Mary Eliza Hendricks
Five Chattanooga-area teens have earned Girl Scouts’ highest national honor: the Gold Award. The girls were honored at a gala in at Stratton Hall hosted by the Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians.
The Gold Award may be earned by girls in high school who build on their Girl Scout careers and demonstrate extraordinary leadership through intensive service projects. Local girls earning the award for 2015 are:
Morgan Degeere, a student at the University of Tennessee—Chattanooga who made a scavenger hunt for grades K-8 at the Tennessee Aquarium.
Ellen Engle, a graduate of the Center for Creative Arts, Chattanooga. She collected audio books to help children who have trouble reading and will attend Middle Tennessee State to become a speech pathologist.
Mary Eliza Hendricks, a student at Center for Creative Arts, Chattanooga. She held summer acting classes and staged a production with adult clients of Signals Center.
Johannah Lansing, a student at Bledsoe County High School. She a staged 2014 Independence Day Celebration for her hometown, complete with fireworks.
Sierra Turner, a Hixon High graduate who collected 500 CDs and 4 CD players for patients at T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital. Ms. Turner plans to attend Berea College this fall, majoring in health and human performance.
"Earning the Girl Scout Gold Award is truly a remarkable achievement," said Booth Kammann, chief executive officer of Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians. “These young women saw a need and took action. Their extraordinary dedication, perseverance, and leadership make the world a better place.”
Some universities and colleges offer scholarships unique to Gold Award Girl Scouts, and girls who enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces may receive advanced rank in recognition of their achievements.
Thirty-four girls in the Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians earned Gold this year.