Mayden McDaniel Earns Girl Scouts' Highest Honor

Girl Scouts Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont is pleased to announce that Mayden McDaniel of Rutherfordton has earned her Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouting.

McDaniel, daughter of Robert McDaniel and Linc McDaniel and a member of Troop 01891 worked in partnership with Welcome Table to provide a healthy and locally grown dish for the poverty stricken on multiple occasions. Her goal was to build box gardens in her community, use those gardens to grow fresh produce, use it to make healthy dishes and serve them to the attendees of the Welcome Table. Throughout the course of her project, she served close to 400 plates of food.

By earning the Girl Scout Gold Award, McDaniel has become a community leader. Her accomplishments reflect leadership and citizenship skills that set her apart.

"Earning the Girl Scout Gold Award designation is truly a remarkable achievement, and this young woman exemplifies leadership in all its forms," said Lane Cook, chief executive officer of Girl Scouts Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont. "She saw a need in her community and took action. Her extraordinary dedication, perseverance and leadership, is making the world a better place."

The Gold Award represents the highest achievement in Girl Scouting; it recognizes girls in grades 9 through 12 who demonstrate extraordinary leadership through sustainable and measurable Take Action projects. After the minimum requirements are completed, the Gold Award project is the culmination of a girl's demonstration of self-discipline, leadership ability, time management, creativity, initiative and a significant mastery of skills. Each girl must dedicate a minimum of 80 hours to planning and implementing her project, which must benefit the community and have long lasting impact. Since 1916, girls have successfully answered the call to go gold, an act that indelibly marks them as accomplished members of their communities and the world.

Some universities and colleges offer scholarships unique to Gold Award recipients, and girls who enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces may receive advanced rank in recognition of their achievements.