EVANSTON — The NextGen Mentoring fourth annual awards picnic was held on the evening of Tuesday, July 13, at the  home of Lee Francis. Dozens of mentors, mentees, friends and family members gathered outside on a warm and windy evening to acknowledge the work of those involved with the NextGen Mentoring program.

Program coordinator Bethany Shidler welcomed attendees to the event and thanked sponsors of the program and the picnic, including Murdoch’s, Dominion Energy, Smith’s, VisionSource and Blue Clover Insurance, as well as the 4-H Club that supplied the evening’s decorations.

Shidler spoke of the challenges of the past year from the COVID-19 pandemic, but said the program had been able to continue almost normally despite those challenges. In fact, a new component of the mentoring program was launched over the past year called Kickstarting Your Future, which includes an employment piece focusing on soft skills and a resilience piece focusing on coping skills. Shidler said the hope is to grow that program over the next year.

Shidler also emphasized the continual need for program mentors to work with young people throughout the community. No experience is required to be a mentor, just a willingness to forge a connection and dedicate some time on a regular basis.

Following Shidler’s remarks, Disability:IN Uinta County Executive Director Wanda Rogers spoke and said she wanted to give a “shout out” to Shidler for her hard work, dedication and love for everyone involved with the program. Shidler and Rogers then recognized all of the mentor-mentee pairs of the past year before announcing some specific awards.

Board member Marny Huffaker announced the Mentee of the Year as Julian Delgadillo. Huffaker said he is a young man who has grown a lot in the past year, both socially and in his own confidence levels, and is now involved in theater and working at BOCES. When accepting the award, Delgadillo thanked his mentor, Dr. David Russell, who just happened to be named Mentor of the Year, an award presented by board member David Benton.

Benton said Russell has been involved in the program for years and has worked with three different mentees in that time, work that “has not always been easy but has been worth it.” The final award was for Match of the Year presented to the mentor-mentee pair of Shelley Piiparinen and Madajah Ries. Board member Travis Hogman said the Piiparinen-Ries match was a great team, always willing to help and take on new projects. “They’re both very busy, but they make time to work together,” said Hogman.

Following the awards, those in attendance continued to enjoy the summer evening with good food and conversation.