On May 6, more than 360 girls and women from Middle Tennessee were awarded Girl Scouts' highest honors at the 2012 Salute to Outstanding Leadership Awards ceremony, held at Lipscomb University's Allen Arena in Nashville. The ceremony, sponsored by Ascend Federal Credit Union, Junior League of Nashville and Lipscomb University, recognized recipients of the Girl Scout Gold Award, Girl Scout Silver Award, Girl Scout Stellar Seller Award and various adult volunteer awards. 
The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award in Girl Scouts, one which girls in ninth through 12th grade may earn. With the help of an adult project advisor, each girl must dedicate 80 hours of planning and implementation to a challenging project that is innovative, engages others and has a lasting impact on its targeted community. Each girl ensures the sustainability of her project by training other community members to continue her work for many years to come. The Gold Award project is more than a service project; it creates change and encompasses organizational, leadership and networking skills. This year, 93 girls earned the Girl Scout Gold Award.
The Girl Scout Silver Award is the second highest award in Girl Scouts, earned by girls in sixth through eighth grade. A precedent to the Girl Scout Gold Award, the Girl Scout Silver Award helps girls explore careers, gain leadership and time management skills and make a lasting commitment to self-improvement. Girl Scouts must complete a 50-hour service project that addresses a need in the community, such as poverty, hunger or the need to better care for animals. This year, more than 150 girls earned the Girl Scout Silver Award.
The Stellar Seller Award is awarded to Girl Scouts who sell $1,000 or more in the Fall Product Program, which includes magazines, nuts and candy, or to Girl Scouts who sell 1,000 or more packages of Girl Scout Cookies. For helping to make these programs such a success, 81 girls were awarded the Stellar Seller Award.
Adult volunteer awards include the Appreciation Pin, Honor Pin and Thanks Badge. The Appreciation Pin recognizes an adult's exemplary service in delivering the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, service which has had a measurable impact on one area of service and helped reach and surpass the council's goals. The Honor Pin recognizes an adult member who has delivered outstanding service to two or more areas or program delivery audiences in a way that furthers the goals of Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee. A Thanks Badge recipient exhibits an ongoing commitment to Girl Scouts through continued leadership and service, resulting in a measurable impact that benefits the entire Girl Scout movement. This year, 22 women were awarded the Appreciation Pin including DeKalb County’s Ronic Evans and Joan Williams.
Ronica Evans has provided exceptional service in her capacity as service unit manager. After noticing a steady decline in membership, Ronica was able to help in halting that decline and increasing area membership by 156percent after two years. She is an excellent volunteer who sees the value in ensuring that every girl has the opportunity to participate in Girl Scouts.
Joan Williams is a true Girl Scout who has remained active with the girls in her area, even after her own daughters married. She has increased membership in her area by placing recruiting signs in schools, handing out fliers and speaking of Girl Scouts in a way that truly touches the hearts of young ladies.
Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee serves more than 14,000 girls and 7,000 adult volunteers in 39 counties. It is a part of Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA), the world's preeminent organization for girls, with a membership of more than 2.6 million girls and adults nationwide.
In its 100th year, GSUSA continues to strive to build girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place. For information about Girl Scouts call (615) 383-0490 or visit www.gsmidtn.org.