Peninsula Boys & Girls Clubs taps Youth of the Year

Published 6:36 am Thursday, February 15, 2007

SEQUIM – The girl’s got game. A lot of it.

Nicole Pruden was named the Olympic Peninsula Boys & Girls Clubs Youth of the Year this week – but she’s been a little too busy to bask in the spotlight.

Pruden, a senior at Sequim High School, is games room coordinator at the Boys & Girls Club at 400 W. Fir St., which means she plunges into bedlam by 2:45 p.m. each day.

Children pour into the place.

Some go to the billiards table, while many gather around the blonde with the small microphone – for communicating with other club staffers – and the big smile.

Pruden works about 25 hours a week as a paid staffer, watching over the after-school pool, foosball and ping pong.

“I help them get along,” she said, grinning like that’s easy.

Evenings, Pruden often takes part in the teen activities organized by the Boys & Girls Club: movies, sports, hikes, community volunteer projects.

She considers the club a getaway from everyday stresses – and wishes more teenagers would discover it.