The Girl Scouts of the Southern Appalachians have honored two dozen incredible young women with the prestigious Gold Award, recognizing their outstanding leadership and impactful community projects. 10 of these remarkable recipients hail from Knoxville!
The Gold Award is the highest honor a Girl Scout can achieve, earned by fewer than 6% of Girl Scouts annually. These dedicated young women spent 1-2 years addressing significant issues in their communities.
Knoxville Gold Award recipients:
Orly Berry: Partnered with Bridge Refugee Services to provide new beds and supplies for refugee children.
Maleah Bird: Created a local program to support families of sick children by renovating a hospital storage closet to include basic necessities and securing regular donors.
Amelia Brown: Renovated her church’s theatre room, making it an accessible space for free movie viewings.
Catherine Gergel: Developed a website and classes to combat anti-Asian racism, teaching self-defense and de-escalation.
Helen Liulevicius: Restored a children’s play space at Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, designing developmental toys and activities.
Nirvikta Osti: Introduced music education for special education students in local elementary schools, creating a curriculum and music kits.
Ellen Petrik: Made history fun at Blount Mansion with an interactive exhibit featuring historical toys and activities.
Bailey Redmond: Organized a music festival to showcase young talent, now an annual event at her high school.
Georgia Smith: Helped save barn owls by building nesting boxes and creating an interactive educational program at Seven Islands State Birding Park.
Mia Warren: Enhanced the museum accessibility for the visually impaired with QR codes and audio descriptions at the East Tennessee Historical Society.
Congratulations to each of the inspiring Girl Scouts on this wonderful accomplishment and thank you for making an impact in the community!
Learn more about their inspiring projects and how they’ve made a difference in our community: MoxCar website.
Gretchen Crawley is chief communications officer for Girl Scouts of Southern Appalachians.