Youth First, Inc. will honor community leader Jeff Deig at its 2022 Breakfast of Champions event on Wednesday, October 26, at 7:00 am at Friedman Park Event Center in Newburgh. Deig will receive the Dr. William Wooten Champion of Youth First Award.
Also celebrated at this highly anticipated event are Youth First donors and school partners, to whom the organization credits its growth and mission support.
Speakers at the 2022 Breakfast of Champions include Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke, Dr. Mark Browning, Denny Quinn, Abigail Werling, and many others.
Jeff Deig is an Evansville native and is a driving force behind Youth First’s growth and development, serving as a long-time Youth First Board Member and Board Chair in 2019-2020. He retired in 2016 as President of PCI Skanska, the pinnacle of a 34-year tenure with Industrial Contractors and later Skanska. Deig also gives back to his community through Christian Fellowship Church, Evansville Wartime Museum, American Red Cross, and Evansville Industrial Foundation.
Youth First partners with school districts across Indiana to embed Master’s level social workers in school buildings, where they become specialized mentors for students and prevention coaches for parents and teachers. In a year when national leaders sounded the alarm about skyrocketing rates of anxiety, depression, substance use, and suicide, Youth First provided thousands of students with free, in-school access to professional mental health care.
Youth First Social Workers build caring relationships, foster readiness for positive change, and boost resiliency, along with equipping students with valuable life skills. Their presence also contributes to a healthier and safer school environment.
