Our Annual Meeting for Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland was Saturday, April 30, 2022. On this momentous day, we gathered at Mitchell Hall on the beautiful modern campus of Columbus State Community College. It provided the perfect backdrop to celebrate 110 years of service!
“As a Girl Scout volunteer, you are part of an extraordinary group that helps our girls unleash their inner confidence to prepare for a lifetime of leadership.” 1
Every day our wonderful volunteers strive to meet the needs of our girls by solving problems, advocating, and inspiring them to make a difference. This encourages girls to dream big and rise in leadership ranks. As a result, Girl Scouts continue to make a difference in their communities. Thanks to those who served our council for 50 years with excellent and unwavering service. The true epitome of dedication.
We use this time to discuss the council’s business and honor volunteers and staff. It also serves as an assembly for our internal community council to review finances and vote to elect and install members. We were excited to hear the strong financial position and that membership is growing again.
The occasion opened with a respectful flag ceremony by the Color Guards, the Girls Scout Promise, and the traditional Pledge of Allegiance, reminding us why we were there. Our girls continue to develop values and gain skills to prepare them for positive, healthy, and independent futures. All while engraining courage, honor, vision, and justice.
Our Girl Scout delegates of the Advisory Council, Board of Directors, and the Board Development Committee were in attendance. This union of branches within our organization serves as a look back of achievements, progress, and future endeavors for 2023.
Shakila Ali, Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland Board First Vice-Chair, presided over our Annual Meeting. She introduced several guest speakers for the event, President & CEO Tammy H. Wharton, Finance Committee and Board of Directors Elizabeth Seely, Chair and Board Development Committee, Michele Bertoia, and Clinical Educator, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and guest speaker Allie Depoy.
Drs. Ann and Doug Teske, inductees of the Juliette Gordon Low Society, have always appreciated our organization, and its programming. They were recognized for a planned gift to extend their support for Girl Scouts. We thank you both for your gracious gift and continued support.
With May being Mental Health Awareness Month, what better way to kick things off than with guest speaker, Allie Depoy, a Clinical Educator with Nationwide Kids. She spread awareness about young girls’ mental health and how Girl Scouts has helped give young girls a foundation and sense of belonging, fun, and friendship. Sadly, suicide is prevalent among a large population of school-age girls, and Girl Scouts continues to implement programs to elevate our girls, volunteers, and communities to combat this growing problem.
“Nearly half of female students reported persistent feelings of depression.” 2
The day’s highlight was the Gold Award Winners. Those recognized by the council for their outstanding work and dedicated service are Sarah Bowman, Veronica Bumgardner, Allison Covey, Alexandra Miller, Callie Lewis, Andrea Naldony, Sierra Sarver, Alexandra Shroads, Eleanor (Ellie) Warren, and Kennedy Watkins. Our prestigious Kathleen L. Elich Memorial Scholarship winners presented by Kimberly Murnieks were Stephanie Wilburn and Katarina Stanley.
“I want to use the skills I have learned in Girl Scouts to continue to help others. I plan to attend the University of South Florida in the fall, where I will major in professional sciences with the plan to attend medical school after college. I hope to become a doctor, where I can continue to use my skills to help my community. 3
Katarina Stanley
“I hope to assist others in recovering their well-being in a professional setting using the science between a nutritional diet and health as a Registered Dietician, which will be a major motivating factor for my educational goals. I am preparing myself for this career by creating unique menus for my school and by following the U.S. Department of Agriculture and supervision of the school dietician.” 4
Stephanie Wilburn
In addition, this year’s Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland Council Scholarship was awarded to Andrea Nadolny.
“I am passionate about service, so my career goal is to be a Foreign Service Officer. As an undergraduate majoring in International Relations, I plan to study abroad and intern with a global nonprofit to build the foundation for my diplomatic career. After graduation, I will apply for the Pickering Graduate Fellowship to begin my career with the Department of State.” 5
Congratulations to all the awarded recipients. The accomplishments of our Girl Scouts, volunteers, and staff only further support our mission, fostering girl ambition, achievement, and leadership. However, there is still much work to do as we continue through the year.
We are grateful to our wonderful and devoted volunteers and staff as we continue the legacy of Girl Scouts and abide by our founder Juliette Gordon Low’s quote, “girls with dreams become women with vision.”
1 Tammy Wharton, President and CEO of G irl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland
2 Allie DePoy, LISW-S Behavioral Health Clinical Educator with Nationwide Children’s Hospital
3 Katarina Stanley, Circleville High School, Troop 1579
4 Stephanie Wilburn Piketon High School, Troop 704
5 Andrea Nadolny Thomas Worthington High School, Troop 2034
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