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The 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.
The 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.
Sunday, March 8, 2015
3 p.m.Schuster Performing Arts Center
Wintergarden
2015
History of the
Girl Scout Gold Award
The Golden Eagle of Merit, the highest award in Girl Scouting from 1916
to 1919, marked the beginning of a long tradition of using prestigious
awards to recognize girls who make a difference in their communities
and in their own lives.
From 1940 to 1963, the Curved Bar Award was the highest honor in Girl
Scouting.
From 1963 to 1980, First Class was the highest award. To achieve First
Class meant that a girl was an “all-around” person with skills in many
fi elds and profi cient in one.
Since 1980, the Gold Award has inspired girls to fi nd the greatness
inside themselves and share their ideas and passions with their
communities. When earning the Girl Scout Gold Award, girls design,
plan and lead a Take Action project that will make a lasting change for
the better in their communities and beyond.
Thank you
Dayton
Jolene Hoggatt
Jessica Limbach
Eilanna Price **
Jean Sims
Suzanne Valle **
Laura Walter
Sarah Kelly-Staff Support
Toledo
Sheri Benton
Megan Gardam
Meredith Griffi n
Tracy Lustic
Rebecca Sarantou-Staff Support
*Committee members who participated on the Gold Award Ceremony Committee
** Chairs of the Gold Award Ceremony Committee
Lima
Laurie Collert
Karen Long
Phyllis Montrose
Diane Timmerman *
Karen Timmerman *
Megan Ramey-Staff Support
Cincinnati
Becky Crowley *
Ann Dougherty
Cassie Kiesey
Lindsay Mosovsky
Mary Nippert
Lisa Shafer
Elizabeth Vessell-Staff Support
Ron Valle, Photographer
Cayla Destefani, 2014 Gold Award Recipient
All the volunteers who helped the Girl Scout Gold Award recipients achieve their goals!
A special thank you to the following for their support and dedication!
Gold Award Committee Members
Pictures from today’s ceremony will be posted on
Shutterfl y at http://ronv.shutterfl y.com
Supporter Level
“Chanson triste” by Tchaikovsky Maria Trixia Pie Muñoz Apiado
Gold Award Recipient
Opening Suzanne Valle, Gold Ceremony Committee
Presentation of the Colors Carly Smith, Lauren Breitenstein, Kelci Culp,
Brianna Jameson, Maggie Kinney
Gold Award Recipients
National Anthem Ashley Chapski, Rachel Wehrman
Gold Award Recipients
Girl Scout Promise Stephanie Ravas, Gold Award Recipient
Girl Scout Law Kyly Borton, Gold Award Recipient
Invocation Melinda Meiring, Gold Award Recipient
Introduction of Special Guests Suzanne Valle
Welcome Roni Luckenbill, CEO
What it Takes to Earn the Gold Cayla Destefani, 2014 Gold Award Recipient
Presentation of Gold Awards I Roni Luckenbill, Eilanna Price, Gold
Ceremony Committee
Introduction of Speaker Alexis Youngpeter, Gold Award Recipient
Keynote Speaker Hope Taft, First Lady of Ohio 1999-2007
Presentation of Gold Awards II Roni Luckenbill, Suzanne Valle
Passing the Light and Spirit of Girl Scouts Mary Hayes, Gold Award Recipient
“Juliette” Song Cayla Destefani
Closing Remarks Suzanne Valle, Eilanna Price
Girl Scouts builds girls of courage, confi dence, and character
who make the world a better place.
Gold Award Ceremony
Agenda
Keynote Speaker
Hope Taft
Hope Taft, as First Lady of Ohio, 1999-2007, focused on
promoting positive youth development; alcohol and other
drug prevention; and community volunteerism.
She transformed the Governor’s Residence into a Living
Museum to preserve the property’s rich heritage and
created a showcase of artistic, industrial, political, geological
and horticultural histories of Ohio for educational purposes.
This project includes the Ohio Heritage Garden, Ohio’s
botanical garden of native plants, designed to replicate
the major ecosystems of the state. She still oversees the
garden’s development and maintenance as chair of the
Heritage Garden Committee of the Friends of the Ohio Governor’s Residence and
Heritage Garden, a non-partisan, non-profi t organization and organizes over 100
volunteers to help maintain it on a yearly basis.
