Knoxville, Tennessee (September 7, 2007):  A Knox County teen and Tanasi Council Girl Scout has earned the Congressional Award Gold Medal, the highest honor bestowed upon young people by the United States Congress.

Kara Bowditch was presented the award by U.S. Representative John Duncan, Jr. at a June ceremony on Capitol Hill.  The Powell High School graduate is one of only 273 young people in the nation to earn the award this year.

The Congressional Award program is open to all Americans ages 14 to 23 who set and achieve goals in public service, personal development, physical fitness and expedition/exploration.

To earn the award, Bowditch volunteered more than 400 hours of community service to organizations including the Salvation Army, University of Tennessee Medical Center, Children’s Hospital and an elementary school.   She also participated in a week-long disaster relief effort to aid Hurricane Katrina victims in Gulfport, Mississippi. 

Bowditch expanded her leadership skills by leading a Daisy Girl Scout troop and serving as student body president at Powell High School during her senior year.

To earn the Congressional Award Gold Medal, she also spent 11 days touring France and Italy and went on camping, hiking, whitewater rafting, and snow skiing trips with her Girl Scout troop. 

Bowditch’s Girl Scout advisor was Mary Mahoney.

About Girl Scouts of Tanasi Council - Serving East Tennessee.  Girl Scouts of Tanasi Council is based in Knoxville, Tennessee, and serves more than 10,000 girls in 18 East Tennessee counties. More than 3,500 volunteers work with Tanasi. Additionally, hundreds of girls enjoy summer outdoor living every year at Camp Tanasi on almost 500 acres on Norris Lake near Andersonville.

Media contact: Sarah Callahan, director of communications. (865) 688-9440.