March 11, 2005

Three Evergreen Girl Scouts earn Gold Awards

Evergreen residents Leanna King, Stephanie Fish and Megan Grady of Jana King’s Troop 164 recently reached the highest level of achievement in Girl Scouts, earning their Gold Awards.

Megan Grady
Megan Grady, who graduated from Archbishop Mitty High School last June, is currently a freshman at St. Mary’s College of California. She joined Girl Scouts in 1991 as a Brownie.

“My favorite Girl Scout memory is from volunteering with the San Jose Fire Department (SJFD),” recalls Megan. “We helped make their ‘Vials of LIFE,’ and we would spend countless hours there putting them together and getting to talk to one another. Making all of those vials is what led me to work with the SJFD for my Gold project.”

Another favorite memory was a cruise to the Bahamas taken in April 2004, something her troop had been saving for, to go on one big, final trip together. “It was so much fun to spend a week together and explore new places,” says Megan. “The best was going snorkeling. The memories from that trip will stay with me forever.”

Megan lost count of the many badges she earned over the years, but her favorite was earning the Car Care badge, because it taught something that was valuable for her to learn.

“We did this badge around [the time] when we were all starting to drive, so we would be safe drivers,” explains Megan. “We learned how to check and change the oil, how to change a tire and many other important skills. It was fun knowing that we could do basic car care on our own.”

For her Gold project, Megan worked with the San Jose Fire Department to make and deliver 50 Grab-and-Go Earthquake Preparedness kits for senior citizens in San Jose. She spent the rest of her money from the countless car washes and the grant she received to buy more supplies for the fire department. The SJFD was able to make 63 more kits with the supplies she donated. For this entire project, she logged about 60 hours.

“I also worked at the Sept. 11 blood drive at St. Francis of Assisi Church, taking care of the kids while their parents gave blood,” recalls Megan. “Girl Scouts has taught me so much over the years. I am dedicated to helping others because I know we can all benefit from it in the end. Also, I have been blessed with friendships and memories that I will never forget. I owe my confidence, my leadership skills, my will to succeed, and my desire to make a difference all to Girl Scouts.”

Leanna King
Leanna King, now a senior at Santa Teresa High School, joined Girl Scouts in 1992 as a Daisy.

One of the best trips she recalls was going sea kayaking with a group of five other area Girl Scouts from the council.

“We didn’t know each other very well at the beginning, but through various day hikes and bike rides, and of course the kayaking itself, by the end of the trip, we were all wonderful friends,” recalls Leanna.

One her funniest memories stems from her Junior Girl Scout years. After spending a day cleaning up Coyote Creek, her troop was playing Frisbee and accidentally threw it onto a roof. “We went through great measures to plan how to get it off when the adults were ready to forget about it, but with the help of teamwork and a rather large stick, we finally got it down and the whole event was joked about for years afterwards.”

The High Adventures badge was one of the favorite badges she earned, since it was the first one she organized to do herself. She has a lot of fond memories about the time spent earning it.

For earn her Gold Award, Leanna built a sandbox and play yard for the Diabetic Youth Foundation (DYF) family camp located in the Sequoias. “This was for the younger ages (1-5 years) to use, since they previously had barely anything to do for fun,” says Leanna. “I also donated a lot of toys for them, and office supplies for the camp itself. I probably spent about 65 hours on it total.”

“There are a lot of opportunities out there for young girls if they just go out and try them! I’ve gone rock climbing, repelled down cliffs next to waterfalls, been on a flying trapeze and helped the community in many ways throughout my time in Girl Scouts—things I wouldn’t have known I could do if it weren’t for scouting,” Leanna says.

Stephanie Fish
Stephanie Fish, currently a freshman at the University of California-Irvine, joined Girl Scouts in 1991 as a Daisy.

“One of my favorite reoccurring memories is that of our troop meetings,” remembers Stephanie. “Between the six girls in our troop, we attended five different high schools, and we all led very different lives with our respective schedules. I loved being able to see everyone once a week and take ‘commercial breaks’ throughout the meeting to catch up with everyone and then focus our attention on the task at hand.”

Another unforgettable memory is the cruise she took to the Bahamas over spring break 2004. “We did endless fundraising—cookie sales, car washes, garage sales, etc. to fund the trip,” says Stephanie. “We had such a great time between snorkeling with stingrays, attempting to tan beneath an overcast sky and trying every appetizer on the dinner menu, it was absolutely amazing.”

It’s hard for Stephanie to pin down a specific funny memory, “because no matter where we were or what we were doing, we were always laughing about something.” Yet she remembers enjoying the first aid badge the most.
“For a long time I wanted to be a nurse,” explains Stephanie. “Before coming down to school, I was a volunteer for the American Red Cross and most of the work I did was teaching elementary school kids about safety and first aid.

For a few years my troop went to camporees, and every year I was in charge of the first aid group. We always placed [in the competitions], and my last year we came in first, which was a perfect way to end our camporee experience.”

For her Gold Award project, Stephanie collected 15 teams worth of soccer jerseys, shorts, socks, and balls for an organization she had done previous volunteer work with in Tijuana, Mexico. In October 2003, she went to Tijuana with a group from her school to work with an organization called Los Niños.

“While in Mexico, we helped to build schools, and at the end of every work day, we socialized with the members of the community that we had worked alongside to build the schools with,” says Stephanie.

“A majority of this time was spent playing soccer, a sport I played for almost 10 years before suffering from a knee injury,” she continues. “The kids we played with in TJ played on dirt or cement fields in their street clothes. I knew it would be hard to do something about changing their fields, but I thought if they had uniforms and balls, they would have something they could physically take with them.”

She dedicated more than 55 hours to coordinating the donation and collection of uniforms and soccer balls within the Girl Scout community, as well as additional fundraising and actual delivery of the donations. “I was able to visit the community center that was receiving the donations and meet some of the children that would be benefiting from the donations,” she adds.

“The two main things I was able to take away from Girl Scouts were a strong sense of independence and friendship,” concludes Stephanie. “While we did do many of our activities together, we all had our own obstacles to tackle as individuals, the biggest and most obvious being that of receiving the Gold Award. I will never forget all of the work and time I put into achieving the Gold Award as well as the support of my parents, my leader and my friends. I know I will always stay close with the girls I met through Girl Scouts regardless of how far away we are and how frequently we see each other. I know I can count on them always.”

Girl Scouts grateful for Troop Leader Jana King

“Without Jana, none of the girls in our troop would have gone as far as they have in Girl Scouts, myself included. She was always able to get us focused and organized, despite all of our different schedules and activities. She has been a driving force, and it means so much that she was willing to dedicate so much time to us over the years. Thank you Jana.” —Stephanie Fish
 
“When my first Girl Scout troop ended, Jana stepped up and took us into her troop. I know that Stephanie and I will be eternally grateful to Jana for helping us continue our Girl Scout careers. Jana is an amazing woman who has put so much of her time, energy and heart into helping us become who we are today. Without her, we would have never come as far as we have. Thanks for everything Jana. You are the greatest.” —Megan Grady
 
“Thanks for always pushing me to do my best and then helping me every step of the way. I wouldn’t have come nearly this far if it wasn’t for you. You’re the best—as both my leader and my mom.” —Leanna King