GSSC Gold Award Ceremony & Dinner 2018

Girl Scouts of Suffolk County Gold Award Ceremony 2018 honored 78 girls that received their Gold Award in 2017-2018.

About the Girl Scout Gold Award
Main article: Gold Award

The Girl Scout Gold Award, Girl Scouting’s highest honor, is earned through a project that meets an expressed need in the community.

Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts are challenged to excel in the areas of leadership and service as they utilize skills learned from the Journeys to complete their Gold Award project.

Earning the Girl Scout Gold Award is no simple task. It requires completion of a series of steps: identify a community need; investigate it thoroughly; request help and build a team; create a plan; present the plan; gather feedback; take action; and educate and inspire others.

In reaching out to others, these young women learn about the talents and strengths within themselves.

A Gold Award Girl Scout becomes a community leader whose accomplishments set her apart from the rest. The organizational skills, leadership skills, and sense of community and commitment that come from “going for the gold” set the foundation for a lifetime of active citizenship. The list of opportunities is endless.

Our sincerest congratulations to these young women of whom we are exceedingly proud. These women are the leaders of tomorrow, and we confidently leave the future of Girl Scouting in their very capable hands.

Gold Award Support Team
Alena Berenblatt has been active in Girl Scouts since 2005, serving as a Girl Scout Leader for her daughters' troop as well as Organizer, Nuts Manager, Permit Manager and Coordinator for the Service Unit in Babylon Village. She attended the 2014 National Convention in Salt Lake City as a Council Delegate and the 2017 National Convention in Columbus, Ohio, as a girl chaperone. Alena feels honored to be a Gold Award mentor and enjoys helping girls from around Suffolk County achieve the highest award in Girl Scouting

Kathy Ciano is a longtime Girl Scout, having attended a Wider Opportunity and achieved First Class as a young woman. She later volunteered as a Leader and has held Service Unit team positions such as Coordinator, Consultant, Organizer, Nuts and QSP Manager and currently serves as a Council Trainer. She loves watching the girls’ ideas come to life on the path to Gold and seeing them make a difference.

Cheryl D’Agostino was a Brownie Girl Scout, served as a Girl Scout Leader and is the proud mother of a Gold Award Recipient. She has volunteered in her Service Unit as Coordinator, Treasurer and Campaign Manager. She loves that being a Gold Award Mentor allows her to watch girls take the journey toward becoming the best they can be.

Colette Galvez was a Girl Scout, is currently the Coordinator for Service Unit 46, and has been a leader for 10 years. She has served on her Service Unit Team in a variety of ways including Treasurer, Organizer, and Community Service Coordinator among others. Colette’s passion for Girl Scouting is a wonderful asset to the Gold Award Support Team and to the girls who are “going for Gold.”

Lisa Garzona was a Girl Scout from Brownies through Senior year in High School. She has been a leader since 2009, and is currently the Leader for her niece’s troop. Lisa was the Coordinator for her Service Unit from 2011-2014, and has been a Gold Award Mentor since 2014. She loves the Girl Scout organization, and is very excited to be a part of the Gold Award Support Team.

Victoria Genovese was a Girl Scout from second through sixth grades, and a Troop Leader from first grade Brownies through Ambassador Girl Scouts with her daughter’s troop. Her troop of 13 Ambassadors had 10 Girl Scouts receive their Gold Award, which proved to be an amazing experience. Because of this, Victoria was excited to become a Gold Award mentor so that she could continue to encourage girls on their Gold Award journey.

Joan Godbold has been a member of Girl Scouts since 1985, reaching Cadette level, leading her daughter’s troop and volunteering as the Older Girl Consultant in the Port Jefferson area. Joan attended the National Convention as a Council delegate in 2005 and 2008, and as a girl chaperone in 2011. Joan became a Gold Award mentor to stay involved with older girls and to encourage them to continue in Girl Scouts.

Mary Grizzle has been active in Girl Scouts since 2008. She has been a troop leader for her daughter, Team Member and Service Unit Coordinator, among other roles. When her tenure as Service Unit Coordinator ended, Mary joined the Gold Award Support Team, and became a member of the Membership Advisory Committee. She enjoys mentoring girls as they work toward earning their Gold Award.

Laverne Perez was a Cookie Coordinator and a Troop Leader/Advisor in West Babylon for several years. Once the 11 girls in her troop graduated, she chose to become a Gold Award mentor to inspire girls by guiding them to develop leadership skills and a lifetime of confidence. Girl Scouting is important to Laverne because she feels it is essential that girls know themselves by exploring the world.

Doryce Polanish was a Brownie Girl Scout and leader for her daughter’s troop for 13 years in the Commack area until her daughter received her Gold Award. Her favorite thing about being a Gold Award Mentor is seeing the pride and excitement each girl feels upon completing her project.

