Recognizing Rebecca Smirk's Dedication to the Girl Scouts

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an outstanding constituent from my district, Rebecca Smirk whose work and dedication as an outstanding Girl Scout Volunteer, Leader and Service Unit Manager has touched many lives in the Lower Bucks County region and the surrounding areas over the span of twelve years.

A seventeen-year resident of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Rebecca grew up in Long Island, New Yolk and attended Swarthmore College. She graduated with a BA in Chemistry and Economics in 2000 and from Seton Hall University School of Law with a JD in Intellectual Property in 2009. She is currently a Partner at Servilla Whitney, LLC.

While her career accomplishments are impressive on their own, her greatest impact has been within her own community. Rebecca and her husband Jim moved to the Yardley/Lower Makefield community in 2007 and welcomed their daughter Emma in 2005. Growing up as a Girl Scout, she knew that she wanted to give her daughter the experiences she loved as a scout--outdoor adventure, leadership skills and lifelong friendships.

Rebecca understood the importance of volunteerism from her own mother who was her troop leader for 9 years. When Emma joined scouts in 2012 as a Daisy, Rebecca was quick to volunteer as a parent helper. When the troops leaders stepped down in 2015, Rebecca immediately stepped in. She knew they would be creating treasured scouting memories, just like the ones Rebecca had of her mother.

In June of 2018, Rebecca again stepped up her volunteering and became the Service Unit Manager for the Sandy Run Service Unit within the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania Council. In this role, she oversees nearly 40 troops, over 80 troop leaders, a Service Unit Team, and over 400 active, registered Girl Scouts. Under her leadership, she has increased girl enrollment, increased the number of girls achieving higher awards, promoted Outdoor skills education, fostered relationships with community members and community service groups like Aid for Friends as well as forming new relationships with Trenton Area Soup Kitchen and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Additionally, Rebecca built upon the Service Unit activities and traditions. Rebecca has been a driving force behind the continued success of our Sandy Run Service Unit Summer Day Camp which draws 100 girls each year from the Service Unit and neighboring towns. She has expanded and built a community of parents, volunteers, and community leaders who have worked together to build girls with courage, confidence, and character.

Rebecca has been a champion for girl-led leadership opportunities within the Service Unit. She has gone above and beyond in her service to ensure every girl who wanted to belong to a Girl Scout troop is included. Girls from disbanded troops or former Juliette Scouts were included by welcoming them into her own established older girl troop.

Rebecca's welcoming hand ensured these girls remained active in Girl Scouting and many went on to achieve Silver and Gold Awards through her encouragement. When 23 little kindergartners needed a leader so they could join Girl Scouts, Rebecca again stepped in to become the leader of a new Daisy troop while still helping guide her older girls towards graduation.

In 2023, Rebecca received the Gertrude K. McGonigle Award, which recognizes one individual a year from Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania's nine county footprint who has been a registered Girl Scout volunteer for a minimum of ten years, has proven to be a positive role model while working directly with girls, and has exemplified the values and traditions of Girl Scouting. The award is given in honor of Gertrude K. McGonigle by her daughter, in recognition of her mother's long-standing interest and support of Girl Scouting in the Reading/ Berks County area. Rebecca has positively impacted and inspired numerous volunteers as well as hundreds of girls within our community.

The hours she has dedicated to her two troops and to our Unit are countless and her initiative and creativity providing a rich Girl Scouts experience to all of our scouts is limitless. Rebecca's ability to live a life of service and a dedication to the Girl Scout Law is commendable. She is a role model to many and exemplifies the values and traditions of Girl Scouting.

We are all incredibly grateful for the positive impact Rebecca Smirk has had through her volunteer work and we are delighted that she will be taking on a new volunteer role as a Girl Scout Gold Award Committee Member with the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania Council continuing to inspire the young women in Bucks, Berks, Carbon, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, and Philadelphia Counties.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source