Eighteen Area Girl Scouts Receive Gold Awards
Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma recently recognized young women who earned the distinction of the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest achievement in Girl Scouting. The awards ceremony was held on May 1 at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd. Eighteen girls were honored for their achievements throughout eastern Oklahoma, with 13 residing in the Tulsa area.
The Gold Award symbolizes accomplishments in the areas of leadership, community service, career planning and personal development. It represents a Girl Scout’s dedication to excellence as she develops skills and values to meet present and future challenges. The requirements for the Girl Scout Gold Award include a series of prerequisites and the implementation of a major leadership project that demonstrates the Girl Scout’s commitment to herself, her community and to the future.
Prerequisite: Girl Scout Leadership Award (completes three Interest Projects, one Focus Book and 30 hours in a leadership role).
Prerequisite: Girl Scout Career Award (40 hours in career activities).
Prerequisite: Girl Scout Gold 4Bs Challenge (Become: setting goals for personal growth, Belong: finding out about her community and its members, Believe: creating a vision for change, and Build: building a network of people in her community who can help her make her vision of change come true).
Gold Award Project: Plan and implement a leadership project requiring a minimum of 60 hours of service which has a lasting impact on the community.
“The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award girls earn in Girl Scouting. Receiving this prestigious award honors years of dedication and service. We are so very proud of our recipients and have seen their projects make a lasting impact in the community,” said Karen Morgan, Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma.
The following girls received their awards at the recent Gold Awards Ceremony:
Elizabeth Armstrong, Troop 246
School: Stillwater High School
Advisors: Melanie Armstrong and Kami Morris
Gold Award Project: “Clearing/Re-blazing Hiking Trails in Oklahoma” focused on improving hiking trail systems by painting blazes on trails in Stillwater and on Walnut Mountain, as well as organizing and educating a work crew on trail maintenance.
Hannah Ashley, Troop 372
School: Cascia Hall
Advisors: Kim Ashley and Ann Hughes
Gold Award Project: “Christmas Room at the Ministry Center” involved decorating and setting up a Christmas Room for the Allan Davis Ministry Center where community members donated new and gently used toys and decorations for families in west Tulsa.
Stephanie Bolen, Troop 1198
School: Hilldale High School
Advisor: Christina Bolen
Gold Award Project: “Defining Me” empowered girls in grades 6-8 with a workshop that focused on methods to deal with peer pressure, self image, self expression, emotions and self confidence.
Olivia Childs, Troop 794
School: Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences
Advisors: Carla Childs and Carol Givens
Gold Award Project: “Me, Myself and I: Staying Up in a Down World” was a self esteem workshop for girls in fifth grade. This free event, open to all girls, included speakers on self esteem, safety and easy hairstyles.
Jeanine deLeon-Maestas, Juliette
School: Jenks High School
Advisor: Mary deLeon-Maestas
Gold Award Project: “CHIPS r 4 Kids” involved aiding the National Center for Runaway Children in publicizing local events and distributing over 300 identity kits for children ages 18 months to 18 years. The kits included an informational disc and DNA sample kit.
Jessie Deck, Troop 424
School: University of Oklahoma
Advisor: Debbie Clegg
Gold Award Project: “A Place to Ponder” involved creating an outdoor classroom at Riverfield Country Day School. To construct the classroom, a wooded area was selected and cleared of brush and trash, a path to the site was created and benches were constructed.
Anna Dennis, Troop 372
School: Bishop Kelley High School
Advisors: Ann Hughes and Kim Ashley
Gold Award Project: “Doggy’s Dog Out” involved encouraging community members to donate needed items from the Tulsa SPCA’s wish list and educated participants on humane pet care.
Emily Hall, Troop 79
School: Graduate, Owasso High School
Advisor: Deborah Kaufman
Gold Award Project: “Mission: Cats and Dogs” involved aiding the Tulsa SPCA by donating blankets, setting up special trees for pets at Southern Agricultures, educating the community about the pet overpopulation crisis, and planting the urge to make a difference.
Elyssa Kaufman, Troop 79
School: Graduate, Owasso High School
Advisors: Deborah Kaufman and Kay Neldon
Gold Award Project: “All about Me: A Scrapography” involved working with and encouraging girls in Outreach groups to learn about themselves and their families through a fun way of preserving those memories – scrapbooking!
Hannah Kinnison, Troop 372
School: Booker T. Washington High School
Advisor: Kim Ashley
Gold Award Project: “Be Thankful and Give Some H.U.G.S.” involved working with Miller Swim School to develop a community project. H.U.G.S. (Hats, Underwear, Gloves and Socks) and coats were collected for 75 children in the Chouteau/Mazie school district. A food pantry was also established and stocked to provide students with after school snacks.
Sarah Kranau, Troop 372
School: Holland Hall
Advisor: Kim Ashley
Gold Award Project: “Pro Amore Latinitatis: An Introductory Program at KIPP Academy” involved creating an Intro to Latin workshop for eighth grade students at KIPP Academy in Tulsa. Students engaged in the workshops during the morning session of their Saturday school.
Kaitlin Krause, Troop 876
School: Jenks High School
Advisors: Adriana Briceño and Janine Krause
Gold Award Project: “Readers are Leaders” involved collaborating with teachers at Jenks East Elementary to plan, organize, recruit volunteers and implement literacy games for the Children’s Day Celebration for Hispanic children. Over 1,000 books were collected and distributed.
Emily Maddox, Troop 246
School: Stillwater High School
Advisors: Melanie Armstrong and Kami Morris
Gold Award Project: “Beech Creek Trails Blazing and Clean Up” involved trail maintenance, clean up and re-marking of blazes on the Blue Bouncer Loop Section of the Beech Creek Trails in the Ouachita Mountains.
Mary Matulewicz, Troop 985
School: Broken Arrow High School
Advisor: Sheril Thomas
Gold Award Project: “Farm Field Day for Friends of Scouting” involved coordinating and hosting an enjoyable day at the farm for children at the Oklahoma School for the Blind and the Oklahoma League for the Blind.
Jordanne Morrow, Juliette
School: Holland Hall
Advisor: Judi Morrow
Gold Award Project: “Tanzania Photography Project” involved obtaining photography equipment for the Janada Batchelor Foundation for Children Orphanage in Tanzania. Girls learned how to use the equipment and created scrapbooks and calendars.
Colene Reeves, Juliette
School: Rogers State University
Advisors: Monica and Betty Reeves
Gold Award Project: “Centennial Celebration” involved painting fleur-de-lis on street intersections to guide visiting Boy Scouts to Pawhuska, OK for the first Boy Scouts of America Centennial Celebration.
Rebecca Schluter, Juliette
School: Home School
Advisor: Deborah Schluter
Gold Award Project: “Children’s Musical Theater ‘Scene Shop’ Project” involved establishing a “Scene Shop” and storage area for the Children’s Musical Theater of Bartlesville, refurbishing large shelving systems, organizing, cataloguing and storing existing scenery, costumes and props, and hosting a community wide tool drive to collect necessary tools.
Alyxandra Stanco, Juliette
School: Broken Arrow High School
Advisors: Henry and Jessica Stanco
Gold Award Project: “Operation Saving One Woman at a Time (S.O.W.A.T.)” was dedicated to the victims of domestic abuse and involved creating information directories to educate the public
and collecting health care products for Domestic Violence Intervention Services (DVIS).
Updated 05-24-2010
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