Hamilton, Ross earn Girl Scout Gold Award
Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland will recognize two Highland County girls, Sydney Hamilton and Madalyn Ross, with the Girl Scout Gold Award — the highest award a Girl Scout can earn.
The Gold Award is the top distinction under the Girl Scouts Highest Awards program, a national program signifying a Girl Scout’s commitment to improving her community leadership, creativity and dedication.
Gold Award recipients include:
• Sydney Hamilton, a 2023 graduate of Lynchburg-Clay High School and current Wilmington College student. Her project was “The Decline of the Monarch Butterfly Population.”
After learning about the importance of monarch butterflies, Hamilton wanted to educate others about how to promote pollinator habitats. For her project, she started a pollinator habitat at Rocky Fork State Park and collaborated with the park’s naturalist to create educational materials to share with visitors on hikes and at public programs. She then presented her educational materials to her peers at school, fellow Girl Scouts and hikers and campground visitors at the park throughout the summer.
• Madalyn Ross, a 2023 graduate of Hillsboro High School, whose project was “Highland County Adoption Awareness Exhibition.”
As a child who was adopted, Ross was passionate about promoting adoption as an alternative to unwanted pregnancies in her community of Hillsboro and beyond. With her passion for art, she used her skills and interests to create an art exhibit, as well as educational materials to share in the community that featured the stories of individuals involved with international adoptions. Ross shared her materials via speaking events, printed posters, pamphlets and videos shared through online platforms.
The Girl Scout Gold Award honors girls in grades nine through 12 who demonstrate extraordinary leadership through sustainable and measurable “Take Action” projects. The Gold Award is the highest distinction falling under the Girl Scouts Highest Awards program. Girls dedicate a minimum of 80 hours to complete the steps to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award.
“Gold Award Girl Scouts exemplify the values of Girl Scouts by addressing important issues in their communities and effecting lasting change,” said Tammy Wharton, President and Chief Executive Officer for Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland. “These projects embody the leadership skills and commitment to service that are hallmarks of the Gold Award. I applaud our 2024 Gold Award Girl Scouts for being innovators, big thinkers and role models.”
In 2024, 16 girls in the Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland 30-county region will receive the Gold Award. The Gold Award is awarded to fewer six percent of Girl Scouts annually, and each Gold Award Girl Scout spends one to two years on her project. Approximately one million Girl Scouts have earned the Gold Award or its equivalent since 1916.
The recipients will receive their awards during the Highest Awards Ceremony on Sunday, June 9 at the Idea Foundry in Columbus. Kate Siefert, ABC 6 and Fox 28 reporter, will serve as keynote speaker for the event.
We're Girl Scouts of the USA: We're 2.5 million strong – more than 1.7 million girls and 750,000 adults who believe in the power of every girl to change the world. Our extraordinary journey began more than 100 years ago with Juliette Gordon “Daisy” Low. On March 12, 1912, in Savannah, Ga., she organized the very first Girl Scout troop. Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland is proud to serve our more than 15,000 members in 30 counties across central and southern Ohio by honoring her vision and legacy, building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. We’re the preeminent leadership development organization for girls. And with programs from coast to coast and across the globe, Girl Scouts offers every girl a chance to practice a lifetime of leadership, adventure, and success. To volunteer, reconnect, donate or join, visit www.gsoh.org.
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