Each year, Girl Scouts of Michigan Shore to Shore awards the Gold Award, Girl Scouting’s highest honor, to girls throughout western and northern Michigan who complete the rigorous requirements. One of these requirements is the implementation of a sustainable solution to an identified community need.
In 2010, five Girl Scout Seniors (12th grade) from Ionia earned the Gold Award for their Community Take Action project: re-establishing the Ionia Memorial Day parade. For many years, Floyd Rogers, a veteran, had planned and coordinated this community event. After many years of serving his community in this way, he was forced to step aside due to health concerns.
The five Girl Scouts who took this project on felt that a community celebration to honor veterans on Memorial Day would help unite the people of Ionia in a positive way. These girls spent more than the required 65 hours each doing research, meeting with and making calls to community leaders and businesses, and talking to community members. Each of the girls gained valuable experience with project planning, business communications, and were thrilled to see the successful conclusion of their project. Their only regret was Floyd was not able to see the fruits of their labor.