She is an honorary Master Gardener and an Ohio Certifi ed Volunteer Naturalist. She
also is a certifi ed prevention specialist and has been involved in alcohol and other
drug prevention activities at the local, state and national levels since 1986.
She joined neighbors to form Little Miami River Kleeners and the Little Miami
Watershed Network to help preserve and protect the Little Miami River. She serves on
the Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm’s Board of Directors and is a member of the
Garden Club of Dayton.
Hope Rothert graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1966 and married
Bob Taft in 1967. They live in the Dayton, Ohio area. The Taft’s have one daughter,
Anna. Anna started the Tandana Foundation in 2006 and recruited her mother to be
president of the board. The Tandana Foundation weaves friendships and empowers
communities in Ecuador and Mali, West Africa, through scholarships and volunteer
vacations.
Congratulations
to the 2015 Girl
Scout Gold Award
Recipients!
Girl Scout Gold Award RecipientsMaria Trixia Pie Muñoz Apiado—Troop 31133
Maria Trixia Pie Muñoz Apiado is a 2014 graduate of Kettering
Fairmont High School from Kettering, OH. She is currently a
freshman at Georgetown University, majoring in international
politics. Her school and community activities include playing
viola in the Dayton Philharmonic Youth Strings, concert band,
symphony orchestra, swim team, National Honor Society,
Students Against Drunk Driving, History Honor Society, Latin
Club, Student Council, Peer Mediation, president of Junior
Council on World Affairs and Beeck Center Futures Fellows.
She has been a Girl Scout member for four years, with honors
and highlights including camping and cookie sales.
Having immigrated to the United States from the Philippines eight years ago, Apiado
decided to concentrate on helping recent immigrants. She gathered and trained
volunteers to tutor students in English as a Second Language (ESOL) classes
throughout her senior year. She manned a booth at World A’Fair passing out fl yers
focusing on places of worship, her ESOL classes and refugee resources from Catholic
Social Services. She organized a mosque tour for her Joint Council on World Affairs
members and an outing to an Indian restaurant. She also led tutoring sessions all
year long that introduced and connected classmates with immigrant children for
academic help and social connections. The year culminated with a joint graduation
party for the Filipino-American and African refugee communities.
Laura Ayers—Troop 20104
Laura Ayers is a Lima resident and 2014 graduate of Shawnee
High School. She is currently a freshman at Ohio Northern
University, majoring in music education. Her school and
community activities include pep band, jazz band, marching
band, concert band, Cantor at St. Gerard Church, Lima Life
Teen Youth Group, Students Against Drunk Driving, Ecology
Club and Venturing. She has been a Girl Scout member for 12
years, with honors and highlights including Girl Scout Bronze
and Silver Award, American Mall all-nighter, COSI and earning
badges.
Ayers decided her project needed to benefi t her school’s music program. After
discussion with her band directors, she enlisted her community in a building and
organization project that repurposed the school band’s cluttered storage area so
that it was both functional, organized and made optimal use of space. Ayers taught
volunteers basic power tool usage, how to measure and cut and proper construction
safety techniques. Together, they built and installed new shelving, created storage
units and repurposed wasted space. In partnership with the fi fth grade band, Ayers
also created and facilitated an interactive educational musical symbols Twister game
that served as a concept review tool for the middle school music program.
Ashley Baughman—Troop 20545
Ashley Baughman is a Rockford resident and senior at
Parkway High School. She plans to attend college and major
in psychology. Her school and community activities include
choir, cross country, National Honor Society and youth group.
She has been a Girl Scout member for 13 years, with honors
and highlights including Girl Scout Bronze and Silver Award
and camping.
Passing the park every day, Baughman noticed the pioneer
garden was in poor condition. Understanding the importance
of useful and educational gardening spaces, Baughman
organized the rejuvenation of the pioneer herb garden at her local historical society.
Her intent was to help people in her community gain skills and knowledge about
gardening, learn to recognize the uses of plants in their lives and beautify what had
become an eyesore. After recruiting local volunteers, they dug out the old herb
garden and installed raised beds. They created a pamphlet guide to the garden to
teach community members about the plants in the garden. Baughman also created
and facilitated an interactive workshop for young children who gained a greater
understanding of the positive effects and uses of herbs in different aspects of
living. The garden will be maintained by the historical society and its volunteers as a
community resource.
