Belinda Stefl knows a thing or two about the meaning of home grown.
Stefl spent most of her life in Milton, Northumberland County, and brought home Thanks II Award during a recognition ceremony May 17, 2023 for her service and commitment since 1979 to scores of members in Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania.
“I’m very humbled by the award. It’s never been about me, it’s about the girls I’ve known,” she said.
It’s the highest award Girls Scouts U.S.A. offers for volunteer service. Candidates for the Thanks II Badge must be a previous Thanks Badge Award recipient and Stefl received the Thanks Badge Award about 14 years ago.
Stefl is no stranger to earning awards, hard work or striving to better the lives of others.
In 1973 – 50 years ago – she received her First Class, now the Gold Award, which is given to roughly 5.4 percent of eligible high school Girl Scouts.
In 1970 she sold 793 boxes of Girl Scout cookies, setting a record for most cookies sold at the time.
Girl Scouts changed her life, Stefl said.
A shy child during the 1960s from a family of modest means, it was an invitation from a classmate during her elementary school years that brought Stefl to a Girl Scout Brownie meeting.
From that evening so long ago grew a life-long devotion to Girl Scout service, community, camaraderie and unconditional caring. Thanks to Girl Scouts, Stefl continues to lead in in the organization, has been a school board director, leads workshops and is at ease as a public speaker.
While awards honor and recognize service Stefl said her eye is fixed on legacy building, inspired by her earliest Girl Scout leaders.
“Miss Roch was my first troop leader in Brownies, and she already had 37 girls in her troop,” Stefl explained of her first childhood meeting.
When she was asked if she’d like to join Brownies, Stefl recalled Miss Roch’s words to her: “She said to me, ‘I can take one more,’ and it changed my life.”
Known for a fondness for vintage Girl Scouts uniforms and accessories, Stefl reported her family could not afford that very first Brownie uniform.
Providence stepped in and a new, just-right Brownie uniform arrived at Stefl’s house days before it was needed. She still does not know the author of that kindness.
Another priceless gift was discovering a box filled with all her Girl Scout uniforms after her mother’s death.
Along with those vintage uniforms, Stefl loves the rituals embedded in Girl Scout ceremonies and passing along those traditions to future generations.
“I love to teach and to train. I love the old traditions and the ceremonies,” she explained.
That makes teaching and sharing what she knows part of her legacy mission, along with welcoming younger leaders, or those new to Girl Scouts into the fold “… just as people did with me,” Stefl said.
Continuity and legacy-building include modeling behavior aligned with Girl Scouts values and integrity. Stefl believes in empowering women and girls so they can achieve at any – and every – level.
“I’m not done with Girl Scouts. I’m going to come up with something to do next,” she said.
