Girl Scouts of Kentucky’s Wilderness Road (GSKWR) celebrated the sixteen local Gold Award recipients recently, including four from Northern Kentucky. The Gold Award is the most prestigious award in Girl Scouting, awarded only to leaders and role models who actively carry out an influential plan in their community and advocate for lasting change.
Susie Lepisto, Courtney Rudolph, Autumn Tacon and Katie Wagner (Photos provided)
The four Kentucky Gold Award recipients are:
• Courtney Rudolph of Walton
• Susie Lepisto of Independence
• Autumn Tacon of Hebron and
• Katherine Wagner of Alexandria.
The Girl Scouts’ Gold Award is the highest achievement in the Girl Scout organization, awarded to fewer than six percent of girl members annually.
Each recipient must identify an issue they care about, determine the root cause of the issue, and implement a plan on how to solve it.
This year, the girls had an additional barrier to overcome with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite these challenges, 2022’s Gold Award Girl Scouts demonstrated resilience and a commitment to creating positive change in communities across Kentucky. The winning projects included improving local parks and community gardens, providing access to sports and sporting equipment, building awareness for environmental causes, prioritizing mental health, making and donating products to underprivileged youth, and creating spaces for artistic talents to prosper.
“These outstanding young women genuinely represent the best and the brightest. Their tenacity, resiliency and innovation showcase why they are our leaders of tomorrow,” said Susan Douglas, CEO of GSKWR.
The Gold Award goes beyond The Girl Scout Leadership Experience. While eighty-four percent of all Girl Scout alumni hold leadership positions in society today, the Gold Award is linked to even greater life benefits. Nearly all Gold Award Girl Scouts work in leadership roles and seventy percent of these women hold three or more leadership roles in their workplace and community organizations.
Girl Scouts of Wilderness Road
