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Teen's Actions Gain Attention

Tribune photo by JAMIE PILARCZYK

Tyler Placeres, right, waits patiently while Tanese Hill, 8, shoots for the net.

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By JAMIE PILARCZYK

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 30, 2008

FAIR OAKS - When Tyler Placeres walks through the front door to the Jim Walter Interbay Boys & Girls Club, the little yellow sign on the brick wall grabs his attention every time.

"It says 'Safe Place,'" Placeres, 16, said. "It's a reminder to kids that when they come here, it's going to be safe; no temptations to hang out with the wrong kind of people or to go anywhere after school."

Placeres, who has been going to the 4002 S. Coolidge Ave. club since he was 5, has taken advantage of the leadership development the club offers and has been a volunteer mentor for the younger members.

"When I walk in in the mornings to put my stuff down, all the little kids say, 'Hi, Tyler,'" said Placeres, who encourages them to be their own selves, think positively and stay away from drugs.

His actions have gained him national attention. The Taco Bell Foundation and ThinkMTV named Placeres a runner-up in its national Teen Hero Awards program.

"We know that teens can have a powerful influence over their peers and younger kids, and it's exciting to hear stories like Tyler's where he is using that influence in a positive way," said Sally George, senior manager of the foundation.

ThinkMTV, the umbrella for MTV's social action campaigns for young people, launched the online campaign for nominations in April when the Taco Bell Foundation created the awards program, hoping to inspire teens to reach their full potential.

The award comes with $5,000 to donate to a charity of choice. Placeres chose the Jim Walter club, which will use it for teen programming. On Thursday, he also gets to take about 15 of his closest friends to lunch at the Taco Bell in Britton Plaza.

Branch director Shervin Rassa said Placeres is a role model to the younger children, not just for his anti-drug message, but for his leadership.

"He is the perfect example of what the Boys & Girls Club is," Rassa said. "He has bettered himself and taken the most advantage of the opportunities here. Plus, he stands out because he takes the time to make friends with the younger ones."

Placeres, who will be a junior at Robinson High School, played junior varsity basketball last year, was in the band, biology club and Campus Life. At the Boys & Girls Club, he is involved in Junior Achievement, is participating in a Dale Carnegie Training for teens and is part of the teen service group called the Keystone Club.

With Keystone, he has traveled to national and regional conferences across the United States and was chosen as one of five Tampa teens to attend a Youth for Unity conference at Yellowstone National Park.

"They have given me so much," Placeres said.

He plans to attend the University of Florida or University of Nebraska. His older brother, Chuck Wright, who lives in Omaha, is one of Placeres' mentors. So is Rassa.

"I always looked up to my brother as someone I wanted to be like. He graduated from college, has a good-paying job and has found his future wife," Placeres said. "And Shervin, he has all the great aspects of an adult. He has good leadership skills, he always has his best foot forward and is always choosing to better himself."

His dream job?

"I want to be the director of teen services for the national Boys & Girls Club," he said, "and do good for people."

Reporter Jamie Pilarczyk can be reached at (813) 259-7661 or jpilarczyk@tampatrib.com.

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