Elizabeth Bish
Elizabeth Bish is a 2014 graduate of Beavercreek High School
from Beavercreek, OH. She is currently a freshman at Wright
State University, majoring in business management. Her
school and community activities include theatre, National
Honor Society and volunteer at Vineyard Church. She has
been a member of Girl Scouts for ten years, with honors and
highlights including Girl Scout Bronze Award, Camporee and
making swaps and crafts.
Passionate about cooking and nutrition education, she wanted to share that
knowledge with the North Dayton community. She approached the Dayton Vineyard
Church and was able to provide classes to the children at their after-school program.
Bish developed and implemented an eight week nutrition course highlighting a healthy
food plate, the food pyramid, nutrition labels and healthy snacks. She also focused on
food and kitchen safety such as hand washing and proper use of knives and kitchen
appliances. She devised menus and led the children in preparing meals. During the
Thanksgiving and Easter seasons, the children invited their families to come and eat
the traditional fare they prepared. The church has agreed to continue this popular and
successful program.
Friends Level
Bronze Level Candace BordersCandace Borders is a 2013 graduate of Ursuline Academy from Cincinnati, OH. She is currently a sophomore at Washington University in St Louis. Her school and community activities include track and fi eld, National Honor Society, Science National Honors Society, Democrats Club, AIDS Walk Leadership Board, Mock Trial, Student Ambassador, Peers As Leaders, Lion’s Roar School Newspaper, Writing Center Peer Tutor, Book Club, Hands Across Campus, Interfaith Club, MLK Day of Service, Habitat for Humanity, Operation Give Back and National Achievement Scholar. She has been a member of Girl Scouts for ten years, with honors and highlights including working on Journeys with her sister and partnering with NEWSTART.
Borders was inspired to make a difference in her community when she saw the commitment of First Lady Michelle Obama on eradicating childhood obesity. She began researching the issue and found that low-income families generally lack access to healthy foods and opportunities to exercise. Borders partnered with NEWSTART, a program developed to give low-income adults access to a healthy lifestyle. Discovering no program existed for kids, she created NEWSTART Kids, which encourages children to track nutrition and water intake, hours spent exercising and hours of sleep. She researched healthy eating habits, content development and development of seminar curriculum. She secured and trained volunteers and designed a seminar evaluation to measure effectiveness. The program currently targets families in Avondale and Bond Hill to help fi ght childhood obesity.
Kyly Borton—Troop 30694Kyly Borton is a senior at Archbishop Alter High School from Centerville, OH. She plans to attend college in the fall and major in nursing. Her school and community activities include soccer, cross country, track and fi eld, ice hockey, swimming and diving, gymnastics, Lancerettes Dance Team, French Club, Key Club, president of Students Against Drunk Driving, Knights for Life, Optimist Club and Student Ambassador. She has been a member of Girl Scouts for 13 years, with honors and highlights including Girl Scout Bronze Award, meeting people and making life-long friends.
During a mission trip to Cairo, IL, Borton discovered there were schools desperately in need of student uniforms. She developed a program in which she collected gently used uniforms and donated them to students at low income schools. She matched donations based on color and style and distributed more than 1000 uniform pieces to three schools in the Dayton area. Borton was overwhelmed with the display of emotion from the kids and staff when she delivered them. She also developed a presentation for middle and high school students about positive attitudes in their daily life and how to build their self-esteem. The kids learned to have more confi dence in themselves. They learned how to take that into the community and share it with others who might be in need. A fellow Girl Scout troop decided to continue her project next year.
Lauren Breitenstein—Troop 31555
Lauren Breitenstein is a senior at Beavercreek High School
from Beavercreek, OH. She plans to attend the University of
Akron and major in biomedical engineering. Her school and
community activities include playing fl ute in marching band,
serving as historian for National Honor Society, theatre and
church lector. She has been a Girl Scout member for 13 years,
with honors and highlights including Girl Scout Silver Award,
resident camp and troop camping.
Breitenstein discovered that Parkwood Elementary School in Beavercreek was in need
of an outdoor education classroom for their special needs students. She spent time
with each child and asked them what they liked to do. After extensive research, she
found special designs for tables and easels that can accommodate these students.
