Kacey Setzer, a senior at Lebanon High School, was named the Lebanon Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year on Jan. 29, earning a $500 scholarship and a chance to win $1,000 at the state competition.

Five finalists were chosen from an application pool of 13 applicants. Anthony Darling, Madison Phillips, Amanda Roadhouse, and Sarah Schoenthal competed with Setzer for the scholarship, each giving a three-minute speech to a crowd of about 90 attending the club's annual meeting.

Setzer will bring her giant list of achievements and memberships to the state competition. She is a member of the Keystone high school leadership group, National Honor Society, STARS, and the LHS yearbook staff. Setzer is also involved in athletics, playing varsity volleyball and softball, and is on a traveling club volleyball team. In the past, Setzer has been a junior Rotarian and attended the RYLA Rotary leadership camp. She also works at Quiznos.

She has been a member of the Boys & Girls Club since first-grade.

Setzer said she is honored to represent the club at the state level of competition.

"It's always been a positive place and I've always felt really welcomed," she said.

Jason Bolen, Lebanon Boys & Girls Club teen director, has known Setzer for several years through athletics and her club membership.

"She's a very bright and intelligent girl with a great sense of humor and a contagiously positive attitude," Bolen said. "She's been involved in Keystone this year and has participated in all of our activities so far. She spends lots of volunteer hours at the club after school, which I know can be difficult because she is also involved in volleyball at LHS."

Setzer plans to attend Linfield College or Western Oregon University and pursue a career as an elementary school teacher. Cadet teaching at Pioneer School inspired her to become a teacher, she said.

She is the daughter of Willie Setzer of Albany and Traci Setzer of Lebanon, and has eight siblings: a brother, five stepsiblings, and two half-siblings. She's the oldest among the children.

The night of the competition, she came to the club early with her best friend and fellow contestant Amanda Roadhouse, to practice speeches.

"I was just shocked to win. I was not expecting to win at all," Setzer said.

The judges for the competition were Lowe's Manager Andy Johnson, Lebanon Community School District Superintendent Jim Robinson, and Dr. Connie Schmidt, owner of Lebanon Animal Hospital.