Girl Scouts of all ages were honored on May 19 for earning their Bronze, Silver, Silver Trefoil and Gold Awards.
The Precious Medals Ceremony, which took place at the New Hope Church in Lorton, was the first such ceremony ever put on by the South Central Fairfax Girl Scout Association 52.

Following the quick reception with appetizers and refreshments, Carol Ann Cunningham, Association 52 chair, welcomed everyone and handed the microphone over to fellow Girl Scouts.
"We tried to have the girls run the ceremony as much as possible," said Cunningham.
After an opening flag ceremony and reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance and the Girl Scout promise, all girls receiving awards made their way to the stage to describe their service work.

"Remember to keep your descriptions to a couple of sentences or we could be here all night," joked Lauren Falkenstein, a Silver Trefoil recipient who emceed for the night.

AWARDS WERE first presented to girls receiving their Bronze Award. In order to receive this award, girls must complete 15 hours of community service and earn two badges relating to the Bronze Award project.

For example, Troop 2887 earned their service hours making dog biscuits for the Homeless Animals Rescue Team (HART) in Fairfax Station.

The next award presented was the Silver award. Recipients of the Silver award, the highest national award for girls in sixth-ninth grade, must complete 40 hours of community service, 15 of which must be in a leadership role.

"For my Silver Award I was a co-leader to a Brownie troop," said Nicole Bracci, Troop 656. "I helped plan badges and taught the kids to respect their leader."

Bracci’s work as a role model reflects the Girl Scout values of leadership and good character.

"I hope I encouraged the younger girls to stick with Girl Scouts," said Bracci.
Similar to the Silver Award, the Silver Trefoil focuses solely on community service. Girls receiving this award must complete 25 government hours, 25 international hours and 50 Girl Scout community service hours, 10 of which must be to the council.
Out of 97 girls receiving this award throughout the country, six girls from South Central Fairfax were honored at the ceremony: Jordan Vinson, Lauren Falkenstein, Stephanie Enright, Rachel Brittenham, Meredith Leigh Gower-Anderson and Nicole Gray.
The final and most prominent award of the night was the Gold award, the highest national award for girls in 10th-12th grade. In order to be recognized for this award, girls must complete 65 hours of community service, earn the 4Bs challenge award charm (become, belong, believe and build), the career award charm and the leadership award charm.

Twelve Girl Scouts from South Central Fairfax were recognized for this achievement. Girls receiving their Gold awards were Autumn Dougherty, Erica Fairbanks, Megan Hoel, Katie Saalbach, Sandra Fulton, Rebecca Vaughn, Haley Ferrante, Christina Sullivan, Megan Talley, Laura Umberger, Emily Pehrsson and Jacqueline Vaiana.

Rebecca Vaughn, one of the Gold award recipients, made 200 activity kits for children admitted for long periods of time at Potomac Hospital. The kits included spin tops, homemade coloring books, crayons donated by Glory Days and bravery badges.
"I love kids and I wanted to do something for them," said Vaughn, Troop 5002.

WHETHER IT was volunteering at a nursing home, making sandwiches for the homeless or helping to create a cleaner and safer environment, all girls being recognized proved to be great leaders in their communities.
In addition to learning leadership, time management and organization, the Girl Scouts learned how to make a difference in the lives of others.

"Making a difference in the community was more important than anything," said Vaughn.