Eighteen Girl Scouts earned their Gold Award with five of them from Knoxville. The winners were chosen from across a 46-county footprint for Girl Scouts of Southern Appalachians. Gold Award recipients were recognized for their achievements April 27 at a luncheon at Lighthouse Knoxville.

The prestigious award is bestowed to just 6% of Girl Scouts across the country annually.

The distinction is presented to girls in grades 9-12 who demonstrate exceptional achievement in leadership development, positive values and service. At a minimum requirement of 80 hours, most girls spend between one and two years on Gold Award projects dedicating hours of hard work, planning and executing a sustainable community project.

Only Girl Scout seniors and ambassadors are eligible for the Gold Award, and before they can pursue it, they must meet prerequisites, including completing a Take Action project or earning the Girl Scout Silver Award, which requires a project to improve the neighborhood or community.

Some universities and colleges offer scholarships unique to Gold Award Girl Scouts, and girls who enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces may receive advanced rank in recognition of their achievements.

“Earning the Girl Scouts Gold Award is a great achievement, and we are so proud of these young women,” said Lynne Fugate, CEO of the Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians (GSCSA). “Through compassion, creativity and determination, they’ve shown true leadership and made a positive impact on their communities. We celebrate their vision and hard work.”

Knoxville recipients:

  • Emma Brinkmann (Knoxville Catholic High School), an early adopter of science, math and engineering education, noticed younger students at her school weren’t engaged with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs. She partnered with the third-grade department to create a hands-on curriculum with science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) kits and labs. Each kit included instructional videos and reflective exercises, helping students explore concepts creatively. Brinkmann also shared her program online, making it accessible globally and adaptable for home use. The program’s success has led the school to expand it to other grades. Emma also received a $2,000 Gold Award Scholarship from the Girl Scouts of Southern Appalachians board of directors.
  • Haley Farinato (Karns High School) noticed that many students in her community lacked basic school supplies. Partnering with her local elementary school, Haley worked with a nurse and social worker to create a resource room stocked with essentials like notebooks, pencils and hygiene items. She relocated and renovated the school’s nursing station to build an organized space where students in need could “shop” for supplies with dignity. Thanks to her efforts, more students can now focus on learning.
  • Bella Mason (West High School) partnered with a local church to address food insecurity and empowering various community groups. She created a permanent food and resource pantry at the church by establishing guidelines for its operation and enlisting church groups to sponsor supplies each month. Mason also recruited the knitting ministry to donate handmade items and worked with the special needs ministry, allowing adults with special needs to manage the pantry, providing both support for those in need and life skills for the participants. Bella also received a $500 Gold Award Scholarship from the Girl Scouts of Southern Appalachians board of directors.
  • Elizabeth Ohmes (Hardin Valley Academy) discovered that Catholic Charities of East Tennessee (CCETN) was struggling to meet the growing demand for assistance to pregnant women and young families. Ohmes realized the organization lacked an effective database to organize and access resource referrals for clients. She developed a new system to organize and update available resources and learned that CCETN’s Pregnancy Help Center urgently needed diapers. Ohmes launched a Mother’s Day Diaper Drive, engaging local churches, schools and community groups to collect more than 12,000 diapers for families in need. Elizabeth also received a $2,000 Gold Award Scholarship from the Girl Scouts of Southern Appalachians board of directors.
  • Toriana Voss, who is from Talbott and attends school in Knoxville (Berean Christian School), discovered that thousands of owls and raptors are injured by human activity each year, many in her own community. To help address the root causes and support rehabilitation efforts, Voss partnered with Owl Ridge Raptor Center. She launched an educational campaign, created informational materials and spoke to hundreds of people at fairs, events and community talks about how simple changes can help protect native wildlife. Voss also built a 100-foot flight cage with a turn, an essential resource for rehabilitating injured raptors. Thanks to her efforts, dozens more owls and raptors can now be treated and released back into the wild each year.

Gretchen Crawley is chief communications officer for Girl Scouts of Southern Appalachians.