She constructed a portion of the outdoor learning classroom which consisted of a six-
sided easel and two large tiled tables. She hosted two events, the fi rst introduced the
children to the outdoor classroom and learn all that it had to offer, and the second was
an open house for the volunteers and the community. As a direct result of her open
house, other special needs schools are interested in implementing her designs.
Ashley Mae Chapski
Ashley Mae Chapski is a 2014 graduate of Shawnee High
School from Springfi eld, OH. She is currently a freshman at
Wittenberg University, majoring in sociology. Her school and
community activities include tennis, soccer, softball, track
and fi eld, National Honor Society, Freshman Advisory Board,
Drama Club, Astra Club and dance. She has been a member
of Girl Scout for 11 years, with honors and highlights including
a troop trip to Tennessee, sending care packages overseas,
COTC volunteer and Girl Scout Bronze Award recipient.
Chapski is very passionate about the arts. Recognizing the diminished number of
art programs in local schools and surrounding communities, she was determined to
establish an after school art program at Possum School and The Ark. She felt it was
important to bring the program to the kids in their own neighborhood. Over a fi ve week
period, she worked with thousands of sixth grade students, teaching them various
aspects of the arts and surveying them on their topics of interest. Each week focused
on different art forms—painting, dance, crafts and theatre—enlisting the help of
dancers from the Wittenberg University Dance Department. As a result, Chapski was
able to bring a variety of hidden talents to the forefront.
Dd
Dawes direct, LLCINNOVATION CONSULTING
AND NEW BUSINESS INCUBATION
Mark Dawes, CEO
Dawes direct, LLC
Brand Journey Group
Procter and Gamble, Entrepreneur in Residence
513.520.0727
Silver Level Kelci Culp—Troop 46678
Kelci Culp is a 2014 Magna Cum Laude graduate of Mason
High School from Mason, OH. She is currently a freshman at
University of Cincinnati, majoring in marketing. Her school and
community activities included track and fi eld, competitive
cheerleading, National Honor Society and Science National
Honors Society. She has been a 12 year member of Girl
Scouts, served on the board of directors, attended the 2011
National Leadership Conference, traveled to Savannah,
Georgia and attended Twilight Camp in Pennsylvania. She is
also a Girl Scout Bronze and Silver Award recipient.
Culp discovered a decreased lack of interest in reading when students entered 5th
and 6th grade in her local school district. Through her love of reading, enjoyment of
working with children and the school’s need for an increased interest in reading, she
developed a Book Club/Reading Program for the After School Enrichment Program
(ASEP). Through collaboration with the school’s ASEP Coordinator, she developed an
agenda for each meeting based on the needs of the students. She had an inaugural
session with six students in the 2012-2013 year and all enjoyed the program. She was
able to secure a donation from a local Half Price Books store to all of the elementary
schools in the Mason City School District. Kelci has worked with the Mason High
School National Honor Society to train student volunteers to continue her work each
year.
Sydney Czerniakowski
Sydney Czerniakowski is a Toledo resident and 2014 graduate
of St. Ursula Academy. She is currently a freshman at the
University of Toledo, majoring in exercise science. She plans
to become a doctor or physical therapist. Her school and
community activities include Lacrosse Team Captain, team
state fi nalist in water polo, School Ambassador, Student
Council, Middle Eastern Club, Campus Ministry and Jefferson
Award recipient. Her Girl Scout honors and highlights include
Girl Scout Bronze and Silver Awards.
In her project, Czerniakowski turned pillowcases into dresses for African children. She
chose a simple design that allowed her to teach others to make them using her sewing
skills and a lightweight fabric compatible with high temperatures. Czerniakowski made
a video of her project and created a brochure with dress design instructions. She also
collected donated fabric and embellishments, gathered volunteers and made 200
dresses. She donated extra fabric and instructions to her high school’s fashion class
and club who have committed to taking on this project for years to come.
