Congressman Paul Tonko to Speak to Girl Scouts' Highest Achievers

ALBANY, NY (05/16/2013)(readMedia)-- Congressman Paul Tonko will share inspirational and congratulatory remarks with the 2013 recipients of Girl Scouts highest achievement, the Girl Scout Gold Award.

The Girl Scout Gold Award represents the highest achievement in Girl Scouting. Open only to girls in high school, this prestigious award challenges girls to change the world - or at least their corner of it - and be eligible for college scholarships, too. By the time they put the final touches on their seven-step project, they will have solved a community problem-not only in the short term, but for years into the future. Here is the 7-step outline:

1 Identify an issue

2 Investigate it thoroughly

3 Get help and build a team

4 Create a plan

5 Present the plan and gather feedback

6 Take action

7 Educate and inspire

WHO:

Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York
WHAT:

Girl Scouts highest award achievement ceremony where 18 girls will receive this award from Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York: 

Samantha Aierle – Dannemora, NY

Samantha Atchinson – Alplaus, NY

Samantha Brewer - Hoosick Falls, NY

Katelynn Brewster – Stillwater, NY

Rebecca Clauder – Granville, NY

Christine Darrah - AuSable Forks, NY

Carolyn Gibbins – Galway, NY

Kristen Houghton – Galway, NY

Mackenzie Kiefer - E. Durham, NY

Nikki Kirby - Castleton, NY

Meghan Luft - Niskayuna, NY

Mursal Naderi - Northampton, MA

Samantha Pappalua - Ballston Spa, NY

Kelly Phillips - Middle Grove, NY

Ella Sciocchetti - Niskayuna, NY

Jenn Scuderi - Clifton Park, NY

Pascale Stain - Delmar, NY

Elyse Wohl - Schenectady, NY
WHEN: Sunday May 19, 2013 at 11:30AM Eastern Time (US & Canada)
WHERE: Longfellows Restaurant & Hotel
500 Union Avenue
Saratoga Springs, New York 12866
NOTES:

The event includes a lunch with Girl Scout flag ceremony, keynote address by Congressman Tonko (approximately 12:20-12:40pm), presentation of awards with a very brief description of the projects by each award winner.  Examples include:

Christine Darrah – In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, the destruction to Christine’s town was devastating and they were without a disaster plan. Along with locating and directing resources to assist her community, she created a disaster plan that could be utilized in the future for her community.

Pascale Stain – Pascale recognized the lack of cooperative learning experiences for refugee or immigrant children in our area. Her project centered on exposing children at Emmaus Refugee & Immigrant Support Services to a hands on garden program to introduce foods grown in the United States as well as how to utilize these foods.

These girls and other recipients may have interest in speaking to a reporter.