


Spring Break 2025 provided area youth with a sneak peak of what Summer 2025 will be like at Ralph Wilson Youth Club. Spring Break at the youth club is a full day program that provides kids with structured programming during nonschool hours. The program mirrors what our youth can expect to experience during the summer months at the youth club. Youth get access to various areas of the youth club on a structured schedule that mirrors a school day; youth rotate to different areas during designated passing periods. In addition, youth got the experience of registering for field trips to various locations throughout the week. Locations visited during the Spring Break program included Spare Time, Gattis, Xtreme Jump and Wheels Skating. The week was capped off with a play day on Friday that featured free food for all youth in attendance. 166 youth attended the Spring Break program at Ralph Wilson Youth Club.
The 2025 Youth Basketball program at Ralph Wilson Youth Club experienced another record setting year. The program continued to experience record growth amongst participants. The 2025 season featured 1,295 male and females ages 5 to 13 competing for the rights to claim they are the CHAMPIONS of the RWYC Youth Basketball League. The size of the program has grown so much, games are required to be played at the youth club, Travis Middle School and Temple College
This year, 235 coaches dedicated 2,585 hours and coached 585 games. 105 sponsors supported the program to continue the tradition of having a sponsor for each team. Teams in the 10 & Under and 12 & Under Divisions participated in the RWYC version of March Madness. Boys and Girls teams competed in 60 tournament games to crown champions for 10 & Under Boys and Girls and 12 & Under Boys and Girls.
Mike and Judy Bukosky partnered with Ralph Wilson Youth Club to host the 29 CMB Jr. Golf Open. The annual event provides an opportunity for junior golfers within and outside of our community to compete in 12 age groups for boys and girls. The annual event is played at Wildflower Country Club and provides a first-class experience for youth golfers.
Awards are provided for 1 – 3 place finishers in each category. The event also crowns an overall male and female winner. This year, Miles Parker captured the overall male title with a score of 75. Carly Parker captured the overall female title with a score of 72.
In the 12-13 year old Boys Division, Hayes Pethtel successfully captured his fourth consecutive CMB Jr. Golf Open Championship. This year marked the first year the local phenom competed for 18 holes. His score of 75 continued his streak of championships.
The CMB Jr. Golf Open continues to offer valuable junior golfing experiences for area youth. The Bukosky Family remains steadfast in their commitment to not just providing golf opportunities for youth, but an experience for golfers and their families.
"This goal of the CMB is simple, we want to provide an amazing golf experience to beginners and advanced golfers,” stated Tournament Director Mike Bukosky. "The Bukosky has always been about the kids. Seeing the smiles on their faces when they arrive to warm up, seeing the smile on their faces when we present the awards is something that never gets old for me and my family. It is hard to believe that next year will mark the 30 year that we have hosted junior golfers at the Craig Bukosky, Jr. Golf Open, and every year it never fails to deliver an awesome feeling of service to our youth.’
Ralph Wilson Youth Club experienced a significant amount of damage related to the storms of Spring 2024. Damage occurred to the roof, exterior stucco, gym floor and HVAC system. As a result, the youth club was required to undergo significant repair work related to these areas. The youth club is proud to announce to our community that we have successfully completed comprehensive repairs associated with all of these areas. As a result, your youth club resembles the youth club you witnessed ten years ago when we opened our current facility for the first time to our community. Those driving down 25 Street will notice our new paint job. Our youth are experiencing an air condition system that is functioning at 100%. Our volleyball program participants are competing on a gym floor that has been resurfaced and primed for competition.
The Vincent Homestead supported Ralph Wilson Youth Club in hosting The Inaugural Clay Shoot at The Vincent Homestead. Youth club staff and Team Vincent worked hand in hand to coordinate a clay shoot fundraiser to benefit Ralph Wilson Youth Club. The Inaugural Clay Shoot at The Vincent Homestead was a two-day event that allowed avid and novice clay shooters to support the youth club.
