Top award surprises Sarah
Pack holidays are always full of the unexpected, like your Brown Owl standing on a chair to pour drink from her teapot! Or her shouting “Move on, move on” as soon as you have started eating your tea at the Mad Hatter’s tea party. However, an extra surprise was in store for guider Sarah Clarkson when she took the Rainworth Brownies away during the half-term break.
Dee Miles arrived at The Magpie's Nest on the Saturday afternoon in order to present Sarah with the Laurel Award. ‘Sarah is one of the busiest people I know, and it wasn’t easy to find the right time to present her Laurel Award’ explains Dee. ‘But we knew she would be on pack holiday with her Brownies last weekend, and the girls were all very proud to be part of the presentation.’
The Laurel Award is presented to those who have given outstanding service to Guiding and who have had a significant impact at county, regional or national levels. Running units in Rainworth and Mansfield is only part of Sarah’s commitment to Guiding, she has also held district and division commissioner posts and is active in training at county, regional and national levels. She volunteered to manage the exhibition in Mansfield Museum for Guiding’s Centenary which also involved organising special events on the weekends and taking over Mansfield Market Place one Saturday.
Sarah’s boss said she is ‘an outstanding woman, whose Guiding principles clearly impact on her working life.’ But Sarah’s response is simply that she made her promise as a 7 year old Brownie to do her best and that is always what she has tried to do. ‘I love what I do in Guiding,’ Sarah says. ‘Working with girls, young women and adult leaders involved in Guiding is a joy and I must thank all the people who have done so much to support me.’