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Ceremony brings Girl Scouts together
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Forsyth County News
More than 200 people attended the inaugural, countywide Girl Scouts awards ceremony Sunday at Mashburn Elementary.

Event organizer and troop leader Kathy Howard said about 70 Scouts received honors for their efforts in the community. They got the chance to share their experiences with others during the event.

Howard said the ceremony marks the first time all three service units in Forsyth County came together for awards.

The south, central and north service units have held individual ceremonies in the past. All service units are part of the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta.

“All these girls have earned their awards over the years, and instead of separating ourselves, we decided it was kind of nice to bring all the girls together,” Howard said.

She said an event that brings the girls together from all corners of the county is a plus on an individual level and for the group as a whole.

“This provides encouragement for these girls,” Howard said. “Girl Scouts doesn’t get quite the recognition that Boy Scouts does, and a lot of girls, as they get older, feel it’s harder to stay in the program. This ceremony provides encouragement for them.”

Howard said as girls in the program grow older, the focus often shifts to helping the community.

“These older Girl Scouts are making a difference in the community and Forsyth County,” Howard said. “It’s not just a play group anymore.”

At the ceremony, 63 girls received their bronze awards, seven got a silver award and Maura Law of Forsyth County received her gold award, the highest honor of Girl Scouting, comparable to the rank of Eagle Scout in Boy Scouts.

Laura Skinner, membership specialist with Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta, said rewarding them for their efforts is important.

“We wanted to honor these girls properly for their work,” Skinner said.

“When a young person chooses to spend her time this way, we, the adults, should fully recognize them.”

Howard said chances are good that the event will become a yearly occasion.

“It went so well this year,” she said. “We’d like to do this annually.”

E-mail Frank Reddy at frankreddy@forsythnews.com.