On April 26, 52 Girl Scouts from high schools in the Baltimore area received the Gold Award, the highest honor in Girl Scouting. Catholic schools were well represented in that number.
Laura Bardman of Troop 729, Sarah Brohawn (268) and Alyssa Larkin (475) are students at Mount de Sales Academy; Katherine Mosco (729) attends Archbishop Spalding High School; and Danielle Piazza (729) is a student at The Seton Keough High School.
Also honored were Kalyn Schneider (1237), who goes to St. Mary’s High School; Alicia Secada-Lovio (912) and Catherine Cronin (1135) of Mercy High School; and Amanda Weisgerber (729), a student at the Institute of Notre Dame.
The Scouts heard a keynote address delivered by Laura Carpenter, the chief executive officer of Dream Biz Builder.
The Gold Award project is the culmination of work that fulfills a need within a girl’s local or global community, creates change, and, hopefully, is something that becomes ongoing.
“We congratulate each of these girls for the work they have done to improve their communities,” stated Traci A. Barnett, chief executive officer of the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland. “For many girls, the Gold Award project is just the beginning of many more great things to come. We look forward to hearing about more of their success in the future.”
The tradition of recognizing a Girl Scout’s outstanding community service project began in 1916 with the Golden Eaglet of Merit. Over the years the name of this award changed, to the Gold Eaglet, the First Class and the Curved Bar. In 1980, the Girl Scout Gold Award was instituted.
Thanks to Danita Terry, of the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland, for providing this information.
Rain couldn’t dampen retreat
We recently wrote about faith being a grounding point in Scouting. So is rain. Over 150 Scouts and Scouters braved a moderate but persistent rain at this year’s Catholic-Protestant Retreat and Jewish Kinus at Broad Creek’s Camp Spencer May 1-3.
There was some sunshine over the weekend and plenty of fellowship to take one’s mind off the weather. Scouts of many faiths from all over the archdiocese learned about the diversity of various denominations and their unique customs.
The mission: by learning about the faith of others, one learns to embrace, cherish, and respect one another. The Scout Way.
I heard that the best way to handle the rain was “just to deal with it.” Scouting helps young men and women deal with situations in their lives by training. Scouting also helps young men and women deal with adversity of the soul – by building faith.
Karl Houser is a member of the Boy Scouts of America’s Baltimore Area Council membership committee. Scout news can be sent to him at khouser@eblengineers.com.