When it comes to deciding who should receive the McKinley Harris Distinguished Warrior Award, the Urban League of Metropolitan Denver looks for someone who has been down in the trenches, fighting the good fight.
For the first time, that person is a teenager. Tanner Ryan, a 16-year-old about to start his junior year at Jefferson Academy Charter School in Westminster, accepted the award at the 62nd Whitney M. Young Jr. Awards Dinner held earlier this month at the Sheraton Denver Hotel.
“His drive to help his school and community speaks to the heart of this amazing young man,” notes Sharon Alexander-Holt, the Urban League’s president and chief executive. “Tanner and his family love their connection to the Urban League and look forward to many, many more years of service to our organization and educating others about the incredible work we do for the underprivileged youth of Denver.”
At Jefferson Academy, where he maintains a 4.2 GPA, Tanner has been student council president, a starter on the Pomona High School varsity football team, and a member of the National Honor Society. He became an Eagle Scout in 2007 and recently received the district-level Outstanding Eagle Scout Project Award from the Optimist Club.
As a McKinley Harris Distinguished Warrior, Tanner stands in the company of such former recipients as former Mayors Wellington Webb and Federico Peña; Wilma Webb; U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar; former Colorado State University president Al Yates; U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette; and the late civic activists Rachel Noel and Omar Blair.
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