Hadiya Harrigan—Troop 48716
Hadiya Harrigan is a 2014 Summa Cum Laude graduate of
The Seven Hills School from Lebanon, OH. She is currently
a freshman at Tuskegee University majoring in mechanical
engineering. Her school and community activities included
lacrosse (MVP), golf, gymnastics, Black Data Processing
Associates High School Computer Competition Team, John
P. Parker Tutoring Club and Operation Power Pack. She has
been a member of Girl Scouts for nine years, with honors
and highlights including Girl Scout Bronze and Silver Awards,
camping and community service
Her passion for computer programming led her to research STEM careers and found
that STEM fi elds may be outsourced overseas in the future due to lack of technology
training. From her experience as a member of the Cincinnati Black Data Processing
Associates (BDPA) high school competition team, she was inspired to share what she
had learned through that program to inspire and educate others. Harrigan created
materials to educate others about computer programming and web development
and give people the opportunity to learn this useful skill. She researched text book
formats, created an outline of topics for each lesson, recruited BDPA members and
students to help write each lesson plan, fi nalized the published online PDF handbook
and led BDPA students though lesson plans. Harrigan has developed this handbook
and modules as an addition to the BDPA Camp that is held at Cincinnati State and as a
free resource for all students to increase their technology training.
Mary Hayes
Mary Hayes is a West Chester resident and senior at Lakota
East High School. She plans to attend college in the fall. Her
school and community activities include Student Activity
Committee in Action, student government, People to People,
Lead America, Cincinnati United Soccer Club, Interhospitality
Network, youth group and Matthew 25 Ministries. She has been
a Girl Scout member for 12 years, with honors and highlights
including the Girl Scout Silver Award, camping, JPA, PA and LIT.
Hayes was inspired to create a mentorship program between high school children and
elementary-age children when she saw a need of youth being disconnected to their
faith. Hayes drew on her experiences at her church and wanted to share her wisdom
to help youth become more comfortable with expressing and establishing their faith.
She developed a curriculum, recruited and trained mentors, recruited mentees
and implemented the fi rst round of the six week sessions in spring 2014. Hayes has
presented her mentorship program to 15 churches, including 13 in Ohio and two in
Peru. All 15 have agreed to adopt the mentorship program at their church. In addition,
the National Presbyterian Board has posted her “Stay Plugged into Your Faith”
mentorship program on their website, allowing access to this innovation program to
churches across the country.
Thank you to our Corporate Partners!Gold Level
“When you earn your Gold Award, you are making an investment
in both yourself and your future. Your achievement will bring a
lifetime of opportunities and you will stand out among the crowd.
Congrats on all of your success!”
W. H. (Chip) Carstensen, President, Block Communications
Way To Go
Frankie!
Love, Mom, Dad
and Jack
Congratulations
Monica!
Love, The Werden
Family
We love you
Stephanie!Mom, Dad,
Gabriella and Philip
Congratulations Mariah! We are
very proud of you.Love, Dad and
Mom
Congratulations Hadiya!
Love, Mom, Dad and HasaniJeremiah 29:11
We are proud of
you Claire!
Love, Mom, Dan
and Michael
Troop 31133
is proud of
Trixia and Claire!
Well done, Brianna! We are so proud of you!
Love, Mom, Dad and Greg
Elizabeth Herting—Troop 30135
Elizabeth Herting is a 2014 graduate of Beavercreek High
School from Beavercreek Township, OH. She is a freshman at
Cedarville University majoring in math and physics education.
Her school and community activities include playing trombone
in the marching band, Pep Band, National Honor Society,
Christians in Action, Dayton Juniors Volleyball, youth group
leader and Junior Varsity Volleyball at Cedarville. She has been
a Girl Scout member for 12 years, with honors and highlights
including Girl Scout Bronze and Silver Award, Camporee and
resident camp.
For her project, she wanted to raise awareness among children and adults regarding
the plight of the homeless. She planned and implemented a homeless mission project
with her youth group. The weekend-long endeavor began with packaging sack lunches
to hand out to the homeless on street corners in downtown Dayton, followed by a
shopping trip to a local thrift store where they were each given $5 and told to buy
something warm to spend the night in. They slept overnight in cardboard boxes in
the church parking lot where the temperature dropped into the 30’s. The following
morning, they spoke to the church congregation about their experience. Herting
led a Sunday school class in constructing fl eece-tie blankets to donate to homeless
shelters. She also made scarves and blankets and donated them to Hope House
Mission, Schneider House, House of Bread and St. Vincent de Paul. Many people have
learned about the homeless in the Dayton area because of her project.
