On a beautiful evening at the Arbor Room in City Park, guests arrived beneath arches of iridescent balloons and gathered around candlelit tables dressed in rich purple and gold for the 2026 Boys Town Louisiana Spirit of Youth Awards Gala. Each year, the Spirit of Youth Awards bring together friends of Boys Town Louisiana to celebrate young people, honor community leaders and raise support for children and families across our state.
We are proud to have recognized Lucio Fragoso of Manning Family Children’s and Winston Rhea Scholars, whose work expands support and opportunity for children, youth and families across our community.
We want to thank the many sponsors who helped make the evening possible, including our Guiding Light Sponsors: Manning Family Children’s and Robbert & Jenny Vorhoff; Catalyst Sponsor: Mark & Jane Landry; Hope Sponsors: Giving Hope Foundation, Galloway Johnson Tompkins Burr & Smith, and the Doussan Family; Harmony Sponsor: Community of Love; Uplift Sponsors: Chris & Valerie Barrilleaux, Jim & Terri Stuckey, Cliff & Laurie Buller, Winston Rhea Scholars, the New Orleans Children & Youth Planning Board, Cox, and Hancock Whitney; Youth Spirit Lounge Sponsors: Rotary Club of Metairie, Home Bank, and New Orleans & Company; Awards Sponsor: The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com; and Media Sponsor: Fox 8. We also want to send love to Semaj C. Douglas and The Blues Experiment for bringing such great energy to the room.
Behind it all were the people who helped carry the evening forward: our Boys Town Louisiana Advisory Board, including Cliff Buller, Chair; Chris Barrilleaux, Chair-Elect; Brenton Bowman; Kelsey Bonnaffons; Michael Chauvin; Shelita Jones; Terri Stuckey; Torry Dean; and Jacinta Massey, along with our Spirit of Youth Council, Karen Babin, Kelsey Bonnaffons, Cliff Buller, Rashain Carriere-Williams, Torry Dean, Jennifer Hayes, Daniel Harris, Clif Rhodes, Amelia Sherman, Ian Shevory, Dr. Felicia Stoler, Terri Stuckey, Katy Thomassie, Nate Usrey and Emily Wolff.
Most of all, thank you to everyone who helped make the evening such a strong show of support for the children and families we serve.
