Ashley Cutcher Selected Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo 2023 Youth of the Year

Central Catholic High School senior Ashley Cutcher was recently named the Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo 2023 Youth of the Year. 

Youth of the Year is Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s signature leadership award. The honor began in 1947 and includes local, state, regional and national competitions.

Cutcher is an 8-year member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo. She first attended the East Club when it opened at East Broadway Elementary and as a high schooler was hired as a TEC Teen junior staff member at the David Werhmeister Club at Sherman Elementary.

As a TEC Teen, Cutcher assists adult staff with implementing Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo programs and engages with young members as a mentor. 

“The Boys & Girls Club has been a safe space for me to be myself, express myself and be vulnerable,” Cutcher said.

Selected from 3 local finalists, Cutcher will now compete for Ohio Youth of the Year recognition in April.

“Ashley is a person who is happy not because everything is right in life; she is happy because her attitude toward everything in her life is right,” said President and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo Jim Ravas in a release.

Gerri Peters, director of programming for Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo, said Cutcher exemplifies the organization’s pillars for success: academic success, leadership and good citizenship and is an example of making positive life choices.

“Ashley has a bright and sunny disposition,” added Peters in a release. “I have never been at the Club when she was not engaging with me and with the members. Ashely represents what we are looking for in a TEC Teen and exemplifies what Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo wants as its Youth of the Year.”

Cutcher carries a 4.1 GPA at CCHS and is a member of the orchestra. She plans to attend The University of Toledo. She aspires to a career in physical therapy.

“We are so proud of Ashley,” said CCHS Principal Morgan Delp. “This is a tremendous honor that reflects Ashley's hard work, perseverance, and leadership both at the club and CCHS. We know that Ashley's kindness, tenacity and drive for success will continue to fuel her accomplishments well into the future, and we wish her all the best at the next level.”