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Happy Friday News
June 19, 2009 |
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Greetings!, This is the time of year when all of the hard work of our staff and volunteers really comes together and makes us smile. We have just completed the annual Girl of The Year celebrations in all four regions - a highlight of the year for all! Each month during the year, in each region, a girl is chosen as the Girl of The Month, each of those 12 girls is then eligible to become the Girl of The Year.
Each Spring, these girls go through a rigorous interview process where they are given points for leadership, academic achievement, community service and participation in Girls Inc. curriculums. When the night of the event finally arrives, the suspense is almost unbearable as they all wait to see who is chosen for this great honor.
The girls have often over come many challenges on their way to this award. This year we had a young woman who was Girl of the Year in 1994 return to share her success story with the girls. She loved the arts and craft room and spent many hours working quietly in the corner. Today she owns her own company - Creative Web solutions - and is a web and graphic designer. She is grateful for her time at Girls Inc. and is giving back by serving on our Nashua Advisory Council.
Three of our past winners won scholarships for college from our national organization and one was accepted with a full scholarship at the prestigious St. Paul's School in Concord, NH.
The girls who win get to take a trip of a lifetime to New York City where they spend three days touring the city. This is a tradition we began 11 years ago and we have many great memories of these trips. The year that I went, we got in trouble for having a pillow fight and making too much noise, we managed to get on the Today Show and every girl learned to ice skate in central park! When I asked the girls what they enjoyed the most they said, "the taxi cabs, hotel room and tall buildings!"
Unfortunately, last year's trip was postponed due to lack of funding so we are hoping to take all 8 girls this year! If you would like to help fund this trip please let us know! Any contribution would be very much appreciated.
A friend of mine recently told me when she was a little girl she was the girl of the year and it meant so much to her that to this day, when her alarm clock goes off and she is still in that groggy state between sleep and reality, her first thought is, "Get up-you ARE still the GIRL of the YEAR!"
It is my great pleasure to introduce the 2009 Girls of The Year by region!
Sincerely,
Catherine Duffy Cullity, CEO
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Meet our 2009 Girls of The Year
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Greater  Nashua Region
Ayla Thorntona is 10 years old and has been attending Girls Inc. of New Hampshire's Nashua Girls' Center for 7 years. She actively participates in all the Girls Inc. programs including Build IT, Dance and the Intergeneration Program at the Huntington in Nashua. Outside of Girls Inc. Ayla does gymnastics, plays in the school band, plays baseball and goes to Bible School all well staying on the Honor Roll. Ayla is always smiling and has a way of making everyone around her smile too! The other girls in the program look up to Ayla and she can often be found helping another girl or cheering them on. Ayla has a big heart that she shares with everyone at the Nashua Girls' Center each day!!!
Nashua's Mayor Lozeau
congratulates Ayla.
Ayla and friends
share a moment
of surprise when
she is announced
as the 2009 Girl of The Year!
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Capitol Region
Katrina Dumas has been attending Girls Inc. of New Hampshire's Concord Girls' Center since August of 2006. She is a shy girl of a single mother with two older brothers. Katrina gets along with everyone at the center and is always positive and helpful. The other girls love her, and when she is around she makes everyone's job easier. Katrina is a leader by example and suggestion, never imposing her will on anyone, but making thoughtful suggestions with positive enthusiasm. This method of communication always wins over the crowd. Katrina is also extremely humble. At the Girl of the Year celebration, Katrina decided she would entertain the girls and parents by singing a song. No one knew that Katrina even sang. When she opened up with her song, sung Acapulco style, everyone was very surprised. She has an amazing voice and was confident as she sang for everyone, but never bragged. After announcing Katrina as the 2009 Girl of The Year, all of the other Girls of The Month were overjoyed. They knew that she deserved it and would be a great role model for the other girls and would represent Girls Inc. and our Center very well. |
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Nicole Sutton, 2009 Girl of The Year with Regional Director, Graham Griffin
Nicole Sutton is 10 years old and just completed 5th grade at Chamberlain School in Rochester. This is Nicole's 4th year at the Rochester Girls' Center and she has worked very hard to become the Girl of the Year. She has overcome many educational obstacles in the past few years and has worked very hard to get her grades up. Nicole was also part of the championship team in her softball league and ran in the Girls Inc. of New Hampshire 5K road race this year as well. Artistic, creative, energetic and truly compassionate are words that describe Nicole to a T. |
Greater Manchester Region
Mariah Carmody was the girl of the month at our Manchester Girls' Center in December 2008. She was chosen as the Girl of the Year for being friendly, kind, honest and compassionate. She is always willing to help others and is a true ambassador for Girls Inc. Mariah has been attending the Manchester Girls' Center for a year and, although she has only been with us for a short time, she has been actively involved in many activities such as yoga, 4-H club, Girls on the Run Newsletter, and the Afternoon Art program with Mrs. Dupont. Mariah enjoys playing with her friends outside and is very athletic. She engages in 4-Square basketball and is learning to play Double Dutch jump rope. Outside of Girls Inc., she plays the violin in the musical program at school. |
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