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Watauga County Residents Receive Girl Scout Awards

May 1, 2014. Girl Scouts Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont held its Annual Meeting and Adult Recognition Ceremony on Saturday, April 26 at Monticello United Methodist Church in Statesville. The event celebrated the Girl Scout mission and the work of several volunteers who have helped to make the council successful.

The Girl Scout program relies on volunteers and staff to help in its mission of building girls of courage, confidence and character.

imgresAmber Mellon, Boone, was recognized as going above and beyond her duties as a volunteer to receive the Appreciation Award, which recognizes a registered adult Girl Scout who has delivered outstanding service and contributes to the achievement of the council’s goals in at least one service area.

Mellon serves as a troop leader, the service unit communications specialist, adult recognitions specialist for Region 6 and a member of both the council’s adult recognitions and communications task forces. Mellon developed a systematic process to encourage volunteers and parents to nominate leaders for council-approved awards, and her ideas, including informational handouts, e-mail reminders and YouTube videos, have increased the Region 6 award nominees by 75 percent. She has been instrumental in starting several Girl Scout Daisy troops in the Hardin Park area and serves as the liaison between both the Appalachian State University athletics department and the local Boy Scout troops to create opportunities for the girls.

Nancy Blair, Blowing Rock, and JoAnne Jenkins and Catherine Wilkinson, both of Boone, received the Honor Award, which recognizes a registered adult Girl Scout who has delivered outstanding service and contributes to the achievement of the council’s goals to two or more geographic areas.

Blair has served as GSCP2P Membership Manager for nine years and currently serves Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Watauga and Wilkes counties. In addition to guiding and equipping her service teams, she helps with recruitment events, leads activities at summer camp, transports cookies from the cupboards and supports the volunteers in all their leadership roles. She provides resources and training, including supporting the monthly service unit meetings and sending a weekly e-newsletter. Blair also oversees regional Facebook and Twitter accounts to provide accurate and timely information and increase visibility for the Girl Scouts. Under her leadership, her service units had more than a 40 percent participation rate in the Partnership for Girls campaign. Blair has also served as a council spokesperson for multiple television spots and met with the Boone mayor and Congresswoman Virginia Foxx.

Jenkins leads a multi-age troop and has guided them through the Girl Scout Cookie Program, as well as other fundraisers, camping trips and travel opportunities. She has served on various service unit committees, including awards, and chaired the recognition and cookie committees. She assists with county-wide events to help girls work on their Girl Scout Journeys. For the past two years, she has organized the service unit’s annual camporee, as well as coordinated travel for Region 6, including the 100th Anniversary Sing-A-Long in Washington, D.C. Last year, Jenkins planned a trip to Disney World for the Girl Scout Girls Unite program. Currently, she is coordinating Region 6’s trip to Savannah in 2015, as well as an upcoming Girl Scout Cadette badge workshop.

Wilkinson has been involved with Girl Scouts for more than 15 years. She began as a leader for her daughter’s Girl Scout Daisy troop. As her daughter advanced through the program, Wilkinson’s involvement with Girl Scouts grew. She served as service unit specialist, and, for many years, planned the annual service unit camporee. Wilkinson continues to plan and implement programs such as the Brownie Sleepover, Junior Lock-In and Santa’s Workshop. Last summer, Wilkinson used a week of her vacation to coordinate a week-long day camp. She used her resources wisely and monitored expenses to make it one of the most reasonably priced programs for local girls. When her daughter bridged to adult Girl Scouts, Wilkinson continued to serve in her role as service unit specialist, plus added the responsibility to host the cookie cupboard for Region 6.