Over 30 guests packed the Revelstoke Museum and Archives Saturday, Feb. 21 to celebrate local Girl Guides history and congratulate Pathfinder Avery Hornosty in earning her Canada Cord.
The Canada Cord is the highest award a Girl Guides Pathfinder can earn, highlighting their work in community service, leadership and personal development. This is the first time it has been awarded in Revelstoke in over a decade.
“This Canada Cord is an emblem of your strength and commitment,” Sue Nielsen, Pathfinder and Ranger guider and Revelstoke Guides district co-commissioner told Hornosty and guests while sharing the requirements needed for the Canada Cord. She hailed Hornosty’s composure and bravery during the troop’s trip to Europe in July as a part of the trip’s success.
Hornosty’s growing leadership skills and self-confidence has been a key part of her journey to earning the Canada Cord, Michelle Cole, Revelstoke Girl Guides district co-commissioner said.
“It’s more than just showing up. You show up and you’ve got yourself together,” Cole told the audience. She shared how Hornosty created a paper version of a beloved boardgame to pack in and pack out during a snowshoe trip to Caribou Cabin in Mount Revelstoke National Park as one of the various ways the Pathfinder has gone the extra mile for the local troop.
Along with family, friends and members of Revelstoke’s Girl Guides troops, guests included Rosemary Tracy, former Revelstoke Girl Guide and recipient of the Gold Cord in 1967, later renamed the Canada Cord. Tracy received her cord in Victoria, when the award ceremonies were hosted by the governor general.
Hornosty was gifted another bit of Revelstoke Guiding history in a Girl Guide emblemed tea cup set presented to another Revelstoke girl guide after receiving her Gold Cord.
Keeping celebrations close to home was fitting for the way Revelstoke has shown up for the guiding community, Hornosty told guests, thanking them for coming out and for her family’s support over the years.
“All of this wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for all of you,” she said.
Hornosty’s own guiding roots are multi-generational, with parents who first met at a Girl Guides and Boy Scouts co-event and a collection of aunts, cousins and grandparents all involved in scouts and guides over the years. It’s a family that Hornosty tapped into to help with her conservation project preparing Painted Turtle nests and raising awareness around town as part of a poster campaign.
For Hornosty, the turtle conservation work holds a special place in her work earning the Canada Cord. Not only did the project connect her with communities throughout town in her efforts to raise awareness, it also showed Hornosty her own capabilities for larger projects.
“I’m taking a lot of leadership skills and confidence away from this,” Hornosty told Revelstoke Mountaineer.
Revelstoke won’t have to wait another decade to celebrate a local Canada Cord recipient, with other Pathfinders in town already working towards the honour. For those girls future Revelstoke Girl Guide members, Hornosty emphasized using the program to test ideas and build courage.
“It’s a great way to explore who you are and to give back to the community,” she said. “Just enjoy it!”
To connect with the Revelstoke District Girl Guides or the overall Monashee Area, visit monasheegirlguides.com.
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