Girl Scouts earn top honor

Five KHS students were recently honored for their Gold Award projects earned through the Girl Scouts of America program. From left: Laurel Scales, Holly Jones, Mallory Brown, Leah King, Taylor Wake.

Photo provided

The five students received their honors at the first annual Young Ladies of Distinction banquet, which was held at Columbia, Mo., on Saturday, April 25. This was the first banquet of this type that has been organized since the Girl Scout councils of Missouri have restructured.

The Cotton Boll Area Girl Scout council is now a part of the Missouri Heartland Girl Scout Council, who held the banquet honoring 28 recipients of the distinguished Gold Award, the highest award presented to non-adult Girl Scouts. Kennett had the highest number of Gold Award recipients recognized at the banquet, along with two other towns.

Mallory Brown, daughter of Tolliver and Tina Brown; Holly Jones, daughter of Rick and Christi Jones; Laurel Scales, daughter of Thomas and Leigh Scales; Leah King, daughter of Terri Harris of Senath, Mo.; and Taylor Wake, daughter of Chris and Cindy Wake were honored by many notable Missouri dignitaries for their efforts.

The girls received personalized plaques from Representative Tom Todd, State Senator Rob Mayer, Mayor Roger Wheeler, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder and many others.

Brown, Jones, King, and Wake were recognized for their Disaster Preparedness project. They worked closely with Deb Cook, Health Services Director of the Kennett Public Schools to provide the necessary supplies for the five Kennett Public School campuses to be used in case of an emergency. They also assisted Cook with disaster training for the staff and with the earthquake demonstration video, which was filmed at the Kennett Middle School.

Scales provided many hours of service to organize the genealogy of the First Christian Church. She updated the records of the deceased members of the church and provided a lasting memorial to them with plaques.

The Gold Award requires many hours of service plus many hours of badge work and personal growth measures. By being a Gold Award recipient, the students will have the opportunity to apply for scholarships at certain universities that recognize their accomplishments. The girls were also surprised with a lifetime membership paid through the generous donation of Harryette Campbell of Sikeston, Mo.; a lifetime supporter of Missouri Girl Scouting.