This summer, Immokalee Foundation student Wenchy Dutreuil will travel to Beta Club’s 2019 National Convention in Oklahoma City, where he hopes to be elected national club secretary. A junior at Immokalee High School, Dutreuil is currently state secretary of Beta Club, the largest independent, nonprofit, educational youth organization in the U.S.
For more than 80 years, National Beta Club has prepared today’s students to be tomorrow’s leaders with a mission to promote the ideals of academic achievement, character, service and leadership among elementary and secondary school students.
Locally, students in Beta Club lead service projects such as Noah’s Attic, an outreach of the First United Methodist Church of Immokalee; Broadway Buddies, associated with Naples Performing Arts Center; and others.
“The Beta motto is ‘let us lead by serving others,’ and it does just that,” Dutreuil explained. “The primary focus of Beta is community service.”
Giving back to his community is what propelled Dutreuil to Beta state office. Traditionally, the local club sells snow cones at football games. Wenchy saw an opportunity to draw in more buyers by marketing the product as snow cones main ingredient being “homemade, organic ice.”
“I sold it in a more innovative way,” Dutreuil said. “By being louder, bolder and more creative.”
Another clever slogan originated during his campaign for Beta Club state secretary.
“When you are running for an office in Beta, you have to run a campaign and it is appropriate for your campaign to have a theme that will represent the impact you wish to make as a leader,” Dutreuil said. “We chose ‘Wave with Wenchy’ because it is catchy and both wave and Wenchy start with a ‘w.’ There is also a symbolic meaning behind a wave. A wave first begins with a small movement of water that cascades into greater energy, which results in a huge wave. I am that first movement.”
Dutreuil is also involved in many networking opportunities, summer programs, activities and events, as well as the school’s mock trial program. He hopes to become biomedical engineer or a computer software engineer.
“Wenchy is an excellent student,” said Amber Barr, The Immokalee Foundation’s program services director. “He is in the top 10 of students in his class and is dual-enrolled at Florida Gulf Coast University.”
The Immokalee Foundation provides a range of education programs that focus on building pathways to professional careers through support, mentoring and tutoring, and life skills development leading to economic independence. To learn more about The Immokalee Foundation, becoming a mentor, its signature events, volunteering as a career panel speaker or host, making a donation, including the foundation in your estate plans, or for additional information, call 239-430-9122 or visit https://immokaleefoundation.org.
