Youth of the Month June 2016: Geoffrey Greer

By Jeremy Brown

Boom Squad, Inc. calls itself “more than a drum line” and Geoffrey Greer, a 13-year-old member at the forefront of the organization’s leadership, is certainly more than a drummer.

The rising eighth-grader at North Junior High performs for the creative drum line but has also served as the Boom Squad’s equipment manager for three years. His service within the youth development not-for-profit and around the community has earned him Youth Resources’ June Youth of the Month award.

“We’re quite proud of Geoffrey,” said Boom Squad, Inc. Director Verdelski Miller. “He’s been a tremendous asset to our organization.”

Greer joined the Boom Squad as a 10-year-old in 2013 and after three months of participating, Miller asked him to step into a leadership role as an equipment manager. He embraced the opportunity with enthusiasm and heading into his final year of middle school, Greer is the head equipment manager for the drum line.

In addition to performing around the region and nationally, Greer is responsible for organizing drums and drum sticks for the Boom Squad’s 215 members. Greer enjoys helping his teammates and loves experiencing new cities with his drum line.

“I like making sure everybody is taken care of and traveling with people to different places” said Greer.

The Boom Squad’s goal is to provide a structured alternative music and arts activity that has an immediate positive impact on decision-making and educational outcomes, resulting in a decrease in adverse involvement with the juvenile justice system, an increase in school attitude for academic success and a venue for family unity to ultimately lead to a healthy lifestyle and successful future.

“The Boom Squad has taught me a lot about hard work and service,” said Greer. “Serving can be fun with other people. It gives you something positive to do instead of being in the streets. It’s helped me become a better person.”

Greer’s recognition automatically qualifies him as a finalist for Youth Resources’ Youth of the Year award. He joins Castle’s Landon Eisenhut as 2016-17 Youth of the Month recipients. Youth Resources will name its Youth of the Year at its annual Hall of Fame Celebration in April 2017.

For more information and to nominate a student (5-18) for Youth of the Month, click here!

Jeremy Brown is the TEENPOWER, Special Events & Communications Coordinator at Youth Resources.