GLEN CARBON, Ill. – Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois celebrated the outstanding volunteers and Girl Scouts who exemplify our mission of building girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place at the first annual Recognition of Excellence ceremony. The ceremony was held on Sunday, May 15 at the DoubleTree Inn in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. Girl Scouts, volunteers, and their families from the 40-county jurisdiction gathered together to celebrate this year’s award recipients.
“What a day to celebrate! Days like today make me very proud to be a Girl Scout,” said Loretta Graham, CEO of Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois. “These amazing volunteers and girls truly represent what Girl Scouting is all about – being a champion of girl ambition and making the world a better place,” Graham added.
Seventeen Girl Scouts were recognized for earning the Girl Scout Gold Award – the highest achievement in Girl Scouting. Gold Award Girl Scouts are recognized leaders in their communities. As they partner with local leaders to solve problems in their communities and beyond, they discover the power of bringing together a team to effect measurable, lasting change. These 17 girls did just that – they are world changers.
Girl Scout Cadettes (girls in grades 6-8) earn the Silver Award by researching an issue, making a plan to address it, and then taking action to improve their communities. Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois celebrated 58 Girl Scouts who earned the Silver Award.
The Girl Scout Movement would not be possible without the passion and dedication of adult volunteers. Sixty-four individual Girl Scout adult awards were presented during the day. In addition, 10 Service Unit Teams were presented with the President’s Award for their outstanding efforts.
A highlight of the day was honoring Rosemary Gruber from Belleville with the Heart of Gold Award. The Heart of Gold Award recognizes the long-term impact a volunteer has had on girls and adults in his/her community through involvement in Girl Scouting. The service of this volunteer has been an integral part of maintaining and recruiting new girls and/or adults in one or more areas of the council. Rosemary has been actively involved with Girl Scouts for 50 years and is a shining star of Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois.
In addition to the awards listed above, also recognized throughout the day were Product Program Top Sellers, Outstanding Graduating Girl Scout Scholarship recipients, and Medal of Honor recipient Alana Campbell from Carterville.
Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois serves nearly 5,000 girls and engages over 2,000 adult volunteers in 40 counties in Southern Illinois. Call 800-345-6858 or email customercare@gsofsi.org. Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois is a not-for-profit organization supported by United Ways, businesses, and individual donors throughout the region.