Joubert earns Girl Scout's top award

At this time every year, Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys celebrates the achievements of their own emerging leaders: the recipients of the Girl Scout Gold Award.

River Valleys adds a young woman from Jordan to that list - Jilique Joubert, daughter of Jerry and Cathy Joubert of Jordan and a 2007 graduate of New Prague High School.

She will be recognized for her Gold Award project, the highest award a girl may earn in Girl Scouts at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 18, at First English Lutheran Church in Cannon Falls.

The Gold Award project promotes community service, personal and spiritual growth, positive values, career exploration and leadership skills. Girl Scouts who earn their Gold Award have planned and implemented a leadership project involving a minimum 65 hours of community service over four months.

Seeking to create a warm, inviting hospice environment for terminal patients at the Minnesota Veteran's Home, Joubert worked with the Veteran's Home staff to transform an unused room for residents and their friends and families. In addition to painting and decorating the room, she also purchased some furniture. Throughout her Girl Scout Gold Award project, Joubert learned how to lead a team as well as to build her organizational and leadership skills.

Last year, approximately 5,500 girls received the Girl Scout Gold Award. That was around 5.4 percent of the eligible registered Girl Scouts in grades 10 to 12.

This year that includes Joubert who is among the nearly 200 River Valleys Girl Scouts from the Twin Cities metro area, southern Minnesota, and western Wisconsin who have collectively contributed more than 13,000 hours to make the world a better place working on Gold Award projects.