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ROCKFORD The Rockford Register Star is seeking outstanding teenagers to be named the Young Americans of 2021.
The honor recognizes young men and women from the region for their exemplary character, leadership, achievements and contributions to their schools, places of worship, organizations and communities.
This is the 64th year of recognizing the leadership of Young Americans. The people selected for the award in many cases have become community leaders for decades after the recognition. You can t help but have a feeling of optimism because you know that there are still young people coming up who have endured, in some cases, some real hardships to get to where they are, said Paul Logli, a former Young American who later served as Winnebago County state s attorney and now leads the United Way of Rock River Valley. And they re going to achieve even greater things as they move on in life.
The fund this year exceeded its $145,000 goal, reaching a final contribution level of $167,526.25.
That s more than $40,000 higher than last year s total of $126,158.50 and made a strong statement about the community s generosity, said Katie McManis, who coordinates the Fund each year. Central Illinois really came through for us, both with the contributions and the commitment for helping us get this put together, she said.
Stories of the need across the community have been featured the last five weeks in the JournalStar, as have stories about what drives donors to give. Experiences with COVID-19, whether unemployment or other circumstances that prevented family gatherings, were prominent in many letters, including, McManis noted, from some first-time recipients in this tough economic year.