Pat Ramo has had a full career as a Girl Scout and received First Class. She was a leader for 14 years, including leading a troop for girls with physical and cognitive disabilities, served as Older Girl Consultant in the Bayport, Blue Point, and Sayville areas, and as Council Trainer. Her most memorable moment as a Gold Award Mentor was the honor of reading the Girl Scout Charge at a ceremony of a girl she had advised.

Janet Recchia became involved with Girl Scouts as a Brownie leader for Troop 91 in Northport- East Northport. She is a past Coordinator for Service Unit 1 and remains a Service Unit Team Member. In 2015, she led her Ambassador troop on a European Tour, visiting Pax Lodge along the way. After guiding girls through the Gold Award, she was happy to become a Gold Award mentor to help older girls grow, learn, lead and reflect through completion of the Gold Award.

Liz Sosulski was a dedicated Girl Scout Leader and has held volunteer positions in the Smithtown, St. James and Nesconset areas that include Service Unit Coordinator, Treasurer and Organizer. A Gold Award Support Team member since 2006, Liz enjoys helping girls achieve their goals and the friendships she has formed on the team.

Gold Award Girl Scouts 2017-2018
Rachel Abrams

Rachel painted a wall mural in the children's playroom of the Brentwood Family Shelter and updated the outdoor play area.

Julia Bartlett

Julia made pajama and loungewear bottoms for pediatric patients at Cohen Children's Hospital to be worn underneath their hospital gowns.

Sarah Adamo

Sarah built two garden boxes for the atrium at the Accompsett Middle School.

Kiara Alberigo

Kiara created a sensory garden for community members of AHRC.

Brittany Becker

Brittany recycled Christmas trees into woodchips to use in Town of Brookhaven parks and created a "recycle trail" at Heritage Park.

Brooke Beier

Brooke renovated St. David's Preschool playground, so that the children could have a fun and safe place to play.

Rachel Biemer

Rachel built a nature trail on the grounds of the Tesla Science Museum.

Abigail Blount

Abigail built Lending Libraries in local food pantries so that homeless children and adults could have access to books.

Grace Bolin

Grace ran a beautification project in the Town of Islip. She painted planter boxes, did wreath restoration and made a brochure seeking future volunteers.

Gina Bonanno

Gina made a vegetable garden for the Life Skills students to help them learn how to take care of a garden.

Francesca Bryan

Francesca beautifed the area around the Hauppaugue Middle School flag pole.

Allison Burfeindt

Allison built a drying rack for children's artwork in the Help Suffolk recreational area.

Grace Burns

Grace renovated the Little Free Library at Heritage Park, and created a sitting area and held a book drive.

Chloe Bzdyk

Chloe wrote a book Live to Tell: The Real Life Bullying Stories Behind the Movie. She incorporated interviews from the cast and crew of the movie Live to Tell into the book, which will be available on Amazon.

Paige Bzdyk

Paige designed a 6-week long science program for the children at Babylon's Summer Recreational Program.

Courtney Cardillo

Courtney built two benches with planter boxes at the Northshore Montessori School for their students to use and maintain.

Lauren Carlsen

Lauren provided no-sew blankets and small wash-up kits to domestic violence shelters. She also painted four canvases with inspirational messages to be kept at the shelter.

Amanda Cipriano

Amanda worked to restore a flower box underneath a memorial sign at Crab Meadow Beach.

Julianna Cleere

Julianna made nine hayfeeders for the horses at Horseability to help the horses with digestion and to keep them healthy.

Michele Corona

Michele built a Butterfly Reflection Garden at the Brendan House in Riverhead.

Frances Clever

Frances renovated the front porch of the Siena House Women's Shelter for the victims that stay there due to physical, mental, and emotional abuse.

Kaitlyn Cunningham

Kaitlyn made a garden for the residents at the Gurwin Nursing Home, and provided a how-to video and garden supplies for future use.

Maggie Colletti

Maggie built plant boxes for an herb garden on the grounds of the Stony Brook Cancer Center.

Eleanor De Martini

Eleanor built a bench and inspiration garden in memory of a volunteer from St. Anthony of Padua Parish Outreach.

Lauren Depre

Lauren built two buddy benches at John Quincy Adams Primary School to help children with social anxiety.

Elizabeth Fontanilles

Elizabeth started a book club and built a book cart for storage at West Gates Elementary School.

Brianna Faust

Brianna made a YouTube video teaching people how to make dog toys that can be used at local animal shelters.

Courtney Forberg

Courtney made a digital music database for Abiding Presence Lutheran Church.

Brianna Florio

Brianna collected and donated toys and books for children at Halo Home. She also painted a wall mural and put a new bench in the living room space of the shelter.

