This past Veterans Day was made more special for some local veterans thanks to local Girl Scouts. The Fossil Valley service unit (more than 40 troops) encouraged the Scouts to participate in its ‘Flag a Veteran’ campaign.
Area Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette, Senior and Ambassador Troops requested and received kits which included signs with stakes and 10 flags. At the Scouts’ individual meetings, the signs were personally decorated.
The veterans were ‘flagged’ based on who the girls personally knew as well as word-of-mouth recommendations of veterans who lived nearby. Local recommendations were given on the FishHawk Military Spouses page.
The decorated signs, which were accompanied by small American flags, were placed in front yards prior to Veterans Day. Eighty veterans were flagged by 11 troops.
“While 80 signs were rolled out this year, The Girl Scout community hopes to build on that with a new batch each year. Veterans are encouraged to save the signs and put them out next year or pass it on by flagging someone new,“ said Debbie Raises, Fossil Valley Girl Scout coordinator.
Nicole Clay said, “Since FishHawk has a large amount of military residents, it was a nice way for Girl Scouts to show appreciation to our veterans as well as a way to unite the community for a common cause.”
According to Clay’s daughter, Macey, who is a Cadette Scout, “My dad is in the military and I know how hard he has worked, and all that he has sacrificed to do his job. I was excited to participate because FishHawk is such a military-friendly community. The signs are a neat way for us to show our support, say thank you and unite all of us for a common cause.”
One of the veterans noted that watching these Girl Scouts put in a thankyou sign with American flags surrounding it out brought intense pride that this new generation of Americans was taking their personal time to thank veterans.
For more information on the Fossil Valley Girl Scouts, visit www.gswcf.org.