Brianna Jameson—Troop 20158
Brianna Jameson is a Bellefontaine resident and senior at
Bellefontaine High School. She plans to attend Rhodes State
College majoring in biological engineering. Her school and
community activities include marching band; symphonic band;
National Honor Society; Our Daily Bread volunteer; and Family,
Career and Community Leaders Association. She has been
a Girl Scout member for 13 years, with honors and highlights
including Girl Scout Silver Award and Journeys.
Determined to impact rising youth obesity rates, Jameson designed a workshop to
teach children that healthy eating and an active lifestyle can be fun and easy. She
recruited more than 50 participants and volunteers as well as ingredient donations
from local community members. Jameson coached families on how to use ingredient
substitution to make their favorite recipes a healthier food choice and hosted a
community meal for those who attended the workshop. To promote an active
lifestyle, she included engaging activities, games and music that demonstrated how
much fun being active can be, and educated the families on the long term benefi ts of
healthy eating and being fi t. Jameson conducted a survey with the participants at the
end of the event to gauge their knowledge gained and their commitment to making
healthier ingredient and activity choices in the future. She had very positive results.
Maggie Kinney—Troop 30337
Maggie Kinney is a junior at Beavercreek High School from
Beavercreek, OH. Her school and community activities
include playing trombone in marching band and softball. She
has been a Girl Scout member for 12 years, with honors and
highlights including Girl Scout Bronze and Silver Award and
camping.
Her project focused on encouraging children to go outside
and experience nature. She built a quarter mile long nature
trail within the Beavercreek High School land lab. Her
inspiration came from the Leave No Child Inside movement and the Growing Up
Wild Certifi cation program. With the help of volunteers, fallen trees were mulched to
provide a wood chip trail covering and logs were arranged to outline the boundaries.
She also made an outdoor discovery play area, an outdoor classroom, a deer
feeding station and a bird feeding area. A large downed tree positioned for climbing
and play is a huge hit. Additionally 17 tree identifi cation and wild fl ower signs were
constructed and installed. Kinney held an open house for Earth Day 2014 to introduce
the community to all the features of the new trail and planted 100 trees. The Greene
County Master Gardener’s Fairy Day held on the trail was so successful, that it will
become an annual event for the community.
Melinda Meiring—Troop 20462
Melinda Meiring is a senior at Marion Local High School from
Osgood, OH. She plans to attend The Ohio State University
and major in neuroscience. Her school and community
activities include band, softball, swim team, National Honor
Society, Scholastic Bowl, Pep Club, Math and Science Club,
4-H, youth Choir, Lector, Students Against Drunk Driving and
Varsity M Club. She has been a Girl Scout member for 11 years,
with honors and highlights including Girl Scout Bronze and
Silver Award and a troop trip to Gatlinburg.
Inspired while taking a self-defense course, Meiring’s project sought to prepare young
women in her rural community for diffi cult situations they may face as they attend
college, move to larger communities or in their daily lives. She wanted to educate
them about violence against women and its prevention. She worked with the St.
Marys Police Department to provide an interactive demonstration of self-defense
techniques at the Zahn Marion Township Branch Library. To increase the reach of her
project and help more women understand how to be safe and defend themselves,
Meiring and volunteers also created a video series showing the various self-defense
techniques and a safety checklist. The videos were published on a Facebook page
dedicated to preventing violence against women through education.
Alexis Youngpeter—Troop 20219
Alexis Youngpeter is a Findlay resident and senior at Van
Buren High School. She plans to attend college in the fall. Her
school and community activities include yearbook, Student
Council, National Honor Society, Project More and Hancock
Youth Leadership. She has been a Girl Scout member for 12
years, with highlights including a trip to Savannah, Georgia.
Youngpeter was inspired by her participation in “Coats for
Christmas” and wanted to help children from lower income
families. Many of these families had diffi culties participating in
Halloween festivities. She decided to help out by coordinating
a community event to provide costumes, bags, fun activities and safety education to
local families. She recruited volunteers and collected costume donations. She also
met with numerous community partners including the Findlay Police and Hancock
Sheriff Department, as well as the Findlay Village Mall to use their facility for the event.
