Westlake Girl Scouts honored at annual recognition ceremony

Six Westlake Girl Scouts achieved Gold Award status on April 29: (back row, from left) Lina Wiley, Alexandra Melendez, Renata Beyer; (front row, from left) Katelyn Routhier, Alia Janmey, Abby Salem.

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On April 30, the Westlake Service Unit No. 706 held their annual Girl Scout Recognition Ceremony at Parkside Intermediate School. Forty Bronze Awards, one Silver Award and six Gold Awards were presented to Junior (grades 4-5), Cadette (grades 6-8), and Senior & Ambassador Girl Scouts (grades 9-12). These are the highest awards available to girls of their rank and require a minimum of 20, 50, and 80 hours of planning and service to complete.

Three troops earned Bronze Awards. Troop 434 made and provided new pet adoption kits through the Westlake Police Department and ran educational sea animal programs at local preschools. Troop 455 ran Mardi Gras programs (crafts, music, snacks and activities) for the elderly residents of Brighton Gardens. Troop 1144 ran two nursing home tea parties complete with food, tea, hats and music.   

Devon Smith earned her Silver Award by interviewing older adults and preserving their cherished life stories in the keepsake memory books she created.

Six girls earned their Gold Award, the highest Girl Scout honor. Westlake Mayor Dennis Clough was on hand to present each with a proclamation for her efforts.

Alexandra Melendez, a senior at Westlake High School, helped make and donate 80 literacy kits and painted the alphabet on the wall in the St. Malachi’s tutoring room. Each kit contained a book, activities, instructions, supplies and answer sheets.

Renata Beyer, a senior at Westlake High School, worked with the Cleveland Metroparks and the Bay Village Historical Society to research historical sites within Huntington Reservation. She condensed the information into easy-to-read paragraphs which will be used in future signs. She also created a geocache, or high-tech treasure hunt using a handheld GPS device.

Katelyn Routhier, a sophomore at Westlake High School, educated over 1,000 people on the history and importance of the American flag. She wrote, illustrated and published a book, entitled "Red, White and Blue: What Does It Mean To You?", donating copies to public and school libraries and students. She ran three multimedia assemblies for 900 students and faculty and led part of the Citizenship in the Nation Merit Badge for 35 Boy Scouts on Flag Day 2011. She also made centerpieces and led patriotic crafts and a recital/sing along at a local nursing home.

Alia Janmey, a senior at Westlake High School, ran two daytime events teaching children camping skills such as fire building, dish washing and sterilizing, knot tying, and what to pack.

Abby Salem, a junior at Westlake High School, educated people about an eye condition called a pterygium, which is caused by excessive exposure to the sun. She spoke to fellow students, ran bake sales and put out collection boxes, acquiring 267 pairs of sunglasses, which help prevent the problem. She sent the sunglasses to residents of Honduras, who commonly suffer from the eye affliction.

Lina Wiley, a senior at Magnificat High School in Rocky River, ran a six-week book club and blanket-making class for the girls of Independence Place. It is a residential program in the YWCA of Greater Cleveland for girls who have aged out of the foster care system. Additionally, she collected and donated over 200 books for the library playroom.