WARM Association Girl Scout Awarded Highest Honor

CITY, NY (June 30, 2016)— The Girl Scouts of Nassau County recently distributed 101 Gold Awards, including one to Katie Conte of the WARM Association (Williston Park, Albertson, East Hills Estates, East Williston, Old Westbury, Roslyn, Roslyn Estates, Roslyn Harbor, Roslyn Heights, Mineola), during a ceremony hosted by the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Now in its hundredth year, the Gold Award program recognizes the power and dedication shared by an elite group of young women who earn the highest honor a Girl Scout can achieve. Katie spent more than 80 hours over the past year planning, executing and presenting the results of her project, which aimed to make the world a better place for others and herself.

“We are extremely proud to celebrate the achievement of over 100 local young women earning their Girl Scout Gold Award during its 100th year,” said Donna Ceravolo, Executive Director and CEO of the Girl Scouts of Nassau County. “On average, only five percent of eligible Girl Scouts successfully earn the Gold Award, making Katie part of an exclusive group of women with the tools to become leaders in the 21st century.”

Katie’s diagnosis of scoliosis at a very young age was the inspiration for her Gold Award project “Spinal Health Day/Get Ahead of the Curve.” After being under an orthopedic doctor’s care for several years, Katie’s family elected to pursue chiropractic treatment as an alternative care option instead of wearing a back brace for 23 hours daily. The chiropractic care she received proved to be life-changing and the basis of inspiration for Katie’s project mission to promote early spinal detection awareness and broaden public education on the benefits of chiropractic care for those diagnosed with spine misalignments. She designed a Power Point presentation for middle school students and attended the Williston Day Street Fair where she shared information on Chiropractic care. Katie will continue with her mission at this year’s fair and will be training a team member to take over.

Gold Award projects have positively impacted girls’ lives, their communities and the world for 100 years.Approximately 1 million Girl Scout alumnae have developed Gold Award projects that addressed local or global issues. After identifying an area of interest, a successful Gold Award recipient performs hours of research and prepares a project proposal to be submitted for feedback and approval to the Girl Scouts Council before embarking on her project. The Girl Scout presents her final conclusions as the last step of the journey.

Lifelong value comes with having earned a Gold Award. According to the Girl Scout Research Institute, Gold Award recipients display more positive life outcomes pertaining to sense of self, life, satisfaction, leadership, life success, community service and civic engagement. Recipients of the award who enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces may receive advanced rank for their achievements and can receive scholarships or other recognition from most colleges or universities.

Notable Gold Award recipients include Jan Hopkins, CNN financial news anchor, and Betsy Boze, Senior Fellow at American Association of State Colleges and Universities and President at Kent State University Stark.

We’re the Girl Scouts of Nassau County: We’re 23,000 strong – 23,000 girls and adults who believe every girl from Nassau County can change the world. It began over 100 years ago with one woman, Juliette Gordon “Daisy” Low, who believed in the power of every girl. Today, we continue her vision of building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place by helping them discover their inner strength, passion and talents. And with programs in Nassau County, across Long Island and throughout the United States, there’s a chance for every girl to do something amazing. We’re the Girl Scouts. To volunteer, reconnect, donate or join, visit www.gsnc.org or contact Donna Rivera-Downey at 516 741-2550.