Each year, Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Colorado highlights its best and brightest young staff members around the holidays, as well as giving the community a top-notch Christmas party.

And this year will be a doozy for numerous reasons.

The 20^th annual Cowboy Christmas takes place this weekend at Boys & Girls Club of Craig. The Saturday evening party features a Roaring Twenties theme, with attendees encouraged to dress up for the formal event.

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As Executive Director Dana Duran described it, “boots, bling and roaring swing.”

A sumptuous menu as well as music, dancing and auction items will be part of the gala night, as well as the showcasing of the Youth of the Year nominees.

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Youth of the Year is a nationwide competition through the Boys & Girls Club organization, starting at the local level, as high school-aged staff members apply for scholarship opportunities by telling their story about what their club means to them.

This year’s Craig nominees are Moffat County High School juniors Esperanza Valencia and Karson Fedinec.

Valencia said she has been coming to the Craig club since she was about 7, though her younger days were ones where she was experiencing some family strife and was fairly antisocial.

“I was a misbehaved kid, and it was kind of hard coming back here,” she said. “My attitude back then was really bad. I antagonized a lot of people.”

Executive Director Dana Duran recalled Valencia at that time as someone who just liked to have her own way among other kids.

“If it was her idea, it worked, but if not, she was not interested in participating,” Duran said.

It wasn’t until she got older that Valencia got a better sense of being part of a group and the importance of communication.

“When you’re around younger kids, you have to control how you feel around them, for their benefit,” she said.

Duran said that since becoming a staff member, Valencia has become far more of a team player.

“She chips in and helps out everywhere it needs to be done,” Duran said. “We couldn’t be more proud of her.”

Valencia said she felt like participating in Youth of the Year is a big step into adulthood for her.

“It’s very nervewracking, very stressful, but I think I can do it,” she said.

Both Valencia and Fedinec will be reading their essays during Cowboy Christmas detailing how their lives have been impacted.

Fedinec noted that he felt at home pretty easily when coming to the club in his younger days.

“I felt really accepted here and that I could always share my goals and ambitions and all of my imaginative thoughts — they weren’t just tolerated here, they were celebrated,” he said.

Fedinec noted that when he was younger, he felt somewhat self-conscious about his appearance, but he quickly found a friend who felt similarly.

“On my first day, I found a kid whose ears poked out a little bit like mine did, and that really helped me connect with myself and remember who I was,” he said.

Duran said that Fedinec has showed great leadership since becoming a junior staff member.

“He is willing to help and dive in, he takes feedback and makes everybody better that’s around them,” she said.

Both Valencia and Fedinec credited Duran with helping build them into the people they are. They also cited current staff member Taylor Oxenreider with helping foster them, as well as former staff member Tanya Ferguson, both of whom were integral to helping form an appreciation for Boys & Girls Club.

“I want to keep this club a part of my life forever,” Valencia said.