13 November 2008
THANKS is High Honor
Posted by admin under: recognition .
I was browsing and I found an article praising Karen Morgan, Chief Executive Officer of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma, and noting that she has been added to the list of Who’s Who — everyone who is anyone to someone who reads that publication. There was one interesting line that popped out at me.
She is a recipient of the THANKS Badge, the highest award given to members of the Girl Scout organization
Really? I’d never heard of this award. Not surprising since I’m not up on my high distinctions for Girl Scouts. According to the Girl Scouts of Chicago someone should only be nominated for this award if “The candidate has provided outstanding service that benefits the total council or entire Girl Scout movement” and “The service is so significantly beyond expectations that no other award is appropriate”.
Wow. I still don’t know what the highest award is in Boy Scouts. They have a silver beaver, a silver elk, and some other silver animals in addition to the Hornaday Award. Who knows. There might be a silver marmot out there beating the pants off the rest of them.
But before I could say, “Yes, that’s the highest Girl Scout award”, I saw that there was another one: The Thanks Badge II. What in the world? What is that one for? “The service is delivered to the entire council or Girl Scout organization” and “The nominee has received the THANKS BADGE” and “The service is so outstanding that only the highest adult award in Girl Scouting, the THANKS
BADGE II, is appropriate”. Not even the THANKS Badge for which no other award is beatable? Now I’m confused. Wasn’t that the same thing for the original Thanks Badge? And the Thanks Badge II only requires 3 references while the Thanks I requires 4.
I don’t understand. My wife and I were honored with a council award last weekend for various things we’ve done for our service unit and the council and I was humbled to be placed in the company of some women whose high heels I am not fit to step in (nor would my Sasquatch feet fit). So, it was much easier for me to sleep on a mountain side with my Boy Scout troop than understand which award means what. I’ll just assume that if my wife ever receives the THANKS Badge that everyone else finally agrees with me about how extraordinary she is.
- Comparing Scouts
- GSUSA Young Women of Distinction
- President Bush Honors Eagle Scouts
- Hearts in Shoeboxes
- GL Magazine. Kinda Depressing.
4 Comments so far...
Mrs. admin Says:
13 November 2008 at 6:13 pm.
I think the Thanks Badge II is for earning the Thanks Badge a second time… I’ll have to check the Leader Awards book, but I thought that’s what I heard at the awards dinner…
Smoky Scout Says:
14 November 2008 at 10:25 am.
I don’t know the timing of when all the adult awards were created, but my guess is that the Thanks II Badge was created after some worthy person was awarded the Thanks Badge and then continued to do even more extraordinary things for Girl Scouting. Since they had already used the verbiage “for which no other award is appropriate” the best thing to do was say “ditto” the second time around. In my Council (and hopefully in all others) the requirement of these awards only being given one time in a volunteer’s career means they are quite an honor and distinction.
Did I mention that I am a recipient of the Thanks Badge? And I’m still around, so who knows…
admin Says:
14 November 2008 at 1:35 pm.
Hey, cool. And I thought you were a celebrity because you’re just such an avid hiker and booster of Girl Scouts. I’ll offer my thanks, too, for your efforts, but it’s not the THANKS II so you’ll have to wait for your own council on that one. 
Scout Chief Says:
14 November 2008 at 2:12 pm.
I found this site cruizen google. And yes I’m a real person typing here…
Any-who I found a huge list of eagle scout projects on http://www.scoutchief.com
-PS I’m an Eagle Scout
