By Cindy Zomar, Contributing Writer
Hudson – Hudson resident Brianna Williams recently joined the ranks of Girl Scouts who have achieved the organization’s highest honor, the Gold Award, a group that comprises only about six percent of Girl Scouts each year. She received the award at the Northfield Drive-in June 18.
Starting as a first grader, Williams has thoroughly enjoyed her journey through the various stages of Girl Scouts.
“I loved Scouts, and I mentored a group of junior Scouts while I was working on my project,” she said. “We had a lot of fun making care packages for veterans in Worcester. Once I am through with college, I would like to have my own troop.”
Williams graduated from the biotechnology program at Assabet Valley Regional Technical High in 2019, where she had participated in Drama Club, Student Council, Robotics, Honors Chorus, Honors Band, Track and Field, and the Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps. While living in Clinton, she was driving to school one day and passed a trash can when she thought she caught a glimpse of an American flag. She learned that Clinton didn’t have any particular system in place for the disposal of tattered flags, and the idea for her Gold Award project was born.
After a tip from her Scoutmaster, she learned that the Clinton Postmaster had a few new mailboxes collecting dust and was willing to donate them to her cause. Her next stop was at Assabet.
“My mentor [retired veteran and Assabet JROTC and metal fabrication instructor Chief Neil Mansfield] immediately suggested that I ask the Auto Collision department to paint them for me, as they were experts at painting on metal. I picked them up right after graduation and began looking for the best places to install them.”
So far, Williams has installed three of her four boxes, one each at the Clinton Fire Department, the Clinton Police Department, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) site.
“The VFW has offered to check the boxes and take the flags to properly dispose of them since I live in Hudson now,” she said. “Two of the boxes were full the day after installation! I am working on getting something on the town’s website, and of course my own social media. I am still looking for a fourth site, and someone recently suggested near the high school, so I will check that out.”
Williams is currently attending UMass Lowell with a major in biomedical engineering, and a minor in elementary and secondary education.
“Brianna is a true gem…she has a knack of bringing people together to work together and accomplish a common goal. Her Girl Scout Gold Award was truly fitting for a project and certainly a reflection of her involvement with our USMC JROTC cadet program at Assabet,” Mansfield said. “We wish we could have more Brianna’s in this world; it would be a better place to live, grow, learn and thrive.”
Photos/submitted
