Girl Scout Volunteer Awards
Shelly Lemons, associate professor of history, and Elizabeth Bruchhauser, senior English major, received the Volunteer of Excellence Award from the Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois
on April 9. They were recognized for their outstanding service to the organization,
which provides leadership programming and opportunities for over 13,000 girls in Southern
Illinois.
Shelly, troop leader of 898 in Lebanon, led her daughter Sasha’s troop in a community
garden Bronze Award project at McKendree over the summer of 2015. Not wanting the
campus garden to be left to wither over the summer, the troop jumped into action and
with the guidance of Patty Taylor from the Lebanon Garden Club, learned how to prepare
and plant in square foot beds. They weeded, fertilized, and planted seeds in order
to grow lettuce, herbs, carrots, peas, peppers, tomatoes, and more. Each week, members
of the troop watered the garden and harvested vegetables that were ready to be picked.
The produce was donated to local families, after a few samples were tasted for “quality
control.”
Elizabeth interned with the Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois program department and
organized an Art Attack event at McKendree in November 2015. She worked with five
professors to offer hands-on sessions to 250 Girl Scouts in dancing, painting, sculpture,
acting, improv, interior design, and creative writing.
