Sidney Girl Earns Highest Scout Honor

NORTH PLATTE - A Sidney Girl Scout was presented scouting's highest award this week, capping a life-long dedication to learning through Girl Scouts.

In a ceremony held Tuesday, Sarah-Kate Splichal was presented with the Gold Award. With the award, she became one of the elite in Girl Scouts, as less than six percent of scouts earn the award.

In accepting the award, Splichal thanked her mother, "for giving me that extra push I needed when looking for that next step in the process."

Splichal said she recalled her initial contact with scouting when she joined a Brownie troop in Lincoln. That recollection included a welcoming and kind group of people who "helped me get out of my comfort zone."

As she grew older, Splichal joined other activities in school, "but Girl Scouts was something I never let go of through high school," she said. "It had been part of who I was ever since kindergarten."

Girl Scouts has had some form of top award for its top performers since 1916. It has changed through the years, becoming the Gold Award in 1980. It is the culmination of many hours of learning and service to the community, topped off with a Gold Award project.

A Gold Award project is a seven-step process, where scouts identify an issue, then investigate it. They form a team and a plan, which is approved by the Girl Scout Council. The project is carried out, then the scout tells the story and results.

For her project, Splichal installed a pair of bike repair stations along Sidney's Deadwood Trail, which walkers and bikers use for exercise across the town. She told those present for her Gold Award ceremony that she wanted to help increase physical activity in the community and encourage families to get out and exercise. The bike stations, she said, are to reduce worry about problems with their bikes as they use the trail.