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Summit for the Heart Girl Scout Gold Award Project
August 13, 2011
By Mary Pechar
Emily Patton standing with her dad Steve.
Tribune Photo/Fred Poese
Within the Girl Scouts of the USA, the highest achievement that can be earned is the Gold Award. According to Wikipedia only 5.4% of eligible Girl Scouts successfully earn this award. Summit for the Heart, a 5k Run/Walk held August 7th is the vehicle Emily Patton chose to earn her Gold Award.
There is a very specific process to be followed to earn a Gold Award. Beginning with choosing a project to support, the candidate investigates their idea, completes the pre-planning and prepares a proposal. They are then interviewed by the local Girl Scout Gold Award Committee and when their proposal is accepted, an advisor is assigned. Now the official work on the project begins. The process winds up with additional analysis, the development of a portfolio and finally another interview with the Gold Award Committee.
Emily began planning her event last November and in her words, “My inspiration for the project came from my dad, who suffered from a cardiac arrest while preparing for his tenth marathon. His heart was in such great condition from all his years of running that he managed to walk a 1/2 mile to our house and then wait for an ambulance. He now has an internal cardiac defibrillator.”
The essence of a Gold Award captures vision, passion, community impact, longevity, connection and leadership. And you see these reflected as Emily talks about her event. “I hope to use Summit for the Heart to impact the community and set a spark for the further awareness of the importance of heart health. Maintaining a healthy heart and body could save one’s life, like it saved my dad’s life. Participants of the race were provided information from the American Heart Association in the post-race goody bags, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the American Heart Association.”
After talking with Emily and reviewing her proposal, Lee’s Summit Parks and Recreation offered to co-sponsor the event and she began working with Tede Price, Assistant Director of Recreation. Emily learned a lot and appreciated their support, “They have helped in so many ways, such as: preparing the posters and registration forms; regulating registration by website, phone, and mail; giving me contacts, ideas, and feedback for various race-related things; and providing various supplies.” The final dollar tally is not yet in but 60 runners participated in Sunday’s run. While other sponsors contributed around $650, many others donated information and items for the goody bags.
As for the longevity aspect, Emily would like to see Summit for the Heart become an annual event.
Her post high school is filled with ambitious, challenging plans, so she has enlisted her mom’s support to ensure the race continues. Daughter of Steve and Carol Patton, Emily plans to follow the path her father seems to have set them on with an older brother a doctor and her older sister a nurse at Children’s Mercy Hospital. And for Emily, the culmination of her dreams will be acceptance into the UMKC School of Medicine’s Six Year B.A./M.D. Program which allows a student to go from “high school student to medical student.” Recognizing the stiff competition to enter this program, like all good Scouts, Emily is prepared with other options for both her B.A. and medical school.
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Absentee polling location established
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