Media Releases

Girl Scouts Honors Volunteers

Volunteers Recognized for Service to Girls

Media Contact:
Ann Marie van den Hurk, APR
302-456-7170
avandenhurk@cbgsc.org

Newark, DE, April 25, 2007:  Over 300 adult and girl members of the Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay Council came together to elect new board members and honor  the accomplishments of  52 volunteers.  Girl Scout volunteers were recognized for years of service and the service in form of the Appreciation Pin, Honor Pin, Seagull Award, Thanks Badge, and the Juliette Low Humanitarian Award.

The awards are as follows:

The Appreciation Pin honors volunteers for service performed above and beyond the expectation for the position held.

Angie Birney - As an organizer for Smyrna-Clayton-area she is innovative in the recruiting process and that includes having a sign in her yard with contact information for those interested in joining Girl Scouts.

Pat Bjorke - Serving the Service Unit as a Delegate and Program Coach. She has made herself available both at meetings, by phone or e-mail and has taken on the additional task of working with the Juliette Girl Scouts in Kent County (MD).

Valarie Crockett - Outdoor Program Coach for Kent County (MD) and Council Trainer. Willing to go the extra mile for the volunteers and girls not only of her service unit but for all volunteers and girls of our council.

Mary Eskridge - At some point in her Girl Scout career, she has held every Service Team position for Northern Sussex County. Her love and passion for Girl Scouting is well known and her willingness to share her knowledge of Girl Scout history and memorabilia goes beyond her service unit.

Muriel Gillespie - Formally holds the position of  Cookie Booth Coordinator, Consultant and Co-Chair of the Events Committee for Dover but you can count on her to assist with anything and everything within the service unit.

Anne Hogan - Serves on the Board of Directors, Chair for the Women of Distinction Event, as well as serving on the Community Development Committee, the Major Gift Committee for the Capital Campaign and spear heading the Alumnae Committee, focusing on the 95^th Anniversary Reunion.

Tracey Isobaker - Registrar and Cookie Booth Coordinator for the Smyrna-Clayton-area are just two of the responsibilities that she manages for the Service Unit. Membership in the Service Unit is on the rise and due in part to her organizational skills and making the process of registering a troop an easier task then in previous years.

Leon “Jay” Lane - For the past 20 years, he has served not only girls and volunteers in Dorchester County but the council as well. He is one of the original volunteers for Summer Roundup serving 17 of the 20 years and for the last several years as the Registrar.

Lori Malloy - Has served as the Registrar for Northern Sussex County and now as the Daisy Consultant for the Service Unit. She is willing to jump in and help with anything.

Ginnie Malone - For the past five years, she has served on the Lower Shore Events Committee for both the Perdue-Kresge Challenge and the Capital Campaign for Sandy Pines. She has been one of the committee members who has helped to expand our friends in the lower portion of our council.

Givvel Marrero - Serves on the Board of Directors for the Council, chairs the Diversity Committee and is a member of the Master Plan Task Group. He brings important fresh insight to our organization as a young adult, parent and active community volunteer.

Wendy Nye - For a number of years, she has been doing events for Dover and last year, she formally became the Co-Chair for the Events Committee. Events are held at least once month either for the entire Service Unit or an age level. Through her efforts the troops receive excellent support for programming which is one of the reasons why membership is increasing in this portion of the council.

Sandy Russum - For the past five years, she has served as the Cookie Booth Coordinator for Dorchester County which has included arranging public service announcements, and organizing the first drive by cookie booth.

Robin Smith - She is the Family Partnership Manager and Events Chair for Service Kent Island. She has created “events” packets for troops to help with programming, coordinated the efforts for the Service Unit so that their contribution last year for Family Partnership exceeded $1100.00 and they are halfway there to matching it.

Michelle Volkomer - Now serving as Treasurer for Northern Sussex County and previously has also been Organizer, Consultant and Service Unit Manager. She is eager to help and give of herself and her time.

Linda Webb - Cookie Booth Coordinator for Northern Sussex County. She has expanded the opportunities for the troops as well as doing whatever is necessary to assist the Service Unit.

George Zang - Handles the Fall Product Sales Program as well as the Cookie Program for Northern Sussex County. He has had these positions for the last three years. Through his extra efforts the volume of sales has increased which has been beneficial to the troops.

The Honor Pin recognizes for volunteers who have delivered outstanding service to two or more geographic areas that furthers the goal to serve every girl, everywhere.

Deborah Abbott - Member of the Lower Shore Advisory Committee for the last ten years and a member of the Capital Campaign Committee for Sandy Pines. She shares her knowledge about the community, assist with banking issues and promotes Girl Scouting whenever possible. She was also instrumental in raising the funds for the Peninsula Resource Center in Salisbury.

