CASPER, Wyo. — Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming CEO Ashley Bright is marking his 25th year leading the organization.

According to a release from the Boys & Girls Club, Bright started with the organization in 1991 at the East Side Branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tacoma/Pierce in Washington state as program director. He became assistant executive director two years later.

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Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming CEO Ashley Bright is overcome with emotion after being surprised with a painting by Casper artist Zach Pullen during the 2019 Boys & Girls Club Awards and Recognition Breakfast on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019, at the Casper Events Center. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City News File)
Bright moved to Montana in 1996 to lead the Boys & Girls Clubs of North Central Montana before accepting the role of CEO at the BGCCW in 1999.

Since then, Bright has overseen the opening of the new 36,000 square-foot facility in 2004; the expansion into Buffalo, Wyoming, in 2016; and its extension into Dubois in 2019. The organization opened a new facility in Glenrock in 2022, increasing daily membership by 35%. This year, the club has secured a 34,675-square-foot building in Riverton after launching a $2.5 million campaign.

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Dan Cantine, founder of the 12-24 Club, is escorted back to his table by Ashley Bright, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming, after Cantine received the Mick & Susie McMurry Cowboy Code Try Award. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City News)
In 2014, the organization opened a boxing facility and Wyoming’s first financial literacy center for youth, Young AmeriTowne: WyoTowne, which has since expanded to serve five counties, they said.

Over the years, Bright has led the club as its assets have grown from $348,000 to more than $14 million, with the organization now serving four counties and five communities, comprising 3,300 members and a total of 13,000 youth served annually.

The release says that as executive director of the BGCCW Foundation, he has launched a $15.7 million sustainability campaign and his efforts have earned recognition locally and nationally. Among his recognitions are the Herman S. Prescott Award for the Southwest Region in recognition of his visionary contributions to the movement this year, Southwest Region’s Executive of the Year in 2005, the Wyoming Community Foundation’s Tony Cate Service Award in 2017, BGCA’s Southwesterner Legacy Award and BGCA’s Blue Spirit Award in 2018.

“[Bright] is dedicated to serving children, youth, and families, with the goal of building beloved communities in Central Wyoming,” the release said. “He is a devoted Christ follower, is married, and has five children, three sons-in-law, three grandchildren, with another grandchild on the way.”

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