Mother, leader wins Volunteer of the Year Award

Pamela Howard’s journey with Girl Scouts started 10 years ago when she got her daughters involved. Now, a decade later, Mrs. Howard is more involved with Girl Scouts than she thought she would ever be.

Mrs. Howard, the troop leader for Troops 749 and 333, recently won the Exceptional Volunteer of the Year Award for Ramstein for her dedication and hard hours.

“I was pretty shocked when I found out about winning the award,” she said. “I have never won anything like this before, so yes, it was quite a surprise. All I did was take care of my girls.”

Mrs. Howard, grew up in a small town just east of Mount Pillar, Vt., where Girl Scouts was nowhere to be found.

“I was the only girl for a few miles, so there was not a Girl Scouts, but my mom was a Cub Scout leader for my brothers,” Mrs. Howard said. “So, like any younger sibling, I tagged along, and that is where my interest grew.”

Mrs. Howard and her family move around a lot because her husband is active-duty Air Force, so she knew she wanted to get her two daughters involved with something steady, she said.

“Both of my girls, Sara and Emily, started Girl Scouts when they were in kindergarten,” she said. “My husband and I wanted to be able to provide something that was consistent in their life because we knew we would always be moving around a lot.”

While the nomination came as a surprise, it was an easy choice for her co-workers to put her up for the award.

“She gives so much of her time to the two troops and the Ramstein neighborhood of girls,” said Anna Lilley, Ramstein Girl Scouts overseas committee chair. “She teaches them outdoor skills, as well as life skills and values that they can take with them as they grow up and move on.”

Rita Guerrero, Ramstein Girl Scouts awards and grants coordinator, said Mrs. Howard is a humble and generous person.

“Her nomination was submitted without her knowledge and although she was not there to receive her award, Ramstein Girl Scouts was very honored of her generous dedication of volunteering and achievements,” Mrs. Guerrero said.

Mrs. Howard was not able to attend the awards ceremony because she was taking care of her troops.

“She volunteered to take one of her troop members to the dentist. Their father is deployed and mom could not take leave from work,” Mrs. Guerrero said.

Being involved with Girl Scouts has shown Mrs. Howard many of the benefits the scouts have to offer.

“I like the way it (inspires) girls to be the best they can be,” Mrs. Howard said. “For me, I like being a leader and am able to see the girls every week to mentor them and show them all they can be whatever they want to be in life.”

While Mrs. Howard and her family will leave Ramstein in February, this will not stop her from continuing to volunteer.

“Wherever we go next, my girls and I will definitely be involved with Girl Scouts,” said Mrs. Howard, whose role model growing up was her grandmother who always had everything under control. “I don’t plan on giving up the Girl Scouts anytime soon.”