Area Leadership (PAL) recently named two adults and two teens as 2018 Leaders of the Year.
Honored were Director of Prescott Parks and Recreation Joe Baynes, Prescott, Man of the Year; Superintendent of Beaver Creek School District Karin Ward, Prescott, Woman of the Year; and teens Ryan Peach, Prescott-male and Kateri Wrublik, Prescott-female.
It’s the 25th year the PAL program has honored outstanding community leadership in the greater Prescott community. Winners were announced at an awards program in mid-April at the Prescott Resort. More than 300 attended the awards program.
Neal Sneller, the PAL board president, recognized nominees by saying, “Each year, we recognize individuals who exemplify outstanding leadership through their contributions to our communities.”
Recipient Baynes has been a resident since 1984. He has served as president of Prescott Little League and chairman of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Arizona.
Ward has been in the area since 1990. The Superintendent of Beaver Creek School in Rimrock, she is the 2011 recipient of the Arizona School Administrator Superintendent award, and is active with First Things First and Head Start.
Peach, a senior at Prescott High School and senior class president, is also a three-sport athlete. He has served as a counselor with Young Life, a Christian organization that works with troubled adolescents.
Wrublik, a senior at Arizona Agribusiness and Equine School, is a member of the Air Force ROTC Presentation Team. An honor student, she was named the 2017 Prescott Police Department Explorer of the Year.
Both Peach and Wrublik received $2,000 scholarships.
Others nominated for leadership awards were:
- Woman of the year: Carole Benedict, executive director, U.S. Vets Prescott program, and Courtney Osterfelt, who organized the Launch Pad Teen Center.
- Man of the Year: Larry Stephan, dean of students, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and Jeff Wasowicz, member, management team, Fain Signature Group.
- Female Youth of the Year: Sara Jo Lacey, senior, Arizona Agriculture and Equine School, and Kellan Martin, senior, Prescott High School.
- Male Youth of the Year: Trevor Huber, senior, Trinity Christian School in Prescott, and Royce Viklund, senior, Northpoint Academy.
- Program proceeds and contributions from individual, business and corporate donors are used to sponsor a diverse year-round program in training effective leaders through programs and seminars that PAL conducts.
