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The event was attended by members of Rebecca’s former Girl Scout troop, family, friends, Girl Scouts from other areas, persons of the community and started with various Girl Scout songs being played as everyone entered. To officially start the proceedings the Pledge of Allegiance was recited and followed by the Girl Scout Promise and Girl Scout Law.
The event was attended by members of Rebecca’s former Girl Scout troop, family, friends, Girl Scouts from other areas, persons of the community and started with various Girl Scout songs being played as everyone entered. To officially start the proceedings the Pledge of Allegiance was recited and followed by the Girl Scout Promise and Girl Scout Law.
The audience learned that Rebecca is Junior in High School and is home schooled with a 4.0 grade point average. She is active is cross country, track, and Operation Military Kids Teen Council. She has helped her Grandma Janet with Girl Scout Cookies since she was 3 years old. Then she joined Girl Scouts selling upwards of 1000 boxes or more. Then the audience got to participate by shouting out words that described her. We heard words like trustworthy, loyal, helpful, kind, considerate, a good cook, friendly, courteous, adventurous, beautiful, honest, etc. She sets a good example for those around her.
The ceremony continued with talking about the Gold Award and how it is earned. The gold award represents the highest achievement within the Girl Scouts of the USA earned by Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts. The gold award recognizes girls who demonstrate extraordinary leadership through remarkable take action projects that have sustainable impact in their communities and beyond spending 1 to 2 years on their project. Only 5.4% of eligible girl scouts successfully earn the award. There have only been 3 recipients of the Gold Award in the history of the Sugar Creek Service Unit. Jessica Hojer earned it 7 years ago in 2008, Melissa Hostettler earned it 14 years ago in 2006, and Barbara Brown earned it 25 years ago in 1990. Rebecca will be the last to ever earn this award in the NyPenn Pathways Sugar Creek Service Unit that served Troy and Canton area scouts since the service unit name and service area are in the process of changing.
To earn the Gold Award a girl must be a registered Girl Scout in high school, complete journeys and/or earn the Girl Scout Silver award. Rebecca earned her Silver Award by doing a weekend overnight camp for 80 scouts that focused on personal health and fitness through various games and activities. Activities included making jewelry, makeup and a fashion show. Her fashion was an outfit accessorize with soda can tabs. Then the Girl Scout must choose an issue that she is passionate about, investigate the issue, get help from family, friends, and community, and develop a plan for the project that creates a lasting change, present the plan for consideration to the Girl Scout Council. Once the project is approved, take action and continue to educate and inspire.
Rebecca chose to implement a hands on experience for children for the Bradford County Heritage Association. She has been involved with the BCHA since she was 5 years old. For many years, sometimes with her Girl Scout troop, he helped with the children’s games at the Heritage Festival. This gave her the insight as to how she could earn her Gold while pursuing her passion for history and help the Farm Museum.
Rebecca then shared about her project and why she chose it.
“Unlike other Girl Scouts who have earned this award, my Gold Award story doesn’t start when the paperwork was approved, it started before I even knew what it was.
I was introduced to scouting as a daisy in kindergarten. I remember earning each of the petals that stand for a section of the Girl Scout Law and people "oooing" and "awing" at how cute I was in my little smock when I went around selling cookies. In second grade I bridged into brownies where I became a part of Diana Hostettler’s troop, and then eventually earned the status of a Junior. Some of my best memories from those years were camping at Comstock and Sugar Creek, but one event in particular will be something I will never forget.
It was an annual event that the troops in the area put on called the penny fair that raised money for the Juliet Gordon Low foundation. Except this year, after the event was over, a ceremony was taking place that all girls were invited to attend. Diana wanted each of us to go so we could watch one of the girls from her senior troop be presented her Gold Award. When we got there, friends and family of this girl, interviewers from the newspaper, and representatives from the council were all there waiting to see this ceremony. This girl walked out with a Cadette vest layered in patches and other insignia that made my Junior vest look insignificant. I watched her give her speech and be pinned with a bright gold star that signified her accomplishments. Everyone applauded, some people cried, and I just sat there in awe at this girl. Here she was receiving the highest award possible and I hadn’t even earned my pet care patch. I decided then and there that I wanted to be just like this girl one day.
