Nearly one hundred Girl Scouts, families, and friends gathered at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction on April 30, 2017, to honor the more than 1,400 Girl Scouts from across Colorado who took the lead in their communities and earned one of Girl Scouts’ Highest Awards, the Bronze, Silver, or Gold Award.

The Gold Award, which is the highest honor in Girl Scouts, is presented to girls in grades 9-12 who demonstrate extraordinary leadership through a project that makes a difference in their community. The Silver Award is the highest award a girl in 6th – 8th grade can earn. The Bronze Award is the highest award a girl in 4th or 5th grade can earn. For the 2016-17 Girl Scout awards program year, more than 1,000 girls across the state and 35 on the Western Slope and in Southwestern Colorado earned the Bronze Award. Over the last year, nine girls on the Western Slope and in Southwestern Colorado earned the prestigious Silver Award.

Girl Scouts of Colorado President and CEO Stephanie Foote applauded the girls for having the courage and confidence to try new things and make their world a better place.

“Girl Scouts are groundbreakers, big thinkers, and role models. Giving back is in their blood. So is standing up to the challenge, no matter how big or small,” she said.

Shauna Clemmer, a Gold Award recipient, and current Gold Award Mentor for the Western Slope, served as the celebration’s emcee. She talked about her own journey in Girl Scouts and wished all the girls the best in their pursuit of the highest achievements in Girl Scouting.

Sandy Jackson, a First Class recipient, current Gold Award Mentor, and Professor of Anthropology, Archaeology, and Sustainable Studies at Colorado Mountain College served as the keynote speaker. She spoke about her experiences in Girl Scouting from earning her First Class (what we now call the Gold Award), recycling and planting trees, to traveling the world and visiting Our Cabaña, one of the WAGGS World Centers in Mexico.

The focus of a Gold Award project is identifying and researching a community issue she is passionate about, developing a plan to address it in cooperation with her team and community members, establishing a global connection with others, and providing sustainability for the project. Of the skills learned through Girl Scouts’ Highest Awards, leadership, organization, and critical thinking are the fundamentals of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. Some universities and colleges offer scholarships unique to Gold Award recipients, and girls who enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces may receive advanced rank in recognition of their achievements.