Some stories come full circle. Tanner Girdwood's connection to Youth Commission International began long before she imagined she would lead it.
In April 1997 her father, Greg Keith, was one of the Charlotte business leaders who helped launch what became Youth Commission International, or YCI. The group came together to pray for the next generation and find ways to reach young people with the Gospel. Nearly three decades later, his daughter carries that vision forward.
A key on a Monday
Girdwood began working at YCI in 2012, shortly after graduating from the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism with a degree in broadcast journalism. She had what she calls her dream job, as an on-camera reporter and co-host of 100 Huntley Street, which the magazine describes as Canada's longest-running television program; she lived in Charlotte and commuted to Canada.
During a week at home, her father urged her to meet his friend Dennis Williams, then YCI's executive director. Williams told her about the ministry's work on middle and high school campuses and, at the end of the meeting, offered her a job.
"Thank you, but no thank you. I already have a job," she said. Williams took his office key off his key ring, put it in her hand and said, "I'll see you on Monday." She showed up that Monday and has been there since.
In 2015 she became executive director. Since then YCI has grown from two employees to more than 20, and from a handful of clubs to 241 schools equipped for YCI ministry at the end of the 2025-2026 school year. An estimated 4,635 students take part each week.
The number she cares most about is 1,465: students who, YCI reports, have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior in the last five years. When a decision is recorded, the organization says it gives the student a free Bible and connects them with a local church.
"I am convinced I have one of the best jobs in the world," Girdwood says. "I get to witness first-hand God at work."
What a club is
A YCI club is a student-led gathering on a school campus where students connect, pray and study the Bible. YCI gives student leaders curriculum and resources, and a framework for launching a club: build a team of three to five student leaders, find a teacher sponsor and campus mentor, secure school approval, pick a time and place, invite classmates and keep going with support from YCI staff, monthly training and its "YCI Weekly" messages. The idea is not another class but a place students can invite friends and ask questions. In June 2026 alone, YCI received 1,315 club interest form submissions.
Through its 50 by 30 initiative, YCI aims to hold in-person ministry training in all 50 states before its 30th annual Sporting Clays Shoot & Auction in September 2027. Since April 2026 it has trained students in four new states: New Mexico, Michigan, Ohio and Mississippi.
"Our mission field is between our feet," Girdwood says.
Sporting clays, Sept. 25
YCI's 29th annual Sporting Clays Shoot & Auction was set for Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, at Meadow Wood Farm in Waxhaw, with a rain date of Oct. 30: a half day of clays shooting, food and fellowship to support YCI students. Students, parents and teachers can start a club through the interest form or find one on the club page.
This story appears in the September 2026 issue of Stroll Quail Hollow.