When I bridged to Cadette I had the goal to earn every award in the books so my vest could look just as good as hers. I received my leadership pins, journey awards, and almost every patch, even the one for being a couch potato which required more work than it sounds! I also earned my Silver award with another girl by organizing an encampment that focused on fitness and personal hygiene.
Even though my vest seemed full to everyone else, to me it was empty until I earned that one final award. My mom, grandma, and Diana all gave me ideas for my project that would meet the requirements for the award, but I didn’t feel passionate about any of them.
It wasn’t until 9th grade at the Heritage Festival at the Troy Farm Museum that I finally knew what I wanted to do for my project. I had volunteered with the museum since I was little with my grandma, and she had always helped me learn history through hands on approach. I realized kids were going around the museum bored out of their minds since there was nothing there geared towards them. I mean, kids in a building with signs everywhere saying “please don’t touch” is kind of torturous. That’s how I got the idea for my “Hands on History” project. I decided my goal was to make exhibits in the museum where kids could learn the local history all while having fun.
My project was approved and over the course of a year I created four exhibits. The first was an olden day post office where kids could sort the mail. Each letter was made of wood in order to last a long time and was addressed to important figures throughout local history. The second exhibit was mini handheld chalkboards that they could draw on and it had basic questions for them to write the answers to on the boards. The third exhibit was a milkable cow that the museum purchased, and the fourth and most popular one was a wooden tractor with sound effects and working steering wheel and pedals that the kids could get into. Since younger kids are unable to read, each station included a short recording of what to do at each station and some fun facts about history relating to them. I also added these recordings to other exhibits that were already a part of the museum like the chicken coop, water pump, and the “daily life” exhibit. For the older kids who could read, I researched more of the history and focused on the things they would find interesting. Finally to finish up my project, I created a scavenger hunt with all the exhibits included on it for the museum to hand out to kids when they visit. My exhibits are now a permanent part of the museum and have been used for the “school days” (when schools all over the area come to visit for a field trip) and for the heritage festival. The museum plans to update the current stations when needed and add new ones over the years.
My idea has gotten kids interested in history and I hope that it has impacted their lives for the better. Now that my project is complete I can finally say that I reached my goal of earning my award and turning into that girl that I looked up to so many years ago. I hope I can inspire younger scouts the way she inspired me. I’m thankful for everyone who helped with this project and motivated me to complete it, as well as everyone here today. Girl Scouts and this project have taught me that you can accomplish anything if you set your mind to it and you don’t have to be anyone special to make an impact.
Bill Brasington spoke on behalf of the Bradford County Heritage Association. He stated the sustainability of the project and that she is leaving a piece of herself at the museum with this project for others of the next generation to look up to. He thanked her for her project and a job well done.
To continue in the ceremony a traditional Friendship Flower Ceremony was conducted with help from a Girl Scout Troop 40695 led by Debra Shipp from Northeast. In almost all countries and cultures, there are ceremonies to mark important events in life – days of celebration, days of which a special commitment is made, days that mark an achievement. Girl Scouts have ceremonies to mark events and significant accomplishments. The Girl Scout Promise and Law are the foundation for all of Girl Scouting. Flowers have always played an important role in human life. From the very earliest of times, they have been given as tokens of love and respect and have served as symbols in ceremonies and rituals of all types. The flowers mentioned in the ceremony symbolized the ten parts of the Girl Scout Law. The Gold Award was also described. As in other traditional symbols, gold equals outstanding achievement. The rays emanating from the trefoil represent reaching out to the community, the Girl Scout influence on the wider community and the interdependence of Girl Scouting and the community.
Past troop leader for many years, Dianna Hostettler presented Rebecca with her Gold Award. She was presented flowers in the Girl Scout colors of yellow, green, and white from Rebecca for her years as an outstanding leader and to say thank you. Rebecca also received flowers from many in attendance and a Girl Scout quilt from her Grandmother Janet Ordway.
To close the ceremony Melissa Peters, Rebecca’s aunt, prayed over Rebecca and her future as well as the audience.
Rebecca is thankful for those that could be in attendance for this special occasion. She hoped that they found this ceremony uplifting, motivating and encouraging. She hopes everyone will continue to support and encourage other Girl Scouts in our area.
Rebecca will be inducted into the National Young Women of Distinction in May by the NYPenn Pathways Girl Scout Council in Geneva NY.
See Pictures in the April Gallery