The White House announced today that President Obama is
posthumously awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the
founder of Girl Scouts, Juliette Gordon Low. The Presidential
Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United
States, recognizes individuals who have made “an especially
meritorious contribution to the security or national interests
of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant
public or private endeavors”. “Juliette Gordon Low was a
visionary, whose legacy lives on in the 59 million American
women who have been part of Girl Scouting at some point in their
lives,” said Anna Maria Chávez, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA.
“She believed that all girls should be given the opportunity to
develop physically, mentally and spiritually, and in founding
the Girl Scouts in 1912, she made an indelible and enduring
contribution to the lives of girls and to our nation. It is so
fitting that on our 100th anniversary, she should be honored
with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”