Girl Scouts receive prestigious award

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Day

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Decker

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Elston

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Latell

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Mathews

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Moff

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Reihard

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Sanders

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Williams

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Witherow

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Yeater

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Young

MACEDONIA — Girl Scouts of North East Ohio presented the Girl Scout Gold Award to 77 Girl Scouts during a ceremony in Macedonia. This was an unprecedented number of Girl Scouts to receive the prestigious award in a single year.

The Gold Award, the highest honor a Girl Scout can earn, recognizes that girls, 14 to 18 years of age, have real leadership skills that can have a significant impact on their communities and can change the lives of others in amazing ways.

Among those recognized for their outstanding achievements were 14 Girl Scouts for this area. They are as follows:

Ashley Balsbaugh, a graduate of Beaver High School, has been a Girl Scout for 13 years.

For her Gold Award project, Ashley addressed a dying historical garden at Beaver Creek State Park. She cleaned up an area of the park, designed a garden outline and researched native plant life in that area. Ashley hopes her project taught others about native plant life in Ohio and to appreciate the outdoors.

“I chose this project because of my love of the outdoors and my social skills. I will continue to check on my garden throughout the summer to make sure the plants are growing, the wildlife is abundant and no repairs are needed.”

In addition to the Girl Scout Gold Award, Ashley earned the Silver Award. She also lettered in choir, was a member of Venture Crew and earned the Ranger Award. She has also volunteered in the Dominican Republic building houses. Ashley would like to attend Pennsylvania State University and major in a science field such as marine biology.

Amanda Brockway is a senior in high school taking online classes through ECOT.

For her Gold Award, Amanda worked with her troop to make crayon pouches for the children of Easter Seals using recycled blue jeans. Each girl had her own role in the project. The blue jean pockets were cut out, sewn into pouches and hand-decorated. Before the girls could start the project, they had to earn money for the project by collecting donations from the community.

“This Gold Award project served many purposes, including helping children with disabilities improve their motor skills and raising awareness of Girl Scouting in our community. I was happy my troop picked a project that had an impact on children.”

Megan Marie Day, a student at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Ind., just completed her freshman year. She is a graduate of Cardinal Mooney High School and has been a Girl Scout for 10 years.

For her Gold Award, Megan worked with her troop to host an all-day safety camp for children. Guest speakers gave presentations on self-defense, bicycle safety and online predators. Throughout the day, the children also participated in safety-related games.

Megan has also earned the Girl Scout Silver and Bronze awards and the Girl Scout Catholic Scouting, Pope Pius XII Award. Megan has been recognized for the Mahoning County Outstanding Youth Court, representing Girl Scouts. In addition to Girl Scouting, Megan is a member of the National Honor Society and a 4-H Ohio State Ambassador. In high school, Megan was involved in cheerleading, track, softball, French Club and the Speech Team.

Tina Decker, a graduate of Chalker High School in Southington, is a member of Girl Scout Troop 97.

For her Gold Award, Tina worked with her troop to create “Pockets of Color” for children in need. Tina helped collect blue jeans, cut out the pockets and create crayon pouches. Each pocket was hand-stitched and decorated with a personal touch.

“The most successful aspect of our project was being able to design the pockets and give them as a gift to the children so they can explore their own creativity.”

Elizabeth Elston, a graduate of Champion High School, is a member of Girl Scout Troop 97.

For her Gold Award, Elizabeth worked with her troop to create “Pockets of Color” for children in need. Elizabeth helped collect blue jeans, cut out the pockets and created crayon pouches. Each pocket was hand-stitched and decorated with a personal touch.

“I think our Gold Award project impacted our community because we recycled clothing and we gave the children at Easter Seals something new and exciting to keep forever.”

Catherine Latell, an English major at Denison University, is a graduate of John F. Kennedy High School, where she was valedictorian. She has been a Girl Scout for 11 years.

Her Gold Award project, called “Make Every Moment Count,” was done at Shepherd of the Valley Nursing Home. She created and led a painting class for the assisted-living residents. She also cleaned and organized two activity storage closets and then wrote an essay about her experience for publication in her high-school newsletter.

“I have always gotten great joy out of helping others, and knowing that I have made a difference in someone’s life is perhaps one of the most rewarding feelings I have ever felt.”

In addition to the Girl Scout Gold Award, Catherine earned the Silver and Bronze awards and the Girl Scout Spirit Alive Award. She was a “Leaders of Tomorrow” finalist and an Academic Challenge participant. In high school, Catherine was the student council treasurer and was involved with speech and debate. She was also a member of the varsity cheerleading team.

Ashley Mathews is a graduate of Chalker High School in Southington.

