Celebrating the creativity, connection, joy and innovation of “play” was the stage Harris County Department of Education’s (HCDE) Center for Afterschool, Summer and Enrichment (CASE) for kids set for the more than 380 professionals at the third annual Houston Out-of-School Time Conference.

Held Aug. 3-4 at Kingdom Builders’ Center, the event featured more than 50 workshops and conference sessions that highlighted the importance of youth development spaces to afterschool and out-of-school time programs and organizations. They ranged from panel discussions and roundtable talks to interactive classes.

Student demonstrations showcased robotics, golf through the Little Birdies Mobile Golf Academy, and chess through the Girl Chess Power and Beyond organization.

National Play Ambassador and Missouri Afterschool Network co-chair Tyler Kearns served as conference keynote speaker, while HCDE Board of Trustees President Richard Cantu and First Vice President Dr. Erica Davis expressed their gratitude for out-of-school time organizations during remarks on the second day.

CASE for Kids closed the conference with the 26th annual Spirit of Excellence Celebration.

Spirit of Excellence Awards

Outstanding Youth Support Professional Award

Kanosky Munoz, Segundo Barrio Children’s Chorus

Organizational Excellence Award

Segundo Barrio Children’s Chorus

Outstanding Service Provider Award

BenCheri’ Educational Center

Emerging Leader Award

Tanisha McDaniel, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston

Excellence in Program Leadership Award

Rebecca Minnock, Literacy Now Houston

Visionary Leadership Award

Sydney Ealy, TWST4Girls

Youth Advocacy Award

Emmanuel Salas, The Woods Project

Volunteer of the Year Award

Theresa Perez, HCDE

Director’s Award of Excellence

Kimberly Akinyemi, HCDE