[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 110 (Wednesday, September 4, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1485]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    TRIBUTE TO LISA HERRINGTON, BRANDY O'BRIAN AND REBECCA RAPPLEYEA

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. TIMOTHY V. JOHNSON

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 4, 2002

  Mr. JOHNSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to salute 
Lisa Herrington, Brandy O'Brian, and Rebecca Rappleyea. All three of 
these young women were recently honored with the Girl Scout Gold Award 
by Girl Scouts--Green Meadows Council in Urbana, Illinois. These women 
were honored on May 13, 2002 for earning the highest achievement that a 
young woman aged 14-17 or in grades 9-12 can earn in Girl Scouting. The 
Girl Scout Gold Award symbolizes outstanding accomplishments, each of 
which helps girls develop skills in the areas of leadership, career 
exploration, self-discovery, and service.
  Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., an organization serving over 2.5 million 
girls, has awarded more than 20,000 Girl Scout Awards to Senior Girl 
Scouts since the inception of the program in 1980. To receive this 
award, a Girl Scout must earn four interest project patches--the Career 
Exploration Pin, the Senior Girl Scout Leadership Award, the Senior 
Girl Scout Challenge, and design and carry out a Girl Scout Gold Award 
project that requires a minimum of 50 hours of participation. A plan 
for fulfilling these requirements is created by the Senior Girl Scout 
and is carried out through close cooperation between the girl, her 
troop leader, and an adult Girl Scout volunteer mentor.
  Lisa's Gold Award project A Great Summer for Migrant Families was a 
result of her volunteer work with migrant families during the past five 
years. Realizing that migrant families in the Rantoul area had many 
needs, Lisa developed a plan to receive donations from schools and 
churches in the Rantoul area. Girl Scout Troops were asked to collect 
supplies for the daughters of migrant workers. All of the collected 
items were distributed through the Champaign Unit 4 School District 
Summer School Program. Lisa concluded her project by using her Program 
Aide skills to plan and carry out activities during the three week 
summer Girl Scout program for daughters of migrant workers.
  Brandy's Gold Award project Let's Get Kickin' incorporated her love 
of soccer in a way that would benefit youth in the Fisher area. Let's 
Get Kickin' had two components: (1) conduct an instructional soccer 
camp for grade school aged youth, and (2) provide regulation soccer 
equipment for the players. To achieve her goals, Brandy recruited girls 
and solicited donations of used soccer equipment. The donated items 
were made available to all interested youth in the community. Brandy's 
soccer camp, held April 6, 2002, included drills for improving skills 
in shooting, dribbling, passing, and teamwork. She discussed the 
history of soccer, reviewed the fundamentals of the game, and provided 
lunch for thirty participants.
  Rebecca's Gold Award project Ballet for Young Girls was designed to 
teach young girls in the fundamentals of ballet to instill in them a 
love of ballet and to provide a venue to demonstrate what they had 
learned. Working with 12 girls over a three-month period, Rebecca 
instructed the girls in ballet skills. To make the experience even more 
meaningful, Rebecca made costumes for the ballerinas. In addition to 
learning ballet as an art form, the girls developed an appreciation for 
teamwork, As a result, Rebecca saw the participants gain self-
confidence and self-esteem, both valuable qualities upon which to build 
their lives.
  I ask you, my colleagues, to take the time to honor these three young 
woman and the many young women in your districts that continue to share 
their skills and caring hearts to our children and our communities 
through the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A.

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