Nicole Frieder

Nicole built a fundraising box to store raffles for Ronald McDonald House to use at its fundraising events.

Morgan Gaffney

Morgan made 500 paracord bracelets for U.S. military to wear and use as needed. She partnered with Operation Gratitude for bracelet distribution.

Katherine Gennosa

Katherine created a flower garden at Brookside County Park in memory of local Girl Scout Leader Jeanne Anderson.

Madaline Graham

Madaline renovated the laundry room for residents at Mercy House in Patchogue.

Emily Goldberg

Emily taught a dance routine to the children at Little Flower Orphanage, organized a show and painted a mural onsite.

Emily Gollinge

Emily built a box for proper disposal of American Flags, and made care packages, which were sent to active U.S. Military overseas.

Julia Hecht

Julia made hop scotch boards at Heritage Park to encourage outdoor play for children and adults who are overstimulated by modern technology.

Catherine Houston

Catherine built a display for the Ronkonkoma Historical Society to honor the Gatelot Elementary School that is no longer in use.

Sabrina Koji

Sabrina made signs for the Bethel Hobbs Community Farm. The signs labeled and numbered the irrigation system to help the volunteers.

Hanna Hudson

Hanna built picnic tables for the children to use at Little Flower Children & Family Services in Wading River.

Samantha Koji

Samantha made a welcome sign with rules and regulations for volunteers at the Bethel Hobbs Community Farm.

Lydia Kessel

Lydia collected donations of pajamas and books for the "Sleep Tight, Book Worm" program. The items were placed in backpacks and distributed to children in homeless shelters.

Cayla Kuey

Cayla changed a resource room at WHB Elementary School into a food pantry stocked with food, clothing and school supplies for less fortunate families.

Maegan Letscher

Maegan painted four inspirational works of art for display in the Stony Brook Ambulatory Surgery Center waiting room.

Amanda Lucchetti

Amanda mentored children through the North Babylon Mentoring Program, showing them how to express their feelings through art techniques. She also made a collage and donated a bench for students to use.

Haley Lindell

Haley donated bike racks and handmade blankets to a local Veterans home.

Bianca-Anne Lucas

Bianca-Anne built bird houses, flower boxes, a box for book storage and installed a hand sanitizer to enhance the visitor experience at Heritage Park.

Rebecca Lusak

Rebecca used Horticultural Therapy for residents at Nesconset Nursing Home to improve their cognitive ability.

Kaitlin Luvera

Kaitlin built heat-retaining vegetable enclosures out of PVC frames at Hobbs Farm, so that vegetables could be grown in the off season.

Lauren Magro

Lauren made and donated sleeping mats for the homeless using a crochet technique that utilized plastic shopping bags.

Alexa Muccio

Alexa instituted the "Art from the Heart" program at Little Flower School. She donated new art supplies and showed children art techniques. She also built a table that could be written and drawn on with chalk.

Jordan McClintock

Jordan organized a Heart Screening, AED and CPR training at Albert G. Prodell Middle School.

Erin McDonald

Erin hosted a self-defense class for college bound students at Smithtown Krav Maga.

Gabrielle Noll

Gabrielle made a sensory garden in the courtyard at Ridge Elementary School for students.

Erin O'Halloran

Erin built an organic perennial pollination garden at Brookside County Park to address the problem of the declining honey bee population in the area.

Rebecca Oltedal

Rebecca made shelter boxes for feral cats to use during the winter months. She also had guest speakers talk about Trap, Neuter and Release programs at a Service Unit Event.

Aislin Peet

Aislin renovated the nursery room at St. Paul's Church. She painted the walls, built a table and chairs and painted murals.

Arianna Parkhideh

Arianna held a class at Emma S. Clark Library to teach kids about "living green." She distributed reusable shopping bags and made posters for the children to hand out.

Rebecca Proscia

Rebecca designed a pamphlet for restaurants to use to help educate them about the severity of food allergies, and how to accommodate their customers. She also publicized the information on a website and social media.

Isabelle Pavinski

Isabelle built a moveable food closet to store sandwiches for the homeless at the Peconic Bay Community School.

Stephanie Rapp

Stephanie organized a garden beautification project and wrote an educational brochure for the butterfly house at Sweet Briar Nature Center.

Jessica Riley-Weinberg

Jessica wrote a book to honor Veterans in Northport, which included their interviews and photos. The book will be displayed at the National American Legion, Northport American Legion Post 694, Northport Historical Society, and the Northport Library.

Clara Rosenzweig

Clara donated a piano to the Pre-K program at Nassakeag Elementary School for the students to use during "free" non-instructional time.

Emma Rosenzweig

Emma created a quiet room for residents struggling with Alzheimer's at the Senior Center in Hampton Bays to sooth and relax them.

