The Girl Scout Gold Award, a national recognition earned by Girl Scouts ages 14-17, or 9-12th grades, acknowledges a girl’s commitment to excellence, as she develops skills and values to meet present and future challenges in her life. The Girl Scout Gold Award, designed to be the culmination of all one has learned and experienced in Girl Scouting, includes a series of prerequisites and 65 hours of planning and implementing a project which benefits the community at large.

Girl Scout Gold Award Recipients were Cali Burke, Amy Coons and Taylor Fulton, Free State seniors; Kathleen Finnegan, 2007 graduate of Lawrence High School; Michelle Jones and Paula Kyriakos, Lawrence High seniors. They are members of Troop 7623, Service Unit 716, and have participated in Girl Scouts for 12 years.

Working together to give all children an opportunity to experience playing an instrument was the vision for their Gold Award. Kathleen, Amy, Taylor, Michelle, Cali and Paula organized a community instrument drive for their project. For children who can’t afford a musical instrument, a recycled instrument would mean so much and help them continue their education. Helping through Harmony was designed to inspire the Lawrence community to donate gently used instruments to the next generation of musicians. The girls helped market the collection drive, organized the donated instruments and refurbished the ones in need. They designed ads to run in her local newspaper, coordinated booths at various community concerts and even shot a television commercial for the project.

The Gold Award project helped the girls reach their long-term goal, grow as leaders and work with others in accomplishing a task. The Girl Scouts received their awards on March 29 at the First Baptist Church of Raytown, Mo.

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Cub Scout Pack 3057, chartered to the St. John School PTO, had several boys earn their Bobcat badge.

Tigers who earned the badge in November: Bradley Bunting, Christopher Nau, Tyler Self, Joe Loats, Anthony Ramos, Connor Gabrielson, Andrew Wallen, Luke Thonen, Ethan Anderson, Zachary Hill, Reed Pfeifer, Braden Augustine, Jack Burrichter, Davis Reed and Zackary Nichol.

William Stegall, Webelos, also earned the badge in November.

Other Scouts who earned the badge in January: Ben Hill, Bear; Drew Williams, Tiger; Aaron Reed, Tiger; and Ethan Huslig, Wolf.

Donovan Tabares, Wolf, was presented his badge at the March Pack meeting.

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Thirteen Scouts and Scouters from the Pelathe District attended the Kanik Winter Camping Program at the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico this past January. They learned about extreme winter camping and put these skills to use on a three-day and two-night camp out. Their gear was packed onto sleds and they snowshoed about two miles from their drop-off point to the Miranda Meadow in the North Country of Philmont. After setting up camp, they played mountain ball, toured the Miranda Cabin, and built a snow dome that some of the Scouts spent the night in. Scouts attending were: Jacob Pfifer and Issac Rembolt, Troop 55; Justin Cook and Kirsten Shuck, Troop 65; Joey Cunningham, Troop 53; Lyle Howell, Troop 64; Ian Thomas, Crew 2691; and Christy Howard, Crew 2052. Adults attending were Cathy Howard, Mark Shuck, John Pfifer, John Clark and Bruce Wagner.

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Girl Scouts of Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri had their annual honors ceremony recognizing Gold and Silver Award recipients on March 29 at the First Baptist Church of Raytown, Mo.

The Girl Scout Silver Award, the highest national recognition for Girl Scouts, ages 11-14, or 6-9th grades, honors the efforts of girls in skill building, leadership, career exploration and self-development. The award also requires 40 hours dedicated to a service project.

Girl Scout Silver Award Recipients were: Stephanie Birdsall and Kristin Hoffpauer, Lansing; Makayla Sample, Leavenworth; McKenzie Brunner and Kate Slayton, Tecumseh; Mallory Harrell, Baylie Kiefer, Bobbi Kissinger, Allison Thompson, Holley Thompson, Christopher Tiner, Megan Woods and Rachel Woods, Tonganoxie.

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Jennifer Goff, Baldwin City, is a 2007 graduate of Baldwin High School. She has participated in Girl Scouts for 13 years and is a member of Troop 6562, Service Unit 716.

In completing her Gold Award, Jennifer worked with her younger sister, Jaimie, to complete a special project for B. Martin Peck Animal Shelter in Ottawa. The animal shelter was in desperate need of cleaning and organization that the limited staff had no time to complete as they cared for the animals. Jennifer painted and repaired holes in the walls, fixed broken door jambs and completed a mural project for the community to see. The mural serves as a public service announcement for the community by informing them of the importance to spay and neuter pets.

“Through my project, I learned more about being helpful to others and how a new clean space can make such a difference for the shelter workers and, of course, the animals awaiting adoption,” Jennifer said.

Jennifer learned project management, time management and presentation skills through her Gold Award.

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Jaimie Goff, Baldwin City, is a senior attending Baldwin High School. She has participated in Girl Scouts for 13 years and is a member of Troop 6562, Service Unit 716.

Jaimie worked with her older sister and fellow Gold Award recipient, Jennifer, in completing her project. Jaimie’s project titled “A Cause for Paws” helped organize and spruce up B. Martin Peck Animal Shelter in Ottawa. Through the project, the girls provided new shelves that were donated and made to fit into the space by local community volunteers, organized inside and outside the building, painted inside and outside, and finally created a mural for the side of the shelter. The girls had to go an extra step in creating the mural, having to get a special permit from the local zoning board.

“I am so proud of this project because I had the chance to work with my sister in creating a healthier environment for the animals awaiting adoption,” Jaimie said.

During her Gold Award project, Jaimie learned many things, including perseverance organization and compassion for others.