Hope Harrington - Chairperson for the Mid Shore Advisory Committee. She personally recruited many of the committee members and has shared her valuable insight into the promotion of Girl Scouting in the Mid Shore region of the council.

 Jan Kirk - Service Unit Manager, and Outdoor Consultant for Dover as well as Trainer, Gold Award Committee Member, Gold Advisor and recently joined the Fall School and the Annual Meeting committees. A tireless advocate for girls and volunteers and her efforts have impacted many lives for many years to come.

Arnetta McRae - She has been actively been involved with the council for the past twenty years. Serving as both a Board Member and Finance Committee Chair and currently is a member of the Capital Campaign Steering Committee. She has been tireless in her efforts to raise the funds necessary not only for our camps but to support our mission in serving girls.

Susanne “Sue” Morris - Member of the Lower Shore Advisory Committee and Co-Chair for the Capital Campaign for Sandy Pines. She has solicited potential donors, attended meetings, participated in fundraising events, shared her knowledge about the community  and promoted Girl Scouting whenever possible. Her work on behalf of Girl Scouting is now being realized with the construction of the Tree House Unit as Sandy Pines.

Susan Purnell - Member of both the Lower Shore Advisory Committee and the Capital Campaign Committee for Sandy Pines. She supports our fundraising efforts through donations as well as promotion and every year, troops may sale cookies at her place of business in the downtown area of Salisbury.

Enid Wallace-Simms - Member of the Diversity Committee and Strategic Planning Task Group, she brings fresh insight that is valuable to the council in evaluating and improving policy as well as operations.

Melanie Stefursky - Serves on the Lower Shore Advisory Committee, the Capital Campaign for Sandy Pines and Chair for the “Ladies Miniature Golf Tournament”. She has recruited new volunteers, assisted with building a donor base on the Lower Shore of Maryland and continues to generate new friendships for Girl Scouts.

The Seagull Award highlights volunteers for significant service to girls and adults that are above and beyond the position they hold.

Lisa Jacob - As Family Partnership Manager for Kent County (MD) she has brought new ideas to the Family Partnership Campaign as well as writing the closing ceremonies for both the 2006 and the 2007 Annual Meetings.

Brenda Lyons - Serves as the Service Unit Manager for Kent County (MD) as well as the Treasurer, Fall School Committee Member and was a Delegate to the National Council Session in 2005.

The Thanks Badge is for volunteers whose performance is truly outstanding and benefits the Girl Scout Movement.  They are:

Rita Ayers - Serves on the Board of Directors, the Executive Committee and Co-Chair of the Master Planning Task Group. She has served the girls and volunteers for over twenty years through trainings she has presented, various task groups and committees and her enthusiastic support for Fall School is legendary.

Lisa Quadrini - Has served on the Board of Directors for two terms, chaired the first Camp Exec, Chairperson for the Community Development Committee and is creating a new Alumnae Group which is focusing on the 95^th Anniversary. She is a person who takes the time to understand the needs of the council and she finds ways to help achieve the council goals.

Pat Scott - Co-Chair for Fall School, Council Trainer as well as holding several service team positions for Dover-area over the years. She takes on each task with great enthusiasm and joy. Her love of Girl Scouting is infectious and she brings excitement to everything she undertakes.

THE THANKS II BADGE

Betty Jean Boyd - Chair of the Archives Committee, Council Trainer and Recognitions Chair for Bellfont. For the past ten years or so, she has focused a good amount of her energies in preserving the history of Girl Scouting for future generations and making sure it is accessible to our girls. A few years ago the council published a booklet with some highlights of our history and the information gathered and used for the publication  in great part came from her work of collection and gathering of information.

Betsy Wenny - Auditor for Brandywood/Claymont, Council Trainer and Gold Review Committee Member. Her focus for the last several years has been on the Teen Level. She was on the task group that re-evaluated the process for the Gold Award and helped to create the timeline and approval process for the Gold Award, continues to actively update the training curriculum for the Teen training and review Gold Award applications. She is committed to insuring that leaders get the best training and experience possible and encouraging girls to strive for the “Gold”.

The Juliette Low humanitarian Award, named for the founder of Girl Scouting, is for a volunteer having a profound impact on the lives of girls in Girl Scouting.

Larry Gehrke - Since the early 80’s, he has been an excellent advisor on all issues impacting property and has been the driving force on the current capital campaign. He was instrumental in the negotiations for the present headquarters location in Newark and the CSB building in Wilmington as well as serving on the steering committee to raise the funds to build the headquarters office. He is also the Chair for the Northern President’s Advisory Committee and Chair of the Capital Campaign Major Gifts Committee. He is a strong supporter of diversity within the council and of underserved girls.

Girl Scouting builds girls of confidence, courage, and character, who make the world a better place. We do that by providing girls with personal leadership development and programs that build real life skills for the real world. To learn more about Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay Council, visit www.girlscoutschesapeakebay.org.

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