Dedicating the past thirty years to impacting youth through the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming (BGCCW), Matt Cassel has been honored by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) as the Champion for Youth Award at BGCA’s Southwest Region Leadership Conference held in San Antonio on Sept. 11, 2019.

This award was created to recognize the service and commitment of a local board member or volunteer. Cassel was chosen out of more than 3,500 board members in the Southwest Region. The criteria for consideration includes at least five years of board service, active participation in board governance, significant contribution to the success of the local organization, participates in Area Council and State Alliance, among others.

Matt has served on the BGCCW Board of Directors since the early 1990’s and is the longest serving member on the board. He served as board president for two terms and on the executive committee as an officer for eight years. He has chaired the operations committee for 14 years where safety was one of his top priorities. While president, he lead the organization through a successful merger with the Boys & Girls Club of the Bighorns. He was a strong advocate for the addition of financial literacy education and WyoTowne. As a state leader for advocacy, Matt represented Wyoming for the 2019 National Days of Advocacy in Washington DC where he met with Congressional delegation to discuss critical issues facing kids today and how the Club works to address those issues. His voice was instrumental in procuring scholarship monies from the University of Wyoming exclusive to Club kids.

“We are honored to have Matt as a strong leader for our Club. His service on the board and professional guidance has allowed us to reach and impact hundreds of kids,” said Ashley Bright, CEO, BGCCW. “He has a genuine belief in the mission of the Club and it shows in his personal commitment over the past three decades.”

In addition to his time on the board, Cassel’s children grew up in the Club and are all proud Club alumni.