The Aquila Girl Scout Service Unit in Fort Pierce, Florida celebrated the achievements of six young ladies who earned their GOLD AWARD, the highest award available to Girl Scouts on Saturday, November 24 with a ceremony and dinner at St. Andrews Episcopal Church. "We have never had this many girls achieve their Gold Awards in one year," said Candace Fender, Volunteer Services Manager for the Aquila ServiceUnit. "This is quite an accomplishment that involves hundreds of hours of community service." The recipients were privileged to have Fort Pierce's Mayor Bob Benton make a proclamation from the City of Fort Pierce declaring November 24 in their honor. He also presented each recipient with a key to the city.

Clarrisa Betts, Lindsey Brown, Veronica Cruz, Jaqueline Marshall, Miranda Morale, and Ashlyn Smith-Sawka, were this year's Gold Award recipients. To earn this award, e ach Girl Scout must design and carry out a community based project that includes 65 hours of community service.

Ashlyn, Jaqueline and Veronica constructed oyster mats and placed them in the Indian River Lagoon working with Dr. LeRoy Creswell, St. Lucie County Extension Agent for the Sea Grant Program. This project will not only restore oyster reefs in the Indian River Lagoon, but at the same time raise public awareness about the role the oyster plays in this beloved estuary.

Miranda and Lindsey completed hurricane related projects . Miranda created a pamphlet called "Hurricane Disaster Plan For Teens" with the guidance of the local American Red Cross chapter in St. Lucie County. Miranda Morale realized after the horrific aftermath of the 2004 hurricane season, that many teens wanted to help others, but did not know how. Lindsey Brown continued that same train of thought by teaching locals how to survive a hurricane "Girl Scout Style". She taught groups how to cook outdoors using a solar oven and used many of the outdoor skills she learned through her years as a Girl Scout.

Clarrisa Betts researched and constructed historic Girl Scout uniforms with help from the Girl Scouts of Palm Glades Council in Jupiter. Florida. She came up with the idea after visiting the Juliette Low Birthplace in Savannah, Georgia. Juliette Low was the founder of Girl Scouts 95 years ago.

Additionally, Margo Keane earned her Silver Award which is awarded to girls ages 11-14. Nicole Walls, Chayla Golden, Tramira Proctor, earned their Bronze Awards, which is available to Junior Girl Scouts.

Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. If you are interested in learning more about Girl Scouts in this area, call 866-727-GIRL.