(Knoxville, TN) – The Girl Scouts of the Southern Appalachians have announced the 2021 Gold Award recipients in East Tennessee. Ten of the 29 recipients are from Knoxville and the surrounding area. Since 1916, thousands of Girl Scouts across the country have earned the Girl Scouts’ highest honor, now called the Girl Scout Gold Award, for demonstrating extraordinary leadership and making sustainable change in their communities. Nationally, only 6 percent of all eligible Girl Scouts achieve the Gold Award.
“Our communities have been positively impacted by the vision, leadership and dedication of each of our Gold Award girls,” said Lynne Fugate, CEO of the Girl Scouts of the Southern Appalachians. “This high honor required hours of hard work and the leadership skills that they have been developing during their years as a Girl Scout.”
The following Gold Award recipients are from Knoxville and surrounding communities:
- Janda Atchley of Knoxville built a pollinator garden at Farragut High School to address the issue
of endangered pollinators and to elevate the education of students. The garden enhances the
beauty of the high school and lets students learn about environmental issues. Atchley partnered
with the environmental science department to sustain the project after she graduates. - Caroline Brown of Knoxville created the Kids Cove Bee Awareness at Zoo Knoxville to combat
the decreasing bee population. Brown painted the bee boxes to make the beehives more visible
to visitors and added an educational aspect to raise awareness of the importance of bees. - Kathryn Bush of Knoxville noticed that children’s learning and activity levels decrease during the
summer, which could lead to behavioral and attention problems. Bush created an at-home
summer camp with age-appropriate activities, including a website with tutorial videos. - Maggie Clark of Knoxville helped Ijams Nature Center by improving the safety and accessibility
of the Ijams Discovery Trail. She improved the trail to better handle rain and foot traffic and
helped to create plaques to educate visitors on maintenance for the trail. - Eva Counts of Maryville addressed internet and connectivity challenges faced by lower-income
families and installed a community computer room at an East Knoxville non-profit facility. The
community now enjoys reliable and safe internet access to help with school, employment
searches and other opportunities. - Abby Cowan of Maryville wanted to help kids born with speech disabilities after her little
brother was born with childhood apraxia of speech. Cowan worked with a local elementary
school to build shelving and acquire materials to create a supportive classroom environment for
preschool through fifth-grade students. She also created a patch program to teach Girl Scouts
about speech disorders. - Claire Gibson of Oak Ridge created access to healthy, local and sustainable food for children. At
the weekly farmers’ market, she coordinated a donated vegetable from a farmer for kids to try
while at the market. The program also provided children two tokens, valued at $1, to spend on
fruits and vegetables. - Miranda Sanders of Sevierville made a pollinator garden to address the decline of pollinators.
The garden also addressed the negative effects of exotic plants on native plants and the local
ecosystem. - Eva Tolliver of Mascot noticed that minimal resources were available at her high school to
support track and field and repaired the track so that her school could continue to compete in
those sports. In addition, other programs can now use the updated track to promote sports and
fitness for overall health. - Olivia Wilkerson of Knoxville built and stocked a library for elementary school students and their
parents. She wanted to ensure parents had access to books so that they could model reading to
their children.
The Girl Scout Gold Award represents exceptional achievement in leadership development, positive
values and service. Only Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors are eligible for the Gold Award, and before
they can pursue it, they must meet prerequisites, including completing a Take Action Project or earning
the Girl Scout Silver Award, which entails a girl-led project to improve the neighborhood or community.
At a minimum requirement of 80 hours, most girls spend between one and two years on Gold Award
projects. A Gold Award Girl Scout’s achievements prime her for the fast track when it comes to college
admissions and make her an outstanding candidate for academic scholarships and other financial
awards. In addition, Gold Award Girl Scouts who join the armed services even enter at a rank above
other recruits.