Youngpeter and her partners provided more than 80 children with a free costume,
safety education and traditional Halloween activities. She has recruited members of
the community to repeat the event this fall.
Rachel Wehrman—Troop 20235
Rachel Wehrman is a Ft. Loramie resident and a senior at
Minster High School. She plans to attend college and major
in middle school education. Her school and community
activities include bowling, softball, band, drama and
statistician for basketball. She has been a Girl Scout member
for 13 years, with honors and highlights including Girl Scout
Silver Award, Marion Medal, camping and horseback riding.
Recognizing the importance of preserving the past for future
generations, Wehrman ensured that the genealogies and the
fragile records of the cemetery at St. Joseph’s Parish in Egypt,
OH were preserved and available to all. With the help of volunteers, she created an
accurate record of each plot, designed a searchable website and put together a print
catalogue with photographic documentation and corresponding map. Wehrman and
her volunteers also facilitated a scavenger hunt for children at the parish’s vacation
bible school that educated younger members of the parish on the cemetery and the
history of past members of the congregation. Members of the parish have agreed to
update the website and the catalogue periodically to ensure the records are accurate
and current.
Monica Werden
Monica Werden is a Cincinnati resident and 2014 graduate of
Sycamore High School. Her school and community activities
include Japanese Club. She has been a Girl Scout member
for 12 years, with honors and highlights including Girl Scout
Bronze and Silver Award.
Werden focused her project on the need for an offi cial
outdoor classroom at her high school. She was inspired
through her personal experiences in her Astronomy and
Geology classes, and a conversation with a forensics teacher
expressing how an outdoor classroom would be useful. After
polling multiple departments in the school to ensure the need the facility, Werden
met with the school’s Maintenance Supervisor to discuss logistics—addressing the
location of the sun, the standards of the school and accessibility. She then designed
the classroom, comprised of eight outdoor benches and one desk for the teacher.
She also purchased supplies through a generous donation, gathered a team of
volunteers to construct the outdoor classroom and created a manual to present to
other communities wishing to replicate the project. A neighboring local community
has contacted Werden about utilizing her plans to implement their own outdoor
classroom.
Claire Merryman—Troop 31133
Claire Merryman is a 2014 graduate of Kettering Fairmont
High School from Kettering, OH. She plans to attend college.
Her school and community activities include tennis, bowling,
National Honor Society, GSA and German Club. She has been
a Girl Scout member for 13 years, with highlights including
camping.
Merryman wanted to bridge older and younger generations
through a shared project. She wanted to break down general
stereotypes regarding the elderly, particularly those with
dementia and Alzheimer’s. Her project was divided into three stages. The fi rst stage
was holding monthly crafting sessions at Grafton Oaks Nursing Home in Dayton. Both
the volunteers and residents loved the crafts and the interaction. The second stage
was giving presentations about dementia and Alzheimer’s to various young people,
including using a stuffed toy neuron and nerve cell to help explain cellular changes.
The third stage of her project involved sustainability. She also developed a service
project for troops in her area to rotate going to a local nursing home on a monthly
basis.
Claudia Mescher—Troop 20462
Claudia Mescher is a St. Henry resident and senior at Marion
Local High School. She plans to attend Hocking College and
major in wildlife management. Her school and community
activities include band, Pep Band, softball, bowling, Math
and Science Club, Art Club, Drama Club, Catholic Youth
Organization and Big Brothers Big Sisters. She has been a
Girl Scout member for 11 years, with honors and highlights
including Girl Scout Bronze and Silver Award, camping and a
troop trip to Gatlinburg.
A passionate proponent of recycling, Mescher wanted Country Fest to go green. Her
project was designed to decrease the pounds of waste from the festival in her town by
establishing an accessible recycling program at this popular annual event. Working in
conjunction with the festival committee and the local recycling center, she organized
a recycling system for the festival. She recruited volunteers to collect recyclables
during the event and operate a recycling awareness display. The festival planning
committee has committed to recycle at the event every year. Mescher also created a
recycling game session to educate children on the topic and facilitated sessions with
students at her local elementary school to inspire the next generation to “go green.”
