Shelby teen earns Gold Award with pickleball project
Annmarie Willis of Shelby has earned her Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest achievement a Girl Scout can earn.
Willis, daughter of Jason and Susan Willis and a member of Girl Scout Troop 2286, wanted to encourage people to have fun while exercising so she partnered with the Pickleball Association of Cleveland County to bring awareness to the sport.
She hosted a Veterans Day Pickleball Tournament that attracted 42 people to the event. With money raised from her event, she was able to build a pickleball target board for players to practice and warm up on while they wait for their game to start.
The board also has a QR code on it that directs people to pickleball rules and ways to get connected to other players in the community.
Girls in high school are able to earn their Girl Scout Gold Award by creating sustainable change on a community or world issue. Gold Award Girl Scouts address the root cause of a problem, plan and implement innovative solutions to drive change and lead a team of people to success. Each girl must dedicate a minimum of 80 hours to planning and carrying out her project, which must benefit the community and have long lasting impact.
As they take action to transform their world, Gold Award Girl Scouts gain tangible skills and prove they are the leaders our community and world need. Gold Award Girl Scouts from Girl Scouts Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont have created community gardens, addressed issues in foster care, combated bullying in schools and so much more.
“Earning the Girl Scout Gold Award designation is truly a remarkable achievement. It is the culmination of so many things – from a girl’s self-discipline and leadership abilities to time management and the creativity, initiative and mastery of skills it takes to complete these kind of projects,” said Jennifer Wilcox, CEO for Girl Scouts Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont. “Every girl who earns this prestigious award is making a difference not only in her community, but her own life as well. The skills gained through the Gold Award process – strategic thinking, communication, collaboration, problem solving – are ones that will be used often in her future endeavors.”
Thousands of Girl Scouts earn the Girl Scout Gold Award each year, which first began in 1916 as the Golden Eaglet. Earning the Gold Award opens doors to scholarships, preferred admission tracks for college and amazing career opportunities.
This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: Shelby teen earns Gold Award with pickleball project
