Adult Awards

 

Council Level Awards

 

Awards presented at River Valleys’ annual Volunteer Recognition Event
to be held at Gustavus College, St. Peter, MN on Saturday, April 4th, 2009. 

The nomination deadline for all Council Level Awards is January 15.

 

 

Appreciation Pin: A GSUSA award that recognizes a registered Girl Scout adult volunteer or staff member who has provided outstanding service to at least one geographic area, service unit or program delivery audience. This pin is given to an individual only once.   A nomination form is required; two written endorsements are also required.   Deadline is January 15.  View the Appreciation Pin Award criteria or download the Nomination Application.
Honor Pin: A GSUSA award that recognizes a registered Girl Scout adult volunteer or staff member who has provided outstanding service above and beyond expectations for the position held, delivered to at least two or more geographic areas, service units or program delivery audiences. This pin is given to an individual only once.   A nomination form is required; three written endorsements are also required.  Deadline is January 15.  View the Honor Pin Award criteria or download that Nomination Application.
Thanks Badge I: A GSUSA award that is the highest award in Girl Scouting. It recognizes service so significantly above and beyond the call of duty and benefits the total council, that no other award would be appropriate. Accumulative years of service are considered for this award.   This pin is given to an individual only once.   A nomination form is required and four written endorsements.   Deadline is January 15.  View the Thanks Badge Award criteria or download the Nomination Application.
Thanks Badge II: A GSUSA award.  The nominee has received the Thanks Badge I and has taken on a leadership role in developing a model that has been replicated at the national level.   Accumulative years of service since receiving the Thanks Badge are considered when reviewing this award. This pin is given to an individual only once.   A nomination form is required and four written endorsements.   Deadline is January 15.   View the Thanks Badge II Award criteria or download the Nomination Application.
Commitment to Inclusiveness: A River Valleys’ award that recognizes an adult volunteer or group of volunteers who have carried out a unique and innovative project, or delivered outstanding service and leadership in the areas of inclusiveness. The nominee(s) may be an individual or a group of adult volunteers who are registered Girl Scout(s). Recognition is a certificate.  A nomination form is required; two written endorsements are also required.   Deadline is January 15.  View the Commitment to Inclusiveness criteria or download the Nomination Application.
Extraordinary Events: A River Valleys award that recognizes service units who have implemented events in the previous registration year that exceed standards of quality and serve as models for future innovative programming. The award is given to the committee coordinator(s) or the individual(s) who coordinated the event.  A certificate is presented to the event coordinators.  A nomination form is required; a written endorsement from a River Valleys membership or program staff familiar with the event is also required.  Deadline is January 15. View the Extraordinary Events criteria or download the Nomination Application.
Service Unit for Excellence Level II: A River Valleys award that recognizes a service unit’s accomplishments in moving toward River Valleys’ goals and objectives the previous membership year. A certificate and ribbon are presented to the service unit manager(s).  A nomination form is required; a written endorsement from the service unit’s membership specialist is also required.  Deadline is January 15. View the Service Unit Award for Excellence Level II criteria or download the Nomination Application.
Years of Service 20 + years:  A GSUSA award that recognizes an adult member for years of active volunteer service at five-year intervals.  A nomination form is not needed.  River Valleys will run a report from their database and all registered volunteers with 20 years of service or more (in five-year intervals) will receive a pin.  Records are based on the information supplied by members upon their initial registration.  To ensure correctness, please contact your local service center to verify the number of years of service on record.  Individuals with 20 or more years of service will be invited to the annual Volunteer Recognition Event for the presentation of a pin.
Membership Numerals 25+ years: A GSUSA award that recognizes tenure in Girl Scouting.  Girl member and adult member years recognized in five-year intervals.  A nomination form is not needed.  River Valleys will run a report from their database and all registered volunteers with 25 years of membership or more (in five-year intervals) will receive a pin Records are based on the information supplied by members upon their initial registration.  To ensure correctness, please contact your local service center to verify the number of years of service on record.  Individuals with 25 or more years of membership will be invited to the annual Volunteer Recognition Event for presentation of pin.

