Bigs and Littles of the Year Announced for 2022 Big Appreciation Night

By Abby Hayman

The names of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta Bigs and Littles of the Year for 2022 were revealed during a virtual “Big Appreciation Night” on YouTube Live

Big Appreciation Night 2022 at Inspire Brands Theater

Big Brother & Little Brother of the Year: 

Christian Doetsch and Brayan 

Big Sister and Little Sister of the Year: 

Carla Leary and Leah 

These individuals are nominated by one another, the Littles’ parents and Match Support Specialists, and represent the outstanding work that all of our volunteers do throughout the year.  They are chosen from our nearly 1,200 volunteers across 12 metro counties in recognition of their extraordinary commitment to their Littles.  

Christian Doetsch and his Little Brother Brayan have been matched for almost 8 years. Brayan shared that his Big respects him for who he is and is just a great mentor. The two enjoy attending sporting events together and one of Brayan’s favorite memories is when they attended a basketball game and had the opportunity to meet some players. Christian, like many Bigs, shared that he has been impacted by watching Brayan grow and that he’s very proud of the young man he’s become and believes in his uncapped potential.  

Big Brother Christian Doetsch and Little Brother Brayan

Big Sister Carla Leary and Little Sister Leah have been matched for more than 7 years. Since the beginning, they’ve had a wonderful connection. Leah is active in many clubs at school and is passionate about cheerleading. Carla has always been there to support her academically and attends as many cheer competitions as she can. The two can praise each other for a job well done and encourage each other to do what they believe to be right. They’ve both expressed that they couldn’t ask for a better match and have been there for one another through both the good and difficult times.    

Big Sister Carla Leary and Little Sister Leah

The event was co-hosted by BBBSATL’s Young Leaders Council, with the live, limited-capacity, socially-distanced portion of the evening’s program held at Inspire Brands headquarters in Atlanta. 

2022 Award Recipients: 

Rookie of the Year – Jovene Milligan 

Defender of Potential Award – Adriana Borjon 

Big Fundraiser Award – Casey Hill 

Champion of Potential Award – Maurice Harrell 

Big Impact Award – Natalie James 

A BIG thank you to our in-kind sponsors, who provided amazing prizes for our Bigs: 

  • Atlanta Botanical Gardens  
  • The Atlanta Braves  
  • Atlanta Motor Speedway  
  • Batter Cookie Dough  
  • Bellyard Hotel   
  • Breakout Games  
  • College Football Hall of Fame  
  • Dad’s Garage Comedy Club  
  • Delta Air Lines  
  • DoorDash  
  • Evolution Yoga Midtown  
  • Fetch  
  • Fox Theater and Marquee Club  
  • Gas South  
  • Georgia Aquarium  
  • Georgia Chamber of Commerce  
  • King of Pops  
  • National Center for Civil and Human Rights  
  • Nitro Zone Indoor Fun Park  
  • Nothing Bundt Cakes  
  • Olivia Restaurant Group  
  • Onward Reserve  
  • Ponce City ROOF   
  • Rukus Cycling  
  • Southern Proper Hospitality Group  
  • Stars and Strikes  
  • Stone Mountain Park  
  • Topgolf Atlanta Midtown  
  • Waffle House