Jessica Schimek

Jessica created an interactive display in the butterfly house at Sweetbriar Nature Center so that visitors could learn about the life of the butterfly and the plants surrounding them.

Brianna Scholl

Brianna designed and built a goat shelter for a local animal rescue.

Sydney Sheren

Sydney built a bookshelf and stocked it with books for the William Floyd Family Center.

Alexis Sierra

Alexis built and installed map signs on five miles of mountain bike trails at Meadowlark Park in Northport.

Alexandra Suslan

Alexandra built an outdoor garden for the residents of AHRC in Shoreham to use.

Katie Sierra

Katie recorded 24 songs of therapeutic music and uploaded the songs onto a website for the residents and staff at Northport Hospice.

Gabrielle Topping

Gabrielle made binders with information for child abduction prevention and internet safety for children. The binders will be used at Westhampton Beach Elementary School Library.

Victoria Stirpe

Victoria organized a food drive to help feed the hungry in her community.

Isabella Topping

Isabella made voice recordings, color sheets and worksheets to help Kindergarten students transition from Spanish to English at Westhampton Beach Elementary School.

Christina Vargas

Christina created a mudroom at Seatuck for the Preschool Program. The space now provides an area for tools and outdoor gear for the kids.

Kimberly Watt

Kimberly developed an initiative for the volunteers that assist the homeless at Ascension Lutheran Church, where attendees would would also receive small lunch bags to take with them. She also built a game/magazine cart.

Samantha Varone

Samantha wrote a children's book about a rare brain disease called Moya Moya. This book will be donated to the Boston Children's Hospital and the Yawkey House.

Shannon Wines

Shannon painted a mural at Weekday Nursery School for students to enjoy.

Julia Vella

Julia helped residents of Sunrise Assisted Living paint birdhouses to be hung outside of their windows. She also made a reference board with bird species for residents to use.

Priscilla Wong

Priscilla designed and painted a wall mural with inspirational quotes for the students at Sachem East High School.

Celebrating 50 Years of GSSC

 * 1968 - Suffolk County Girl Scout Council is created and chartered, consolidating all Suffolk units into a centralized service delivery organization. The council opens in a small office in Smithtown.
 * 1973 - Council Headquarters in Commack officially opens its doors.
 * 1980 - Troop House, the first major winterized camp building opens at Camp Edey.
 * 1988 - The mortgage is paid off on Camp Edey, and plans are drafted for a new dining hall on site.
 * 1989 - Two satellite offices open to serve the east end of Long Island.
 * 1990 - The Juliette Low Friendship Center officially opens at Camp Edey and in-ground pool completed at Camp Sobaco.
 * 1991 - On-site ranger living quarters are established at Camp Sobaco.
 * 1994 - A ranger residence is built at Camp Edey and first in-ground pool is completed.
 * 1995 - A satellite office opens in Bayport.
 * 1996 - The Betty Jane Horowitz Welcome Center opens at Camp Edey.
 * 1997 - East End Office purchased, renovated and opens in Riverhead.
 * 1998 - Celebrated the 30th Anniversary of Girl Scouts of Suffolk County
 * 1999 - "In Katie's Care," a winterized year-round respite center, opens at Camp Sobaco.
 * 2000 - Major expansion to Council Main Office in Commack completed.
 * 2000 - A second in-ground swimming pool is built at Camp Edey.
 * 2002 - "Girl Scouts Love New York" September 11th Memorial Patch Program is officially entered into the U.S. Congressional Record and receives international attention.
 * 2003 - Operation: Cookie begins sending Girl Scout Cookies to soldiers overseas.
 * 2004 - Debut of Winter Wonderland, Suffolk County's largest Holiday Light Show.
 * 2005 - Girl Scouts make "Wish Bracelets" to help support Hurricane relief.
 * 2009 - An all-new Energy Star efficient Betty Jane Horowitz Welcome Center opened its doors at Camp Edey.
 * 2011 - Moreland Road is re-named Girl Scout Way.
 * 2012 - Girl Scouts' 100th Anniversary Celebration begins.
 * 2014 - Discovery World STEM Center opens at Camp Sobaco in Yaphank
 * 2016 - Celebrated the 75th Anniversary of Camp Edey at Camporee 2016
 * 2018 - Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Girl Scouts of Suffolk County

About Girl Scouts of Suffolk County
• Largest youth-serving agency in Suffolk County • Membership open to all girls ages 5 through 17 (Grades K - 12) • Part of a larger world of Girl Scouting through membership in Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.

Mission Statement
Girl Scouts of Suffolk County builds girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place.

Vision Statement
For every girl to realize that there are no limitations to what she can accomplish. If she can dream it, she can do it.

Membership
The council serves more than 40,000 Girl Scouts. There are also more than 7,000 adult members, including volunteer troop leaders, administrators, consultants, board members and employed staff specialists.