Youths of the Year: Tifton Exchange Club honors outstanding young leaders
Published 11:43 am Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Although Thomas Holt was declared the Exchange Club's Youth of the Year, he asserted the title could have just as easily gone to any of his fellow finalists, and was excited to see what change they would implement in the world moving ahead.
Youth of the Year finalist Jasmine Olson is a member of the National Spanish Honors Society and Tiftarea Homecoming Queen. While receiving her plaque for being a finalist in the competition, she expressed she was deciding between studying at the University of Georgia or Kennesaw University, but intended to major in Biology.
Frances Allene Nelson, seen here with Levetta Jefferson of Tifton Exchange Club, was praised for her outstanding performance in a one-act play and being the first female student of Tiftarea to go to state in golf. She expressed her plans to study psychology and become a child therapist.
Youth of the Year finalist Bill Nguyen with his parents, Bich-Thuy and Chi Nguyen, and J. Michael Moore of Tifton Exchange Club. In addition to being a finalist for the program, Nguyen was recently named a STAR Student of Tift County High School, received a Certificate of Merit from the University of Georgia, and had his research presented by Southwell through their youth program.
TIFTON — Though they could only award the title to one of them, the Tifton Exchange Club was certain all of the finalists for their Youth of the Year program would go on to do great things.
The local organization recognized the efforts and achievements of 12 high school seniors from Tiftarea Academy and Tift County High School that had reached the final stage of the competition during a luncheon held in their honor March 10, congratulating them on their dedication to their academics and community.
The Youth of the Year program, organized by the Exchange Club, honors the seniors of the Tiftarea for their excellence in academics, extracurriculars, and contributions to the community, with one of them further being recognized as the titular “Youth of the Year” for particularly exceptional work across the board.
During the luncheon, J. Michael Moore of the Tifton Exchange Club expressed his pride to be able to recognize the young leaders among the finalists of the program, praising them for working all the way through the application process while maintaining their dedication to their regular studies and commitments.
“It’s an opportunity here for me to be on high and feel like there’s a real promise for the future if these young people are participating in leading this country and our communities.” Moore said.
Each student was invited up to stand before those in attendance to receive a plaque honoring them for ranking as finalists in the program. They were then given the opportunity to thank their friends, family, and mentors who helped them get to this point, many of whom were also present for the luncheon, and share their plans for where and what they hoped to study once they had graduated.
However, Thomas Holt of Tiftarea Academy was ultimately the finalist declared to be the Youth of the Year.
Holt was recently recognized by the Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce as a STAR Student, served as 4-H State President and delegate to the 4-H National Conference in 2024, and previously received the Presidential Scholar Award. Moore presented him with an additional plaque declaring him the Exchange Club’s Youth of the Year.
He thanked the organization for the opportunity but acknowledged that any one of his fellow finalists could have been nominated for the award, and asserted that each and every one of them would nonetheless go on to make big waves in the coming future.
“Just because I’m the one up here with this plaque doesn’t mean that I’m any better than the rest of these nominees, these finalists,” Holt said. “Each of the 12 of us have a lot of great things to look forward to, and that’s representative in each of us being here today, having our own plaque, and being able to get up in front of people and tell them our plans for the future. I know we’re all going to do great things.
Moore announced that Holt would be entered into a state-level Youth of the Year competition for the opportunity to win a trip to the Georgia District Convention, but noted he would have big shoes to fill as the Tifton Exchange Club had several district winners among its past nominees.
Other nominees included Kate Womack, Brynna Burke and Bill Nguyen of Tift County High School and Lexi Connell, Abbey Harris, Sarah Grace Kosma, Frances Allene Nelson, Jasmine Olson, Bryce Roberson, Rhett Rogers and Lindsey Carter of Tiftarea Academy.