Albany Young Marines named Division 2 Young Marine Unit of the Year

ALBANY, Ga. – The Young Marines, a national youth organization, has named the Albany Young Marines of Albany, Georgia as the Division 2 Unit of the Year, the top honor for Division 2 that consists of 41 units in six states. This honor was awarded for the unit’s community service, program achievement, and dedication to the mission. The unit will now compete with five other units from across the country for the top honor for units, the National Unit of the Year.

The Young Marines is a national non-profit 501(c)(3) youth education and service program for boys and girls, age eight through high school graduation. The organization promotes the mental, moral, and physical development of its members and focuses on teaching the values of leadership, teamwork, and self-discipline, so they can live and promote a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.

The National Unit of the Year will be chosen at the 2025 Adult Leaders Conference which will be held in Dallas, Texas in April. The unit, led by Unit Commander Eric Crump, has 30 youth members and six adult volunteers.

“This is a well-deserved honor for the Albany Young Marines,” said Col. William P. Davis USMC (Ret), national executive director and CEO of the Young Marines. “They are tireless in serving the Albany community and the region. They have a strong loyalty to the Young Marine Drug Demand Reduction program and have done much to spread the healthy, drug-free lifestyle message. By participating in our program and setting their goals at a high level, they have made an investment in their community and themselves.”

Among their thousands of hours of community service, the Albany Young Marines community service includes:

Participation in the National Memorial Day Parade, Wreaths Across America, and Toys for Tots. They also support local activities including the COMBOS® Marathon, CancerTies events, feeding families with Flint River Fresh, displaying flags at schools, and many community events supporting veterans, first responders, and the elderly.

Asked what makes his involvement in the Albany Young Marines so rewarding, Unit Commander Crump said, “Being role models for the youth and building on the relationships that have been formed with community leaders has been unbelievably valuable. Working with leadership at the Marine Corps Logistics Base – Albany, the Albany Chamber of Commerce and local businesses, the Albany Police Department, Albany State University, local veteran organizations and more. I am proud to see the excitement of these leaders as they see our collective success and impact on the community together. We are all truly living the theme ‘Together, building tomorrow’s leaders today.’”

For more information about the Albany Young Marines, visit the website at: https://youngmarines.org/unit/albany/page

Young Marines History

Since the Young Marines’ humble beginnings in 1959 with one unit and a handful of boys, the organization has grown to over 200 units with over 5,000 youth and 1,950 adult volunteers in 40 states, the District of Columbia, Japan (Okinawa), and affiliates in a host of other countries. For more information, visit the website at https://www.YoungMarines.org.

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