Kylie Klinko and Brian Blaise, two young Republicans from Broome County, received the New York State Young Republicans Rising Star Award earlier this month.

Among thousands of fellow Republicans across the state, Klinko and Blaise were selected for their involvement in local politics, community service and commitment to the party’s values. The ceremony was held on March 21 at the Broome County Republican Headquarters in Vestal, with Benji Federman, the local party chair, presenting the awards.

Klinko, a sophomore majoring in business administration, is a member of Women in Business, a student organization that empowers women entering the professional world. She said she was “honored and shocked” when she won the award.

“I would say my parents inspired me to get involved,” Klinko wrote. “As they both have different political opinions, it made me realize anyone can get along even if you have different opinions. This made me want to give my opinions a shot!”

She was recognized for her work for former Rep. Marc Molinaro, who was unseated by Democratic challenger Josh Riley in November and was nominated earlier this year by President Donald Trump to head the Federal Transit Administration. Klinko is now supporting Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham’s reelection campaign and will be a tax intern for Piaker & Lyons Certified Public Accountants, according to reporting from FOX 40.

Blaise serves on the Town of Dickinson Planning Board and is one of the youngest public officials in the state. A freshman majoring in liberal arts at SUNY Broome Community College, Blaise plans to transfer to Binghamton University and major in political science.

“What my job is on the Planning Board is to discuss and talk about new developments that happen, or are planning to be happening within the town,” Blaise said. “So say, for example, you wanted to build a house, you would submit some forms to us, and we discuss, ‘OK, what are the environmental impacts? What would be the impacts on transportation, or if they would cause any light or noise pollution?’ Things like that.”

“Another thing that we’re responsible for doing is creating a comprehensive plan,” he continued. “In some ways, I liken it to a Wikipedia article on steroids, if that makes sense. It basically includes all of the demographics within the town.”

Blaise became politically involved when his father was elected as a New York Supreme Court justice and recalled meeting with “all sorts of people in the Republican Party” when he was young.

His mother and grandmother attended the award ceremony, but due to its political nature, his father could not. Blaise said his time in politics has been a positive experience so far.

“I’m very thankful to be in a position where I’m able to sit on a governmental board, and also to be receiving a New York State Young Republicans award,” he said. “And I’m very thankful, too, that I’ve gotten to meet all these great people that are doing great things for the community.”

Federman said recognizing young people who are already politically active can “inspire others to want to get involved” in politics.

“Ultimately, politics can be very hard work,” he said. “It’s thankless work on occasion. Spending long nights at headquarters, attending long town board meetings and planning board meetings, just to demonstrate that that work is recognized, that we’re celebrating that getting into civics and participating in government is something that is valued, I think, is really important.”