Lianne Novak—Troop 41403
Lianne Novak is a Hamilton resident and senior at Talawanda
High School. She plans to attend Michigan Technological
University in the fall and major in math. Her school and
community activities include National Honor Society and
Women’s Leadership Institute at Michigan Tech. She is a
ten year member of Girl Scouts, with honors and highlights
including the Girl Scout Silver Award, Service Unit American
Girl Day and Journeys.
After reading national studies about the decrease of women in STEM careers and
connecting with peers who felt they would never use math in real life, Novak was
motivated to make a change. She discovered that some girls think women are
not supposed to go into STEM careers, even though they have similar test scores
to men. She also discovered that in elementary grades, boys and girls start the
school year feeling the same about math, but by the end of the year girls have more
anxiety about mathematics. With this research, Novak designed a website with
mathematics education pieces for girls, parents and teachers. Within the website,
she created photo stories with dolls in real life situations where math is needed. She
also developed a page for parents with ways to help support girls in math. In addition,
Novak printed photobooks to present to local elementary classes and to keep in local
libraries to educate girls on the importance of math.
Stephanie Frances Ravas—Troop 11098
Stephanie Ravas is a Perrysburg resident and sophomore
at Notre Dame Academy. She plans to earn a degree in
microbiology and then a PhD with a career in cancer research.
Her school and community activities include Junior Varsity
Volleyball, St. Margaret Princess Club, Latin Club, Astronomy
Club, Speech and Debate Team, Vacation Bible School
volunteer, City of Perrysburg Litter Control Board and The
Ohio Academy of Science. She has been a Girl Scout member
for ten years, with honors and highlights including Girl Scout
Silver Award, having her mom and best friend participate with
her, horseback riding, camping, participating in both 95th and
100th Girl Scout Anniversary celebrations, helping people
through service, feeling empowered and being a leader.
In her project, she focused on providing intervention strategies for preschool children
entering school with fi ne motor developmental defi cits or delays. Ravas created
specialized enrichment teaching tools to be used at both school and home that help
children learn to complete daily routines and practice skills. She created six individual
self-help task charts and pieces to strengthen developmental milestone skills such
as: task sequencing and planning, self-help skills, and coordination skills. Ravas also
created and built two sets of cubbies for the classroom that further develop and help
children practice developmental skills of task sequencing and proper recall while
creating self-suffi ciency in the classroom.
Mariah Sampsel—Troop 40108
Mariah Sampsel is a West Chester resident, 2014 graduate
of Ursuline Academy and freshman at Loyola University,
majoring in biology. Her school and community activities
include Junior Olympic Volleyball, Peers as Leaders, National
Honor Society, Team Leadership Award and Presidential
Award. She has been a Girl Scout member for 12 years. Her
awards and highlights include Girl Scout Bronze and Silver
Award and the Marion Medal.
Sampsel developed a pet therapy program to enhance the lives of residents in
assisted living and nursing homes. Inspired by a research project with the United
States Air Force at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, she saw the success of pet
therapy. Sampsel developed a program and proposed it to many assisted living
residential locations. She used her resources to fi nd a suitable therapy cat, oversee its
care and checkup, develop a therapy program and host eight successful pet therapy
sessions. Mariah was able to increase the way of life for the residents of Maple Knoll
Village and secured volunteers to continue the project for years to come.
Carly Smith—Troop 20243
Carly Smith is a Findlay resident and senior at Findlay High
School. She plans to attend the University of Georgia and
major in genetics. Her school and community activities
include tennis, National Honor Society, Junior Statesmen of
America, Dress a Girl Around the World and Student Athlete
Leadership Team. She has been a Girl Scout member for 11
years, with honors and highlights including Girl Scout Bronze
Award, 1st Place at Ohio State Fair for Outstanding Senior
Individual in Life Skills and Outstanding Senior Individual in
Science and Beyond.
Growing up with a passion for sewing and recognizing the decline of this useful life
skill among youth, Smith’s project sought to inspire a new generation of sewing
afi cionados. Recruiting skilled volunteers to serve as teachers, Smith created
lesson plans, trained the volunteers and organized beginner sewing workshops for
5th through 12th grade girls. The lessons taught hand-sewing techniques and basic
sewing machine skills. Each participant also created pillowcases that were donated
to residents at a local shelter along with encouraging messages composed by the girls
participating in the workshops.