Two local ninth grade Stanley- Boyd Girl Scouts from Troop 3475 have earned their Silver Awards. Abby Weltzin, daughter of Roger and Kayla Weltzin, and Hadley Bourget, daughter of Jason and Liza Bourget, each earned separate awards following presentations made Saturday, Sept. 28 by Smokey the Bear in Stanley and Camp Nawakwa in Cornell.
The Silver Award is the highest honor a Cadette Girl Scout can earn. It recognizes a scouts dedication to recognizing a need, developing a sustainable solution and leaving a positive and lasting impact.
Weltzin planted flowers including tulips around the Smokey the Bear sign on East Maple Street for her Silver Award, also getting the display ready for fall. She worked with some members of the fire department and Jason with Reits Floral to complete her project, helping make it stand out a little bit more. The landscape display also puts a barrier to protect the Smokey the Bear icon, a figure people sometimes like to take from his post.
As for her project, Hadley renovated a bathroom at Camp Nawakwa in Cornell. To raise money for her project, Hadley held an online request for donations, hosted an overnight camp for 2nd grade Girl Scouts and did a garage sale at her home, in total raising $1800 for the project. The renovation consisted of removing all the stalls and toilets, Midwest Garage Solutions laid the epoxy coat flooring, Shawna Lou Creations painted murals on the stall doors, the stalls were painted, new mirrors and new paint on the walls and stalls and lastly new rubber baseboard molding. Hadley had involvement with all aspects of the project and spent well over 50 hours from start to completion.
Abby and Hadley each presented Saturday, September 27th at the locations of their projects. Both girls have plans to earn their Gold Award through Girl Scouts which is the highest award of Girl Scouts. They also will be holding several fundraisers throughout their high school years to be used for their projects and to travel to Europe.
Both girls, along with other troop members traveled to Savannah GA, summer of 2024 to learn of the history of Girl Scouts and the founder Juliette Gordon Low. Troop 3475 members earned their Bronze Award in 2022 by helping the Taylor County Humane Society. Troop members built a pet ramp for postsurgical animals, cat climbers were mounted on the wall to keep the cats busy, a PVC cat hammock and pet toys and treats were made.