My name is Erin Fariello, and for my Gold Award I started a Hometown Heroes Banner Program in Clifton Park. Currently, there are 40 banners displayed on Vischer Ferry Rd, Clifton Park, NY, with room for many more. In addition to the physical banners that are displayed on Vischer Ferry, I also wanted to include an education piece into my project. This website gives information on the origins of every branch, as well as the wars the U.S. has taken part in, and the ranking systems of each branch.

What is the Girl Scout Gold Award?

The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest honor you can achieve as a Girl Scout, and only ~5% of eligible Girl Scouts actually achieve this award. In order to qualify to begin the project, you first need to complete a bronze award and a silver award. Both of these projects must be a "take action" project, meaning that it has to be sustainable to the community.  A take action project is different from a community service project as a community service is normally a one-time action like volunteering at a soup kitchen. Although this is obviously a great thing to do, it is not sustainable in the long run. For the Gold Award the girl scout is required to pick a project that will continue to help the community. In addition to this, the girl scout needs to put 80 hours of work into the project for it to even qualify for the award. 

Why did I choose this project?

I was inspired by the banners in Troy, Greenwich and Mechanicville, and wanted to do something similar in Clifton Park.  I have always considered what veterans do for our country extremely important and wanted them to be memorialized for what they do.  My family on both sides have extensive military service.  On my mom’s side of the family, my grandfather Terry, a retired Colonel, was a pilot in the Air Force during the Vietnam and Desert Storm wars.  His father, great grandpa Casey was a Tech Sergeant in General Patton’s army.  My grandfather had uncles in the Army and Marines.  Finally, my aunt’s fiancé died in the Iraq War six weeks after my brother was born. On my dad’s side, Great grandpa Lawerence was a Chief Bowson’s Mate on a carrier the first time he served.  At 34 he re-enlisted after Pearl Harbor and was an MP doing shore patrol and transporting prisoners of war. Great Grandpa Vito served as a barber on a ship near Italy.  In talking with my neighbors and friends, I realized there have been a lot of people who have served, and I wanted the ability to honor them.

How do I purchase a banner?

To purchase a banner, you can use the link below to access the digital order form. 

https://cliftonpark.org/index.php?option=com_docman&view=download&alias=4835-hometown-heroes-banner-program-flyer-and-order-form&category_slug=veterans&Itemid=141