Thirty-two young women across the Tampa Bay area have earned the most prestigious award in Girl Scouting — the Gold Award. They were honored on June 10 at the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida’s (GSWCF) Annual Gold Award Ceremony, according to a news release.The award is the highest achievement a Girl Scout can earn, available to girls in high school who create a significant and sustainable positive change in a community.
Gold Award recipients address the root cause of a problem, plan and implement innovative solutions to drive change, and lead a team of people to success.
Earning the Gold Award distinction were: Emily Allen, Skylar Anderson, Courtney Bennett, Yasmine Bouanani, Shaw Bouley, Abigail Cardoza, Georgia Chandler, Elaine Feaster, Isabela Fry, Riley Glogowski, Alexis Hatch, Madison Hurst, Lauren Kacinko, Nitya Katwala, Edy Krook, Emma Lefferts, Presley Lomel, Mariam Masud, Silvana Messina, Isha Patel, Saylor Purks, Emma Ream, Lisa Rosario, Kathleen Roset, Taylor Russell, Audrey Shelby, Samantha Squires, Maggie Warren, Abigail Weber, Emma Weiland, Amanda Whittlesey and Ayla Yebba.
“These Gold Award Girl Scouts courageously made a lasting impact throughout the Tampa Bay Area and beyond – and as a result, they know they have the power to do it again,” Cami Gibertini, GSWCF board president, said in the release.
The 2023 Gold Award Girl Scouts in West Central Florida invested more than 3,200 hours in planning and implementing projects that tackled many pervasive issues.
Each year, the projects are evaluated by the High Awards Committee for various scholarship opportunities.
The GSWCF Scholarship was presented to Emily Allen for her project that created community gardens to promote mental health initiatives.
Elaine Feaster’s literacy awareness project and Samantha Squires’ rain garden projects earned each of them an Ann Hensler Scholarship — an award established in 1999 in memory of former GSWCF CEO Ann Hensler.
In addition, a $10,000 GSUSA Gold Award Scholarship will be presented later this summer to a GSWCF Gold Award Girl Scout whose project exemplifies the core components of the Gold Award and demonstrates extraordinary leadership to drive lasting change in her community and beyond.
To learn more about the 2023 Gold Award Girl Scouts in West Central Florida, visit GSWCF.org/en/events/gold-award-ceremony.html.
Published July 12, 2023
