Williston Park and Mineola Girl Scouts Awarded Highest Honor

Mineola, NY (July 9, 2018)—Girl Scouts of Nassau County recently hosted its annual Gold Award ceremony at Adelphi University. During the event, more than 70 local Girl Scouts earned their Gold Awards, including Emily Kille and Emily Tretter of Mineola and Williston Park. 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. Both girls spent more than 80 hours over the past year planning, executing and presenting the results of their project, which aimed to make the world a better place for others as well as herself.

“These young women are among an exclusive group of leaders who have earned the highest honor a Girl Scout can earn. I commend each and every one of them for the countless hours they have spent dedicated to their project—not only to empower and better themselves, but to make the world a better place,” said Rande Bynum, Chief Executive Officer, Girl Scouts of Nassau County. “Gold Award projects have positively impacted girls’ lives, their communities and the world for over one hundred years.”

The Gold Award Girl Scouts each tackled a project that held a deep significance to them. Their projects are described below.

To encourage and educate her community on the importance of recognizing the largest growing demographic in the military—women, Emily Kille created her project, “She Served Too.” Emily wanted to addresses the nation’s lack of recognition for females who served in the military by creating an educational video about women who serve. She also held educational workshops and created a Facebook and Twitter page to provide a platform where female veterans can share their stories.

Emily Kille is a rising senior at Our Lady of Mercy Academy where she is a member of tech crew for the school musicals and assistant editor of the literary magazine. Emily Kille is also an active member of her school’s track team. Her favorite Girl Scout memory is taking a trip to Rocking Horse Ranch with her troop to celebrate the 100thAnniversary of Girl Scouts.

Emily Tretter educated and spread awareness about food allergies through her project, “Food Allergy Awareness for Elementary Students.” Emily wanted to make others aware of the seriousness of food allergies and help her community better prepare to assist someone when they are having an allergic reaction. Emily went to local elementary schools hoping to educate third graders about allergic reactions and ways to prevent them. Her website is available to the public and informational brochures have been placed in local pediatricians offices.

As a rising senior at Sacred Heart Academy, Emily Tretter is an active member of the Catholic League and is treasurer of Junior Catholic Daughters of the Americas club. Her fondest Girl Scout memory is going on overnight trips with her troop. Some of her favorites include trips to Rocking Horse Ranch, Atlantis Aquarium and the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.

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 Scout 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 Girl Scouts 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.

We’re the Girl Scouts of Nassau County: We’re 23,000 strong – 17,900 girls and 5,000 adults who believe in the power of every G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader)™ from Nassau County to change the world. Our extraordinary journey began more than 100 years ago with the original G.I.R.L., Juliette Gordon “Daisy” Low. On March 12, 1912, in Savannah, Georgia, she organized the very first Girl Scout Troop, and every year since we’ve honored her vision and legacy, building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. We’re the preeminent leadership development organization for girls. And with programs in Nassau County, across Long Island and throughout the United States and across the globe, Girl Scouts offers every girl a chance to practice a lifetime of leadership, adventure, and success.

We’re the Girl Scouts. To volunteer, reconnect, donate or join, visit www.gsnc.org or contact Donna Rivera-Downey at 516 741-2550.