The kick off for the event occurred on Friday night with a fajita dinner, followed by a glow in the dark clay shoot. To the best of our knowledge, the glow in the dark clay shoot was the first of its kind in the area. 36 shooters participated in the glow in the dark shoot. Day two of the event featured a traditional clay shoot followed by a luncheon for all participants.
The event featured a total of 20 teams shooting clays out of the sky to support our youth. In all, 36 donors contributed to assist the youth club in establishing a new fundraiser. The goal of the event was to create a new fundraiser that targets a new market of donors to support the youth club.
A key component of the establishment of the event was the support of Todd Vincent and The Vincent Homestead. The Vincent Homestead is a 150-acre wildlife retreat that features a banquet facility, pond, and lodging for visitors. The event was the first of its kind at the location. The willingness of Team Vincent to embrace Ralph Wilson Youth Club and partner in creating a vision that promises to have a lasting impact on supporting the youth club cannot be measured.
Each year, Ralph Wilson Youth Club selects two participants from the youth basketball program to be recipients of the Craig Bukosky Sportsmanship Award. Although the winners are traditionally highly regarded athletes in the program, the award is based on the winners demonstrating the highest level of sportsmanship and teamwork. This year’s winners are Sidney Hutka and Bowen Williams.
Age: 12
Age: 12
School: Rogers Middle School
Favorite Athlete: Reese Atwood
Favorite Subject: Social Studies
School: Lake Belton Middle School
Favorite Athlete: Justin Jefferson
Favorite Subject: Art
RWYC cooked 400 hot dogs and served water, chips and cookies during an evening of Academy High School men’s and women’s varsity basketball games to raise funds for the White family. The White’s lost their home in a fire on New Years Eve. Keith, Brittany and their children have been participating in RWYC athletic leagues for multiple years Brittany has coached several RWYC basketball teams, while their oldest daughter participated as a child in
McLane Intelligent Solutions Chief Operating Officer, Ed McGory and members of the organizations staff stopped by RWYC during the week of Spring Break to visit with RWYC members. The McLane Intelligent Solutions team shared the importance of cyber security and not sharing personal information while online. Thank you to Mr. McGory and the entire McLane Intelligent Solutions team for supporting all of RWYC’s information technology needs.
High School: Lake Belton H.S., Class of 2024
College: University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
Studying Education/Human Services
Career Goal: A career helping children either as an educator or in social work.
RWYC Tenure: 11 months
Why she enjoys working at RWYC: “My favorite part of working at RWYC is building connections with the kids while making sure they have fun and feel included. I desire to impact kids by helping them become a more confident, compassionate and capable individual, who thrive in all aspects of life.”
At the core of the existence of Ralph Wilson Youth Club is providing programs rich in quality and affordable to the youth of the Greater Temple Community. The Board of Directors of Ralph Wilson Youth Club set a target amount each year to receive from our Club Champions program. Over the duration of the past four fiscal years, the Club Champions of Ralph Wilson Youth Club have surpassed this targeted amount. The Club Champions program represents a COMMITMENT to fine arts, academics and athletics offered through the youth club.
As the youth club approaches its ten-year anniversary (2025), the Club Champions program will play a huge role in the ability of the youth club to address issues related to the growth and aging of the facility. It is also important that the Club Champions program grows to include the next wave of caregivers for the youth club. Not only do we need our loyal Club Champions to remain committed to supporting the youth club, but we also need YOU to help us recruit new members to our valued Club Champions program.
The tradition of Ralph Wilson Youth Club spans 58 years. Countless youth have benefitted from the experiences of Ralph Wilson Youth Club. Help us keep the tradition alive and well by renewing your commitment to being a Club Champion.
Anytime Ralph Wilson Youth Club has an opportunity to celebrate our youth, we take advantage of it. Valentine’s Day 2025 was no different. As a token of our appreciation to our kids, Ralph Wilson Youth Club presented all youth members of the club with a carnation. Members were informed that they could keep the carnation for themselves, or, gift it to their parents to show their appreciation to their parents.
March