Our next award is for the venturer we believe has most shown improvement this year, in leadership, in spirit and participation. Please help me congratulate our winner, Jacki Staton.
Jacki became a crew member last august. She’s from Alabama, which you can likely pick up listening to her accent.
Stepped forward last year to become our historian, the keeper of the scrapbooks and photos. Then our secretary left us and the crew asked her to carry both jobs until the next election. At that point she was elected our secretary, which is a very busy job. Some might even call it impossible, trying to keep up with 30 teenagers, many of whom never seem to be home or whose lines seem to remain busy all the time.
Jacki continued to develop as a leader, taking the advanced leadership training we offered last fall.
She has been active in service and was one of our multiple cigarette buyers in the tobacco prevention campaign earlier this year.
Of course, there always is a defining moment with any youth in a group. And for me, one of those occurred last fall during a campout. Jacki had been overheard saying something that upset another crew member. Jacki could have denied it, shrugged her shoulders. But she didn’t. She accepted responsibility and publicly apologized, more than once. Being a leader means being able to say you’re sorry when you make a mistake.
For her development as a leader, her active participation in service and in crew activities, and for her positive attitude and ever-present smile, we proudly award Jacki our 2006 growth in venturing award. Congratulations!