Badge of Honor
JoEllen Lynn chairs Women & Young Women
of Distinction.
JoEllen Lynn has invested a lot of time with the Girls Scouts. The third-generation Arizona native was a Scout as she was growing in Phoenix. Both of her daughters were Girl Scouts, and she served many years as a Girl Scout leader.
As a troop member, one of Lynn’s favorite things about being a Girl Scout was reading the badge book. She just loved to read the handbook, so full of promise and possibilities. And she earned lots of badges, especially those involving cooking and art.
But her favorite badge ever? That’s easy. Her favorite badge is one she earned later in life as a Girl Scout leader – the canoeing badge. She had to swamp her canoe, get out of it and then back into it. The activity took place on a 100-degree day at Lake Pleasant, and she’s proud of it to this day.
But she’s even prouder of the role Girl Scouts can play in the lives of young women. Being a Girl Scout can impact girls and young women in so many positive ways, she says, helping them build self-confidence, expand their horizons through new experiences, learn to be tolerant of others and develop leadership skills.
As a leader, she helped the young women in her troop find causes outside themselves to focus on and learn new skills, such as presenting the flag at baseball games and women’s conferences. She even had her troop learn sign language for one of their presentations to a conference. The girls practiced at a public park with brooms, learning to carry the flagpoles properly – a little embarrassing to some of them at the time, but they got over it and accomplished their mission. They learned that with self-confidence it is OK to look a little different in order to accomplish something important.
“A leader wants her troop members to be successful,” says Lynn, who is the community and public affairs director for Fry’s Food Stores.
For many, Girl Scouts not only leads to success but also holds enough fond memories – as it did for Lynn – to encourage former members to become leaders themselves. Recently, Lynn ran into one of her former troop members who said to her, “I don’t know if you know that it wasn’t always good at home. But now I’m married, and I have two boys, and I’m a Boy Scout leader.”
“I was so touched,” Lynn says.
WOMEN & YOUNG WOMEN OF DISTINCTION
This year, Lynn is chair of the Arizona–Cactus-Pine Women & Young Women of Distinction Awards. In 2013, Lynn accepted the Promise Award on behalf of Fry’s Food Stores, which was recognized by GSACPC for its charitable contributions to the Arizona community. Since that time, she has rekindled her relationship with the Scouts, becoming increasingly active, and she continues to uphold Fry’s corporate belief in supporting communities where their stores are located.
The Oct. 17 luncheon at the JW Marriott Camelback Inn will recognize seven women – four adults, two high school juniors and one recent high school graduate, all who have experienced the power of Girl Scouting in their lives and have made significant contributions to their community.
The adult women are amazing and deserving, Lynn says, but it will be the young women who “steal the show. These young women are absolutely incredible,” Lynn says. “Guests at the luncheon can anticipate hearing and learning about phenomenal future leaders. They will learn about the Girl Scout program through these girls’ eyes. They will learn why we need more Girl Scouts and more leaders.”
The event will also be a place to reconnect with former troop members or meet other women leaders in the Valley and “just charge up.”
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona is the presenting sponsor of the luncheon.
YOUR SUPPORT COUNTS
One hundred percent of the money donated at the Women & Young Women of Distinction luncheon stays in Arizona and funds the annual operating costs of Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council .
Guests can also opt to donate to The Campaign for Girls in Arizona, a comprehensive capital campaign aimed at achieving a better future for Arizona’s girls. The campaign supports three key goals:
• Reach and support more girls across Arizona, especially in underserved communities.
• Build a place for girls by transforming existing camp property at South Mountain into a program and leadership center for girls and volunteers. Camp Sombrero has been there since the ’40s and used by the Girl Scouts, but it has never been renovated. Ground was broken March 3, 2015, and the Leadership Center, which will be called the Bob & Renee Parsons Leadership Center for Girls & Women at Camp South Mountain, is expected to be completed in spring 2017. The Center will serve the Girl Scouts as well as the surrounding community.
• Deliver innovative and enhanced age-specific programs for girls in the key areas of STEM, financial literacy, healthy living, environmental stewardship and global citizenship.
THE 2015 HONOREES
Leadership Award
Woman: Verma Pastor, community activist
Young Woman: Jessica Lynn Peebles, junior, Desert Vista High School
Visionary Award
Woman: Julia Patrick, publisher, Patrick Media Group, and community activist
Young Woman: Tess Grossman, junior, Tesseract School
Courage Award
Woman: Shannon Goldwater, founder, Feeding Matters
Young Woman: Stephanie Banda, graduate Westview High School
Promise Award
Nicole Bidwill, vice president, Arizona Cardinals Football Club, and community activist
