Wednesday, June 13, 2018
The $1,000 2018 Kelly C. O’Mahoney Scholarship was awarded to Margaret Britton of Gonzales, LA. Her Girl Scout Gold Award project was to construct a “buddy bench” at Galvez Primary School, and replace five portable basketball goals which were destroyed by floods. The buddy bench facilitates inclusiveness for students who might otherwise be too shy to join in on playground activities, and the basketball goals promote healthy exercise for the students. Margaret graduated from East Ascension High School, and will be attending Mississippi State University. Helping to present the 2018 award was Allison Smith, 2016 winner of the Kelly C. O'Mahoney Scholarship who is attending LSU.
The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award presented by the Girl Scouts of America. A Girl Scout must go through many levels of approval before earning the Gold Award. Kelly O’Mahoney earned her Gold Award in 2012 for putting together a training manual for outdoor skills specifically for the Girl Scout leaders.
This year’s Louisiana Girl Scout Gold Awards set two precedents. First, Kelly Kicking Cancer facilitated the first ever joint Gold Award Ceremony between the Pines To The Gulf Girl Scout Council and the Louisiana East Girl Scouts Council. This was also the first time the Gold Awards were presented at the Old Governor’s Mansion in Baton Rouge. Previous awards were made at the current governor’s mansion which is under reconstruction. Ten outstanding young women earned the Gold Award in Louisiana in 2018. Congratulations ladies!
