At the August 11, 2020, Monroe County Legislature meeting, we honored the young men and women for the 2020 Young Citizen Award and the nominees for the Willie W. Lightfoot Youth Advocate Awards. Although we were not able to hold the ceremony in person as it has been done in the past, we did hold the ceremony virtually this year; these members in our community still deserve the attention and honor to be recognized as Monroe County’s outstanding youth and youth advocates.
This award ceremony was established by the County Legislature as one of the highest honors for youth and adult leadership, community service, advocacy, and perseverance.
Thank you to Town of Sweden Supervisor Kevin Johnson, Town of Clarkson Supervisor Christa Filipowicz, and Clarkson Town Board Member Tom Guarino for helping recommend these outstanding youth.
Our community youth award winners:
Molly Krotz is very active in the 4-H program through Cornell Cooperative Extension. She has been learning and growing for the past seven years through this program, even taking on a number of leadership opportunities. Molly is a representative to the 4-H Horse Education Committee in Monroe County where she gets the meeting room prepared for guests and shares her opinions. She is an excellent student, a passionate equestrian, and a youth who completes a number of service projects.
Jeffrey Xue lives his life with a focus on community service. During the week, many community members can see Jeff walk by, wheeling a pushcart full of food and delivering it to the Brockport Food Shelf. This act shows Jeffrey’s commitment to reduce food waste and food insecurity of people in the community. Jeffrey started Eastern Coast Food Conservation Organization Nonprofit – an important worldwide conservation issue. Jeff is top of his class, a member of Student Council, the Masterminds team, Chess Club, Band, Choir, and Jazz Ensemble. Outside of school, Jeffrey is a volunteer at the Harvest Kitchen and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.
Kate Bieler, Julie Nenni, and McKenna Nicholls purchased the supplies necessary to build Little Libraries throughout the community. The girls spent their summer creating, building, and installing the Little Libraries. The Little Libraries are installed at the Sweden Clarkson Recreation Center, Hafner Park in Clarkson, and Hamlin Beach Park with a purpose to encourage community spirit, promoting book exchanges, and inspiring reading. Through this project, the Girl Scouts have made our community a better place to live. We are so grateful for their service.
In a year where we are all facing such uncertainty, it was a great opportunity to be able to honor young people and adults who go above and beyond to make life better for others. I was proud along with my fellow Legislators to recognize all of them during the County Legislature meeting and thank each of them for serving as role models in our community. Thank you, Molly, Jeff, Kate, Julie, and McKenna for giving your time and making a real difference.
The Youth Awards Ceremony is an event that the Monroe County Legislature looks forward to each year, and we all hope to be celebrating next year’s event together in person.
Jackie Smith, Monroe County Legislator, District 2
