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Rotarians honor Outstanding Girl Scout of the Year

Columbiana Middle School student Brileigh Kocanjer was awarded the 2017 Outstanding Girl Scout of the Year. (Submitted photo)

COLUMBIANA — The Columbiana Rotary presented Girl Scout Cadette Brileigh Kocanjer with the 2017 Outstanding Girl Scout of the Year Award at the annual Youth Recognition Awards Dinner.

Kocanjer, 12, has spent six years in the Girl Scouts and is also involved in the Columbiana Middle School student council, band, 4-H and sports.

“I’m thrilled that she has chosen to be a Girl Scout. Middle school can be such a difficult time and I think [Girl Scouting] has given her a good stable base to stand on. It has given her the confidence to stand up to peer pressure, a great group of friends to support her, and it keeps her active doing positive things for herself and her community,” her mother, Leigh Ann Kocanjer, said in a press release announcing the award.

After three years of cheerleading for the Little Clippers football team, Brileigh decided she wanted to be on the field instead and became the only girl on the team, tackling boys twice her size. When she aged out, she decided to come back to coach a team that had added three girls, her mother said.

Leigh Ann Kocanjer went on to say that, “I think Girl Scouts empowers girls from a young age and was a large factor in her being confident and brave enough to try a traditionally male sport as the only girl.”

As the oldest girl in her family, Brileigh has always assumed a leadership role and that extends in to her desire to help others. She enjoys the many community service projects her troop has been involved in which have helped to expose her to a variety of different people and given her the opportunity to see in what ways she can help others. Brileigh’s innate compassion to want to make the lives of other’s better, exemplifies the Girl Scout spirit, Leigh Ann Kocanjer said.

Girl Scouts of North East Ohio connects girls to a world of possibilities in a positive and inclusive, girl-led environment. Girls are inspired to discover their passions and empowered to reach their full potential through a proven leadership development program. GSNEO serves 35,000 girls and 14,000 adult volunteer members throughout an 18-county region including Medina, Portage, and Summit counties; Cuyahoga, Geauga, and Lake counties; Carroll, Stark and Tuscarawas counties; Ashtabula, Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties; Erie, Huron, Lorain, Sandusky and Seneca counties, the release stated.

Girl Scouts offers every girl a chance to practice a lifetime of leadership, adventure, and success. To volunteer, reconnect donate, or join, visit www.girlscouts.org.

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