A man who exemplifies the highest type of Boys & Girls Club professional and a dedicated community member, Ashley Bright is honored with the Jim Wetherington Southwesterner Award. The chief executive officer of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming received the award at the recent BGCA Southwest Region Leadership Conference in Norman, OK. This prestigious honor is presented in memory of Jim Wetherington, a caring and committed leader who grew up in the Club and devoted 37 years to the organization, shaping thousands of young lives.

 
To be eligible for this award, an individual must meet the following criteria:

1. The individual recognized must – by thought, word and deed – exemplify the highest type of Boys & Girls Club professional.

2. The individual must have given 100% plus of him/herself in service to the development of Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the Southwest Region. Activities that include active membership on national and regional committees, attendance at Southwest Region Conferences, participation in national and regional conference programs, demonstrated cooperation with fellow workers in the field in developing and promoting the Boys & Girls Club Movement, active participation on Area Council committees and programs, and active participation in State Alliance Activities.

3. The individual must have demonstrated unusual initiative, imagination and creativeness in the interest of the local Boys & Girls Club and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Movement through development of and sharing of program ideas, resource development programs and personnel programs, an awareness of the problems besetting the Movement and a willingness to help solve such problems, and putting the interest of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Movement above self-interest.

Ashley Bright’s career with the Boys & Girls Club started in 1991 as a Program Director in Tacoma, WA. His career took him to Great Falls, MT where he launched the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Montana and eventually landed in Casper in 1999 as the organization’s Chief Executive Officer. Over his 17 years in Central Wyoming, Ashley’s vision and leadership has expanded the reach from two sites in Casper to its current 10 sites in three counties. He spearheaded a $4.9 million capital campaign to build a 31,000 square foot building on East K Street which opened as the Greater Casper Branch (Main Club) in 2004. Bright recognized the need to create a separate space for our members ages 13-18 and in 2012, a facility expansion added 3,500 square feet for the Dick & Lynne Cheney Cowboy Ethics Teen Club.

 
In addition, to help bring even more resources to the community and Central Wyoming youth, Bright spearheaded and coordinated the completion of the All American Center, a $3.4 million facility, just to the south of the Main Club. The All American Center houses two main programs: a world-class boxing facility and Young AmeriTowne:WyoTowne. The organization now serves over 3,000 annual members. Operating with a $2.8 million dollar budget, BGCCW reaches over 7,500 youth annually through Club developed programs and partnerships such as Cowboy Ethics, Discover Days, and YoungAmeriTowne:WyoTowne.

 
Bright has been named to several Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s national committees – including the training and professional development advisory representative for Colorado and Wyoming and currently for Wyoming for the past eight years. Since 2010, he has served on the BGCA National Pension Committee. He is a recognized resource development trainer in the Southwest Region and a member of BGCA’s Professional Association. Additionally, he is a National Trainers Associate for BGCA. In September of 2005, he was named the Southwest Region’s Executive of the Year and in 2014, he received the Southwest Inspiration Award.

 
Ashley is married and has five children.