LISBON – Valerie M. Henault of Lisbon received the Girl Scout Gold Award at the Girl Scouts of Kennebec Council’s annual Silver and Gold Celebration held recently at Yarmouth High School.

The award is the highest and most prestigious achievement in Girl Scouting. It encompasses organizational, leadership and networking skills. The project is something that fulfills a need within a girl’s community, creates change and hopefully is something that becomes ongoing.

Each girl working toward the Girl Scout Gold Award must complete five requirements related to leadership, community service, career planning and personal development. She must also spend a minimum of 50 hours planning and implementing a Girl Scout service project that has a positive and lasting impact on the community.

Henault’s project, titled, “Aiding the Appalachian,” consisted of recruiting teens and adults to work on trail maintenance on a section of the Appalachian Trail near Grafton Notch. Working along with Peter Roderick from the Maine Appalachian Trail Club, the group was able to maintain more than three and a half miles of trail, despite the heavy rains that day. Many hikers passing them expressed gratitude for the work they were doing.

Henault also created a pamphlet that was distributed to youth groups in the area to promote volunteer efforts with the Maine Appalachian Trail Club.

Henault, who has been a Girl Scout for 11 years, is a 2004 graduate of St. Dominic Regional High School, and recently completed her freshman year at University of New England in Biddeford where she is an exercise and health promotions major.