In this issue, you'll read:
WYN's First Annual Heart of WYN-ter Shag Benefit
WYN-ing Proposal Made to County Commissioners
Success of the Month
Mayor Proclaimed January 25th as Boone's "Thank Your Mentor Day"
WYN Welcomes New Team Members
Dare to Discover the Magic of WYN

WYN's First Annual Heart of WYN-ter Shag Benefit

High Country residents can treat their taste buds and dance to the music of Larry "Big Fish" Calhoun at the Heart of WYN-ter Shag Benefit.

Western Youth Network will hold its first Heart of WYN-ter Benefit Dinner and Dance at the High Country Home Builders Association Banquet Hall this Saturday, February 11 from 7 p.m. until 11 p.m. The event will include a barbecue dinner catered by Bandana's Bar B Que and Grill. Dinner will be served from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Tickets are $25 per person and may be purchased at the door, or by calling WYN at 264-5174. All proceeds from the event will benefit WYN.

WYN-ing Proposal Made to County Commissioners

WYN is making headway in the effort to bring a state-of-the art multi-purpose youth facility to Watauga County!

At the County Commissioners meeting on January 24th, it was standing-room-only for those who turned out in support of WYN's proposal regarding partnership with the county. Concerned citizens heard Ron Redmon, vice-chair of WYN's Board of Directors, make a passionate plea to the commissioners for the formation of a public-private partnership between the county, WYN, and other interested organizations to make the dream of a county youth recreation center a reality.

WYN's proposal received a positive response from Watauga County officials, and the matter will be considered at the County Budget Retreat in early March.

Anyone interested in volunteering, donating money, or sharing ideas for the center, should contact WYN at (828) 264-5174 or e-mail Jennifer Grubb at grubbj@westernyouthnetwork.org

View the January 27, 2006 article in the Watauga Democrat:
http://www.wataugademocrat.com

Success of the Month

The WYN staff and Board of Directors are so proud of the hard work our middle-schoolers are doing each day during the tutoring/homework hour in our After-School Program. Each one of our participants improved their grades in at least one subject. Several students even improved grades in three or more subjects!

WYN would like to give special recognition to two students who made great strides towards improving their overall grade point average. In less than three weeks, Peter made significant improvements in three subjects by more than two letter grades! Erin also improved her grades in seven of eight subjects!

Keep up the good work!

Mayor Proclaimed January 25th as Boone's "Thank Your Mentor Day"

A proclamation was made by Loretta Clawson, Mayor of the Town of Boone, in recognition of WYN's mentors. In an effort to honor the volunteers of WYN's Mentoring Program for their tireless dedication to our community's youth and families, January 25th was proclaimed as Boone's "Thank Your Mentor Day."

In 2005, volunteers in WYN's Mentoring program spent more than 3,058 hours with youth in Watauga, Avery and Ashe counties, totaling more than $43,515 of donated time to benefit the community! Thank you for your life-changing work!

This year, as in past years, WYN made an extra effort to recruit volunteers to serve as mentors to our youth during the month of January, National Mentoring Month. Check out more about WYN's celebration of National Mentoring Month at: http://www.mountaintimes.com

WYN Welcomes New Team Members

WYN is pleased to announce the addition of three outstanding members of the community to its team of dedicated individuals serving the youth and families of the High Country.

Joining the WYN Board of Directors is Kimberly Eggers, a native of Watauga County, and the County Magistrate. Joining the WYN full-time staff as the new Director of Prevention Programs is Ronald Holste. Ronny has worked with WYN for the past 18 months as an after school leader. Joining the ranks of WYN's outstanding corps of volunteers is Daranee "Dusty" Teng, a senior Spanish and Journalism major at ASU.

WYN welcomes these three to its family, and congratulates them on taking up our challenge of We Dare You! Be on the lookout for profiles of all the WYN staff on our website!


Dare to Discover the Magic of WYN