 

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Award Criteria

 

Appreciation Pin

• Be a registered Girl Scout adult
• Abides by GSUSA and River Valleys’ policies, standards and procedures including applicable required position training
• Have significantly contributed to meeting one or more of River Valleys’ goals  in membership growth and retention, fund development, or increased community visibility in one geographic area (e.g. organizer recruiter whose efforts resulted in membership growth, an event planner whose efforts contributed to the retention of girls)  
• Actively recognize, understand, and practice the values of inclusive behavior

 

Honor Pin

• Be a registered Girl Scout adult
• Abides by GSUSA and River Valleys’ policies, standards and procedures including applicable required position training
• Have significantly contributed to meeting one or more of River Valleys’ goals in membership growth and retention, fund development, or increased community visibility in two or more geographic areas (e.g. event coordinator for a multi-service unit event, an outstanding council trainer)
• Actively recognize, understand, and practice the values of inclusive behavior

 

Thanks Badge

• Be a registered Girl Scout adult
• Abides by GSUSA and River Valleys’ policies, standards and procedures including applicable required position training
• Have taken a leadership role at the council level (benefiting all of River Valleys) in one or more of the following areas during the previous four years:
  • Increasing membership growth and retention
  • Increasing the percentage of adult-generated funding in the total council income
  • Increasing innovative program opportunities council wide
  • Developing broad participation in policy-influencing through the democratic process
  • Ensuring that inclusive behavior is recognized, understood, and practiced at all level

Thanks Badge II

• Be a registered Girl Scout adult
• Abides by GSUSA and River Valleys’ policies, standards and procedures including applicable required position training
• Have taken a leadership role in developing a model that has been replicated at the national level in one or more of the following areas during the previous three years:
  • Membership
  • Program
  • Fund development
  • Pluralism
  • Marketing and Communications
  • Strategic Leadership
  • Human Resource

 

Commitment to Inclusiveness

Inclusive refers to age, socio-economic level, sexual orientation, ability, race, religion, culture and gender.   Being inclusive means that you seek out others not already included, create an awareness within others so that they are more accepting and understanding of differences and create an environment that is welcoming and respectful.

• The nominee(s) may be an individual or a group of adult volunteers who are registered Girl Scout(s).
• The nominee(s) have provided leadership and outstanding service in work related to inclusiveness for a troop, special interest group or one or more geographic areas. (e.g. an organizer recruiter who grew membership in “under represented” communities, an event coordinator who led a group of girls and adults in planning and implementing an event that introduces girls to other cultures, a service unit manager or team that has taken action to ensure service unit meetings and events are inclusive and respectful of all, a troop leader(s) who guides girls to take action to increase their cultural competency and then educate others). 
• The nominee(s) have served as a role model of inclusive and anti-bias behavior.
• The nominee(s) project or service and leadership has the potential to increase and retain inclusive participation in Girl Scouting.
• If an individual is being nominated for service given while in a specific role such as troop leader, organizer/recruiter, service unit manager etc. they must have completed the required position training.
• Service occurred in the last registration year.
• This award can be earned by an individual or group in subsequent years but it must be for an entirely new project.  

 

Extraordinary Event 

• Service unit events and regional events (more then one service unit) may be nominated.
• The event must have occurred in the last registration year.  (October 1, 2007 to Septembers 30, 2008)
• Each service unit may nominate only one service unit event or regional event per year. 
• The event must have achieved event goals and at least one of the Girl Scout program goals. (FYI: Next year’s criteria will require events to achieve goals based on the discover, connect and take action outcomes from the GSUSA New Leadership Experience.)
• The event must demonstrate evidence of girl planning, inclusiveness, innovation, and safety.
• The event must have met all Girl Scout Safety-Wise and River Valleys’ guidelines.
• Nominations must identify how the event is innovative and significant to your community/girls.

Service Unit Award for Excellence Level II

All level I criteria (Level I is a service unit level award)

• Effective communication was maintained with the membership specialist, leaders, Juliette Girl Scouts, and the community.
• A Family Fundraising Campaign was conducted
• All service team members have completed required training for their position(s).
• All reports required by the membership department were submitted on time.
• Service unit retained 75 percent each of leaders and girls from 2006 - 2007 to 2007 - 2008.
• An endorsement letter from membership specialist summarizing the service units’ communication with them, leaders, Girl Scout Juliettes, and their community.
• Membership specialist’s signature on nomination form verifying criteria has been met.

Plus all level II criteria

• At least one trained leader per troop (“trained” for 2007-2008 membership year is defined as having orientation and appropriate age-level training). 
• Reached 90 percent of their girl membership goal for the 2007-2008 Girl Scout membership year for which they are being nominated.
• Provide a list of all service unit events held in previous membership year with a brief summary demonstrating the value each event had for their service unit (growth in participation, increase in girl retention, focused on inclusiveness, increased girl planning etc.).
• Demonstrate the action taken to include diversity in programming and recruitment efforts.
• Provide a summary of all service unit recruitment efforts (including events) conducted the previous membership year and show how events have grown over the previous year.

For more information about adult recognition awards, e-mail awards@girlscoutsrv.org