Girl Scout volunteers honored for service

ANN ARBOR – The Ann Arbor Kiwanis Club, area volunteers and a Girl Scout troop from Saline received awards from the Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan during the organization’s Adult Recognition luncheon in East Lansing on Saturday.

The Kiwanis Club of Ann Arbor received the Friend of Girl Scouting Award for being a loyal supporter of Girl Scouting in Washtenaw County for over twenty years.  The club’s foundation has provided almost $43,000 of support and made it possible for underserved girls across the county to participate in the myriad of powerful learning experiences Girl Scouts offers.  This has meant girls have had program books and uniforms they otherwise couldn’t afford.

The Green Heart Award was presented to Catherine Wesenberg, a troop leader from the Ann Arbor/Dexter area. Wesenberg  has been a Troop Leader-Daisies to Seniors (K-12), a Troop Organizer, and currently serves as Area Registrar. Her encouragement and support of all of the girls in her area – as a leader -resulted in all troop girls receiving the Silver Award and three girls achieving the Gold Award.

The Girl Scout Appreciation Pin was presented to Margaret Brouwer, a troop leader in Dexter and  Jennifer Geldner, a Product Program Manager in Manchester.

Brouwer has been a Troop Leader in the Dexter area for 14 years and a Troop Organizer for Daisies for almost 9 years. She is a key figure in Dexter Girl Scouts and has mentored many Daisy leaders.  She facilitates Council Essentials, a new leader’s orientation to Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan, and has been very involved in strengthening the Dexter area team for the past two years.

Geldner has served as Area  Product Program Manager for over five years and during that time cookie sales have increased significantly in Manchester and the area now has 100% troop participation. She has consistently gone the extra mile to help new leaders learn the process.  She created a tracking system to help coordinate local booth assignments and prevent troops from having booths in the same vicinity on the same day.

The Thanks Badge, the highest honor an individual can receive from Girl Scouts was awarded to Winnie Odom, a retired GSHOM staff member from New Boston, and Jan Barker, Chief executive Officer of GSHOM.

Odom was a Membership and Outreach Specialist in the Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor region.  She is an eloquent and passionate speaker, providing a professional, enthusiastic interface between Girl Scout volunteers, their families and girls. She is well respected in the community as an advocate for girls and their leadership abilities. She has helped manage the merger of three areas into one dynamic team and has been instrumental in defining the strength and success that embodies the entire Girl Scout movement. She has worked tirelessly in the prison outreach program and shared the importance of Girl Scouts to a community who might otherwise not have had the benefit to participate.  Barker is credited with transforming Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan into one of the nation’s most dynamic and well-respected councils.  She was hired in 1995 to lead the Girl Scouts Glowing Embers Council, a legacy council of Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan based in Kalamazoo.

In 2008 she was named CEO of Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan which formed as a result of the realignment of Girl Scout councils nationwide. She leads with a passion and tireless determination to ensure the continued success of Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan.  She has been an unselfish mentor and has touched the lives of thousands of girls and women with her resilience and her refusal to take “no” for an answer.  The Girl Scout mission is more than words on a page to Jan,  it is tangible proof of a deeply held partnership that she nurtures with girls, volunteers and supporters.  Every activity she engages in on behalf of Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan is designed to further the mission and provide girls with the skills they need to be future leaders in all areas of their lives.

Saline Area Girl Scouts received The President’s Award for surpassing 89% of this year’s membership goal for girls and 81% for adults. There are 28 currently registered troops serving all levels. Saline is very proud of its 12 active older girl troops that serve Cadettes through Ambassadors.  As an active area Saline hosts many program opportunities for girls and their families. Saline is proud of the community service projects troops hold and that older girls actually plan recruitment and program events for new and younger Girl Scouts.  All of the Area team members are registered and trained and the Saline Area serves girls in parity with the areas demographic population.