Girl Scout Gold Award Ceremony
SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2023
GOSHEN COLLEGE, GOSHEN, IND.
Dear Honorees,
Congratulations on earning your Gold Award, the highest achievement in Girl Scouting. As a Gold Award Girl Scout, you join an elite group of Girl Scouts who distinguish themselves as the best of the best, as leaders and true change makers who have made a sustainable difference in their communities.
We are proud of the work you’ve done, the challenges you’ve faced and overcome, and the impact you’ve had in making the world a better place. By earning the Gold Award, you have shown that you can identify a pressing problem or need in your community, collaborate creatively with others, and take the necessary steps to solve it.
We salute you for marking this important milestone in your leadership journey. We can’t wait to see what you will accomplish next!
Yours in Girl Scouting,
Sharon Pohly CEO, Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana-Michiana
Program of Events
Welcome
Faith Van Gilder, Chief Officer, Marketing & Development
Flag Ceremony
Troop 00624, Elkhart, IN
Pledge of Allegiance
Girl Scout Promise and Law
Message from CEO
Sharon Pohly, CEO
Featured Speaker
Elise Jones, Gold Award Girl Scout (2019)
Presentation of Awards
Abby Schoonaert, Chief Membership Officer
Closing Remarks
Lisa Cashel, GSNI-M Board Chair
Girl Scout Promise
On my honor, I will try:
To serve God and my country, To help people at all times, And to live by the Girl Scout Law.
Girl Scout Law
I will do my best to be honest and fair, Friendly and helpful, Considerate and caring, Courageous and strong, and Responsible for what I say and do, And to respect myself and others, Respect authority, Use resources wisely, Make the world a better place, And be a sister to every Girl Scout.
Colleen Britten Columbia City, IN
Colleen saw that in her local community there was a strong high school choir, but not a choir for middle school students, and she worried about what happens to students when they don’t have opportunities in the arts. She started a show choir camp for younger students to encourage a love of music and dancing.
Heather Elwood Leo, IN
Heather recognized that families caring for individuals who are struggling emotionally often need support themselves. Working with Image of Hope Ranch, Heather built benches for a seating area at the Ranch to offer caregivers a place for respite and created a pamphlet with sources of support for these caregivers.
Isabella Habegger Fort Wayne, IN
Isabella was concerned about children and their mental health, particularly post-COVID. She created pamphlets to help others recognize signs of mental health issues, kits with coping items to help children, and a fun patch so children could be proud and display all they learned about mental health.
Sarah Lynne Northrop Claypool, IN
Sarah Lynne has a passion for educating others on the Potawatomi tribe and their traditions. When a building at the Fulton County Historical Society showcasing the tribe received storm damage, Sarah Lynne worked to rebuild the porch so the building could be used for educational programming again.
Keely Roe Warsaw, IN
Keely saw that tweens and teens are not taught breast health and how to recognize signs of abnormal breast behavior. Keely created a patch program for older Girl Scouts to educate them about breast development and self-exams. She also held virtual educational workshops and designed an informational pamphlet.
Courtney Tobin Columbia City, IN
Courtney recognized that people in need might not be able to access local food pantries when they are open. She built a Kindness Box containing nonperishable food and other small necessities that is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Megan
Willis Hartford, MI
Megan realized that emergency services personnel don’t often have specific training on how to work with people with sensory challenges during a crisis. She created calming kits for emergency services workers to use in times of crisis and developed a training curriculum to teach these workers how to use the kits.
Gold Award History
The Gold Award represents the highest achievement in Girl Scouting, recognizing girls who demonstrate extraordinary leadership through remarkable Take Action projects that have sustainable impact in their communities – and beyond. A Gold Award Girl Scout is dedicated to not only empowering and bettering herself, but also to making the world a better place for others.
The highest award in Girl Scouting has gone through many name changes since it was established in 1916 as The Golden Eagle of Merit. Girl Scouts who earned their First Class, Curved Bar, Golden Eaglet, or Golden Eagle of Merit, are all considered Gold Award Girl Scouts. To make it official, GSUSA released a proclamation in 2019 that all who have earned the highest award in Girl Scouts will henceforth be recognized as Gold Award Girl Scouts, united by their similarities and their ideals, with all rights and privileges therein.
Those who have earned it have shown the same outstanding leadership skills, determination, and resilience that have made Girl Scouts’ highest award a unique rite of passage for young women across the Movement.
In over 100 years, more than one million girls of our 60 million alumnae have earned the Gold Award or its equivalent.
GSUSA offers all alums an official Gold Award digital credential to place on their social media profiles to show that they’ve earned Girl Scouts’ highest award.
Thank you! Gracias! Merci! Danke! Grazie!
GSNI-M would like to thank all the communities, families, staff and especially the volunteer Gold Award Committee for their time and support in helping this year’s Girl Scout Gold Award recipients achieve their goals and find passion in their projects. It really does take a village to grow leaders one girl at a time, and their success would not be possible without your generous efforts.
GOLD AWARD COMMITTEE
Cindy Goshert
Terri Stumpf
Carol Winters
Courtney Sexton
GSNI-M would like to thank board member Robin Tribbett, of Tribbett Financial Group/Wells Fargo Advisors, for generously sponsoring the 2023 Gold Award Ceremony.