For her Gold Award, Ashley worked with her troop to collect recycled blue jean pockets. Ashley helped to remove the pockets from the jeans to make drawstring pouches filled with crayons as a gift for the children of Easter Seals. Each of the “Pockets of Color” was hand-sewn and decorated.

“I’m hoping our project helped the kids feel loved. We wanted to show them that someone cares about them. It provides the kids with something fun, and it will help improve their motor skills.”

Kristina Moff, a graduate of Western Reserve High School, is attending Bethany College in West Virginia, where she is majoring in elementary education. She has been a Girl Scout for 11 years.

For her Gold Award, Kristina worked with her troop to organize a Safety Day. Kristina helped organize safety stations where children learn about fire safety, water safety and farm safety.

Kristina has also been involved with the Mahoning County Junior Fair Board, 4-H and Farm Bureau. She was a Farm Bureau Safety Skit winner, state fair representative for Mahoning County in 4-H, and Mahoning County Outstanding Youth 2007.

“My Gold Award project helped me realize that I wanted to teach and help younger children, and it also helped me realize how the world has changed since I was a young kid like the ones at camp.”

Andrea Reihard, a student at Kent State University, is a graduate of LaBrae High School.

For her Gold Award, Andrea created informational brochures about the endangered bats in her community. She wanted to dispel the myths that bats are dangerous, and instead promote their benefits, including eating insects and spreading seeds. Andrea built bat homes and placed them throughout her community.

“I wanted to create awareness for bats because they do a lot for the environment, and they protect farmers’ crops by eating root worms.”

Ellie Sanders is attending Youngstown State University.

For her Gold Award, Ellie organized a safety day camp for children. Several officials were invited to speak at the day camp. Among the topics discussed were poison safety, fire safety, bike safety and seat-belt safety. Ellie and members of her Girl Scout troop also performed a skit about Internet safety.

“This Gold Award project taught me that I have more patience than I thought. I also learned the value of community. Our community really came together and helped my troop complete this project and made it a success.”

Alexis Williams, a graduate of Howland High School, has been a Girl Scout for 12 years. She has been involved with Students Against Driving Drunk and Future Career Community Leaders of America.

For her Gold Award project, Alexis organized a Girl Scout blood drive. She publicized the event and the importance of donating blood. As an incentive, Alexis gave her donors Girl Scout Cookies. Fifty people donated blood at the first annual Girl Scout Blood Drive.

“My project not only helps people in my community, but it also helps several communities where there are hospitals in need of blood. My family inspired me to do this as my Gold Award project because my family has always donated blood.”

Alexis also earned the Girl Scout Silver Award. She participated in volleyball and softball in high school and was a member of the Italian Club for four years. Alexis took honors classes throughout high school, and this fall she plans to attend the University of Akron, where she will study nursing.

Alysia Witherow, a graduate of LaBrae High School, is studying graphic design at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. She has been in Girl Scouting for 10 years.

For her Gold Award, Alysia created informational brochures about an endangered animal in her community. She wanted to dispel the myths that bats are dangerous, and instead promote their benefits, including eating insects and spreading seeds. Alysia built bat homes and placed them around her community to help keep bats out of people’s homes.

After graduation, Alysia plans to become a graphic artist in the greeting-card industry.

Amy Yeater, a graduate of LaBrae High School, just completed her first year of college at Kent State University Trumbull, where she is majoring in psychology. Amy was in Girl Scouting for nine years.

For her Gold Award, Amy educated her community about the benefits of bats to the environment. She made laminated brochures that explain how bats eat insects and help spread seeds. In addition to disseminating information, Amy built 13 bat homes to keep the wildlife out of people’s homes.

In addition to her Girl Scout Gold Award, she also earned the Silver Award. Amy was heavily involved with her church youth group and did several community service projects. In high school, Amy participated in indoor soccer and intramural hockey and was involved in Students Against Drunk Driving.

Sarah Young, a graduate of Western Reserve High School, is attending Ashland University. She has been a Girl Scout for 12 years.

For her Gold Award project, Sarah organized a youth safety event. The elementary school children learned self-defense, bike safety, and what to do in an emergency. Sarah and her helpers also performed a skit on Internet safety and prepared hand-outs for the participants to take home and share with their parents.

“My Gold Award project helped me realize that even though I am young, I can still be a role model.”

Sarah has also been involved with the Junior Fair Board and Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD). In high school, Sarah was on the track team and volleyball team and belonged to the drama club. She held other leadership roles, including Foreign Language Club, the prom committee, Winter Homecoming and band vice president. At Ashland University, Sarah is a member of the Campus Activities Board and the rugby team.