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 Youth ChalleNGe honors its star supporters By Tech. Sgt. Mike R. Smith
                National Guard Bureau
 WASHINGTON - Three-time Grammy winner Trisha Yearwood, famed NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kirsten Haglund, the newly-crowned Miss America, were the star power during a gala here Feb. 26 that honored five people, who champion the National Guard's Youth ChalleNGe program. Youth ChalleNGe focuses on the nearly 7,000 kids who drop out of high school every day, which puts them at risk for drug use, gang violence and abusive relationships. The National Guard Youth Foundation's 2008 ChalleNGe Champions Gala brought out a who's who of state and federal officials, defense leaders, sports figures, performers and corporate representatives to mark the success of the program. The Guard started Youth ChalleNGe in 1993, and more than 77,000 Youth ChalleNGe graduates have returned to school, earned GEDs, enrolled in college, started careers or joined the military. "If you ever attended a Youth ChalleNGe graduation, it's a religious, life-changing experience," said LTG H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, to the sold-out crowd in the JW Marriott ballroom. "It is truly amazing to watch the transformation that happens to these young men and women, and I am so proud that the National Guard, every year, grows the number of Youth ChalleNGe programs that we support. We run what, I think, is the best youth program in America, and we run it as a partner from the Department of Defense with the states that are out here tonight." North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole, Washington Rep. Norm Dicks, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs Thomas Hall, West Virginia Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Allen Tackett and Microsoft's Curt Kolcun were the program's honored leaders this year. The honorees spoke to more than 1,000 dinner guests and stressed the important opportunities Youth ChalleNGe provides 16- to 18-year-old high school dropouts looking to turn their lives around. "We know that studies and statistics indicate dismal prospects for those without a high school diploma. Fortunately, through the Youth ChalleNGge program, young people who experienced challenges are saying 'no' to becoming just another statistic," said Dole. "Instead they are saying 'yes' to a second chance, and they are turning their lives around." Officials described Dole "a great advocate for both the National Guard and the Youth ChalleNGe Program since she joined the Senate. She recently received one the National Guard Associations' highest honors: the Charles Dick Medal. Last year, she sponsored a funding bill in the Senate that increased the national funding to allow four more ChalleNGe programs." This year, she led the effort for a second program in her state. "This ChalleNGe program across America saves thousands of young kid's lives," said Tackett. "It puts them back on the right track." Tackett was selected as the year's supporting adjutant general from 29 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia that operate 35 academies at Guard installations. The 17-month, voluntary academies put troubled kids through military-style schools, which consist of physical fitness, classroom and mentorship training. "I've been to every graduation the academy's had and fought a lot of hard battles to maintain and keep our ChalleNGe academy in the state of West Virginia," said Tackett. Some of Tackett's West Virginia ChalleNGe academy graduates joined 100 other ChalleNGe academy cadets here. The cadets wore a variety of military-style uniforms that were distinctive of the various academies they attended, and they shared their stories and sat at the tables with other guests. "I was the person that didn't like to go to school," said Vincent Pascerella, a 19-year-old graduate from one of three ChalleNGe academies in Louisiana. Although he said he never got in trouble with the law, a challenging home life and minor run-in with drugs took a toll on Pascerella's high school attendance. He did not graduate. "I missed a lot of classes," he said. But Pascerella graduated with his GED from Louisiana's Youth ChalleNGe program in January. "At first I thought I wouldn't make it," he said about his first few weeks in the program. "But the teachers helped out a lot more than [in] high school, and I got more one-on-one contact. If it were not for the program, I would not be here right now." Pascerella returned to his academy to work as paramentor and is currently preparing for the military entrance test to join the active duty Army. Peter Bennett, 19, from Kentucky, graduated from the Blue Grass ChalleNGe Academy at Fort Knox last December. After moving to Kentucky from upstate New York in 2005, Bennett said he never finished high school. "It fell to the wayside during the move," he said. Then, he got into trouble with a group of young people in his town. Luckily, he said, he did not get in trouble with the law, but it made him realize that the Youth ChalleNGe academy was something he wanted to apply for. He was accepted, and he said his class stayed at Fort Knox for the first two weeks, going though the academy's boot camp style "hard core challenge" course. "After that, we took classes and learned leadership skills," Bennett said. "I hated it at first, but I'm glad I stuck with it and graduated. They gave me the tools I needed to be a contributing member of society, and I got my GED and got some college classes done," he said. Now, Bennett is looking forward to his new job at a major auto company's factory. €œThis event was an opportunity to gather and honor the exemplary efforts of those around the country who have championed the Youth ChalleNGe program and pledged their unwavering support to ending the high school dropout crisis that has become a silent epidemic in this nation,€ said Greg Sharp, president of the National Guard Youth Foundation, a nonprofit organization tied to Youth ChalleNGe. €œIt was also an opportunity for supporters of the program to meet with young cadets and hear their transformational stories firsthand.€ Many of the cadets said they were amazed to meet stars like Earnhardt and Yearwood that night. The event was emceed by Kerri Turner from the television show "JAG." Earnhardt donated an autographed No. 88 National Guard NASCAR Sprint Cup car trunk lid and an auto racing jacket that raised more than $25,000 for the program. Hendrick Motorsports auto racing team owner Rick Hendrick matched the auctioned trunk lid with a $20,000 donation. To end the night, Yearwood went on stage with her accompanying guitar and violin players and sang four of her signature country-western songs and "Over the Rainbow." Other notable guests were Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England; the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen; Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake; Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne; Army Guard Director Lt. Gen. Clyde Vaughn; Air Guard Director Lt. Gen. Craig McKinley; Chairman of the Board of the National Guard Association of the United States and Indiana Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Marty Umbarger; Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana; Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska; Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry; Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle and Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons.
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