Stacy Dragila meets with youth

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http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepubli ... k04Z6.html

Boys & Girls Club 'meat,' greet
Guests and donors to mingle with kids at Woods Branch


Lars Jacoby
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 4, 2005 12:00 AM

There's more than just meat on the menu at the third annual "Steak & Burgers" fund-raiser.

The event Saturday is intended to raise $10,000 for Mesa's Grant Woods Branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley. Club members feast on steak and meet community leaders committed to the club. Guests and donors are served burgers while getting to know the young people they're supporting.

"It's really cool; last year I sat with the chief of police, and it's a chance to get to meet people in the community that are successful," said Tyler Vasquez, 18, the branch's Youth of the Year.

Among the honored guests this year is keynote speaker Stacy Dragila, who won the women's pole-vaulting gold medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics.

"It's kind of neat to get an Olympian," branch executive Matt Duran said. "She's a positive role model and used her athleticism to not only win a gold medal but also get an education."

Also speaking at the event is Vasquez, a senior at Gilbert's Highland High School, who will be delivering a speech similar to the one that he gave at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley Youth of the Year banquet last month.

"I feel I owe the club a lot, so that's just not something I'm up there saying, I mean it," said Vasquez, who considers the club his "second family."

The event, catered by Lone Star Steakhouse, has a special format. Club members sit three to a table and get the chance to learn about others and also share their experiences at the club. Because the fund-raiser is held at the club with members present, attendees can see up close what the Boys & Girls Clubs are all about.

"Some events," Duran explained, "they (donors) never get the chance to see where their money goes.

"But with this event, they are in our building and meet our members and see firsthand how the money helps."