In
Alabama, a Girl Scout named Ashley has been pinned with the Bronze Cross, a
Life Saving Award given on behalf of the Girl Scouts of the USA, for saving the
lives of two men who were drowning in the Gulf of Mexico.
Ashley
has been a Girl Scout for 11 years and earned many awards through her Scouting
career, such as Junior Aide, Bronze Award, Cadette Leadership Award, Silver
Award, and is currently in the process of working on her Gold Award, the highest
award earned by a Girl Scout.
The
Life Saving Award is given to a registered Girl Scout who has saved or
attempted to save human life under circumstances that indicate heroism or risk
of her own life. The criteria for the Life Saving Award includes being a
registered Girl Scout at the time of the rescue, and saving, or attempting to
save, human life only. Only four Bronze Crosses were awarded in 2013 and two
were awarded in 2014, with Ashley being one of them.
16
years old at the time, Ashley was spending time with family at Crab Island in
Destin, Florida, when two men became distressed in the deep current of the
water. Seeing the men didn't know how to swim well, she jumped in to their rescue, pulled them into safer water and gave them life-jackets to float
on until she could swim them to safety.
Ashley
was pinned with the Bronze Cross on January 9, 2015. Elizabeth Brent, CEO of
Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama said, “Girl Scouts build skills that will last
a lifetime. Ashley recognized a need,
knew she had the skills, and came to the aid of someone she could assist. She exhibited one of the keys of the Girl
Scout program, "take action" and there's an individual alive today because
of her courage to act. She is a great role model for all of us.”