The achievements of two young women who earned the Girl Scouts’ highest honor were celebrated Thursday evening during a ceremony attended by family, friends and fellow Scouts.
The highlight of the ceremony came when Avery Lankford and Cara Jacques were presented with their Gold Award pins by their mothers, Billie Weaver and Caitlin Jacques.
Only about 5% of eligible Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award, according to troop leader Christy Reid. Praise shared during the ceremony emphasized the persistence and dedication required to reach the milestone.
Established in 1916, the Gold Award recognizes the completion of a major service project addressing a community need while encouraging participants to explore career paths and develop leadership skills.
Guest speaker Travis Smith commended the Scouts, stating that Girl Scouts centers on "developing character, leadership, confidence, and helping others" and "ultimately leaving the community better than you found it."
LANKFORD'S PROJECT: BOYS & GIRLS CLUB TEEN ROOM
Lankford’s project, "Roots for the Future: Building a Safer and Engaging Environment for Youth," focused on renovating the teen room at the Greater West Plains Area Boys & Girls Club. As a former club member, Lankford chose the initiative as a way to give back to an organization that impacted her life.
Introduced by Reid, who commended both girls’ growth over their years in scouting, Lankford has been a Girl Scout since 2015 and joined Reid’s troop in 2021. She has earned more than 73 badges and hundreds of patches, selling 11,000 boxes of cookies throughout her scouting career, including a personal-best 2,080 boxes during the most recent sales season. Outside of her Gold Award work, Lankford has organized food drives for the West Plains Regional Animal Shelter and collected socks and hygiene products for the West Plains R-7 Bridges program.
To complete her Gold Award, Lankford secured funding, coordinated roughly 35 volunteers, and contributed 70 personal volunteer hours as part of 100 total project hours. The renovated teen room features fresh paint, new furnishings, updated activities and a newly installed drinking fountain.
JACQUES' PROJECT: DOWNTOWN VETERAN BANNERS
Jacques’ project, “A Road to Remember,” debuted over Memorial Day weekend in downtown West Plains. The initiative honors local living and deceased military veterans through customized banners displayed along West Main Street, Court Square and East Main Street leading to the civic center.
The banners will remain on display through Veterans Day before being stored for the winter. The project will continue under the direction of AMVETS Post 98, which will continue accepting applications from families and friends of veterans wishing to honor veteran loved ones. Jaques chose the project to ensure the sacrifices of local veterans are recognized by future generations.
A Girl Scout since 2013, Jacques has earned more than 65 badges and hundreds of patches, while also helping install a blessing box near the local Girl Scout Hut on Aid Avenue. She has sold more than 7,000 boxes of cookies during her career — exceeding 1,000 boxes in her top season — and was featured in regional radio promotional spots last year.
Jacques is also a member of the Circle of Friends, an organization dedicated to preserving the legacy of Girl Scouts founder Juliette Low. Both Lankford and Jacques traveled to Low’s birthplace in Savannah, Ga., in 2024.
Editor's note: The caption for the photo accompanying this story was edited at 4:07 p.m. Aug. 6 to correect the order of names of the scouts and their mothers pictured.
