Gold Award mentors statewide awarded President’s Award
- GSCO blog
- Mar 8, 2018
- 3 min read
Adult recognition awards are designed to recognize volunteers who have gone above and beyond the expectations of the volunteer role they hold, and who have deeply impacted Girl Scouts in ways that support and further GSCO’s goals and mission. The prestigious President’s Award recognizes the efforts of a service-delivery team or committee whose exemplary service in support of delivering the Girl Scout Leadership Experience surpassed team goals and resulted in significant, measurable, impact toward reaching the council’s overall goals.
As girls earn the highest distinction in Girl Scouts, we expect their mentors to help them meet our high standards and expectations of team building, measurability, sustainability, global/national connection, and uniqueness – the foundations of the Gold Award. Gold Award mentors/committee members across the state went above and beyond to support the development and implementation of the Girl Scout Gold Award program in the 2015-16 membership year and continue to do so today. The position asks that each member attend a Gold Award training and stay up to date on changes, review all project proposals, final reports, and presentation, work individually with mentees, observe girls in action, attend 75% of monthly meetings, and participate in celebrations. All members have met each expectation and exceeded expectations.
Several members reviewed the Gold Award training design, made improvements, and are now active Gold Award trainers who facilitate in-person trainings across the state. In the 2015-16 membership year, more than 200 girls and 115 adults received Gold Award training across the state.
Gold Award brainstorming sessions were offered in Denver, Longmont, and Grand Junction with mentors attending all and helping girls one-on-one explore ideas and establish next steps.
Six regional Highest Awards celebrations were held across the state and each one of them was volunteer supported. These events would not have been successful without the participation/support from all the Gold Award mentors/committee members.
Sarah Greichen, 2016 Gold Award Girl Scout and National Young Woman of Distinction wrote in her endorsement for this award, “Girl Scouts in pursuit of their Gold Awards are greatly impacted by their Gold Award mentors. Gold Award mentors teach girls vital skills such as organization, public speaking, leadership, business skills, etc. They serve as role models who provide guidance, advice, and critique. All Girl Scouts are positively impacted by their mentors.”
Jan Lucas, Gold Award Girl Scout and member of the GSCO Board of Directors, wrote in her endorsement of the award, “The Girl Scouts pursing their Gold Award are motivated, challenged, and supported through their mentor. This is an invaluable and life long relationship that is developed to even help them through other challenging times in their life. This committee is more than just a committee to help with this one project – the mission of this committee has given way to a bigger vision and that is a relationship for a lifetime.”
Highlights from 2015-16 include:
– Total Highest Awardees statewide = 1,618 – 48 Gold Award recipients (mentored by 17 different mentors) – 393 Silver Award recipients (increase of 10.1% from 2015) – 1,177 Bronze Award recipients (increase of 14.7% from 2015) – Approximate total of girls who RSVP’d for celebrations = 692 – Approximate total girls at celebrations = 637 – Mentor/volunteer lead trainings and brainstorming sessions – Mentor assistance with conflict resolution – Mentor support for staff decisions and implementation – Second annual Gold Award mentor retreat with representation from each region
27 Gold Award mentors were officially given their award spring 2017 and many were presented with their certificate at the 2017 Gold Award Mentor Retreat in November at Hamp Hut. The mentors who received this exciting award are:
Alison Clark-Hardesty Alyssa Street Amy Bissell Bonnie Ledet Cara Heist Carey Hofner Cindy Miller Connie Campbell Debbie Haskins Diana Smith Eva Bauer Heidi Ragsdale Jennifer Colosimo Karen Wilson Kathi Reddan Katie Hess Kay Shaw Leslee Randolph Linda Robinson Lorrie Marzulla Maggie Murray Nancy Mucklow Rachael TerLouw Sandy Jackson Shauna Clemmer Sheryl Blish Stephani Vick
Since spring 2017, nine new Gold Award mentors have joined and we continue to onboard new members each month.
Congratulations GSCO Gold Award mentors! We appreciate all your hard work and dedication to the Gold Award program in Colorado!