Johnston County Girl Scout Awarded the National Lifesaving Medal of Honor

Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines is proud to announce that Kristen Breckley of Clayton, NC has been awarded the Girl Scout Lifesaving Medal of Honor. This Lifesaving Medal of Honor has been part of the Girl Scout program since the beginning of the Movement and is a form of recognition given to a registered Girl Scout who has saved or attempted to save human life under circumstances that indicate heroism or risk of her own life. This award is reserved for those Girl Scouts who have performed heroic acts beyond the degree of maturity and training to be expected at their age.

Last December, nine-year-old Kristen Breckley assisted her mother after she fell 25 feet through the attic to the concrete garage floor. Breckley’s mother, Marilyn was in the attic when she began to hear floor crack beneath her and without having a safe place to move, she fell through the wooden truss and the drywall landing on the garage floor. Breckley immediately took action, leveraging her Girl Scout skills and leadership, was able to remain calm during a stressful situation. Breckley let her mother know to not move and that she was going to get their neighbor and get help. Breckley and the neighbor called 911 and returned to Marilyn’s side.

This Girl Scout’s calming and confident presence allowed for swift and sure action to occur and to ensure her mother received proper emergency care. Her courage and confidence has also continued to serve as a bright light and motivating force during her mother’s recovery, which includes physical therapy. 

The Lifesaving Medal of Honor Award is one of the highest, rarest, and most prestigious recognitions a Girl Scout can be awarded, and it’s emblematic of the Girl Scout Promise and Law which teaches girls to help people at all times and make the world a better place. Breckley has lived up to that calling of going above and beyond, and truly makes the world a better place.

Kristen Breckley received the Lifesaving Medal of Honor on Thursday, May 11, 2017 at her local service unit end of year awards and recognitions dinner at the First Baptist Church in Smithfield, NC. Breckley was recognized by Senior Membership Executive, Meta Trombley, who also pinned the medal on Breckley as this time.

Breckley has received a medal, a letter from Girl Scouts of the USA Interim Chief Executive Officer, Sylvia Acevedo, and a certificate from Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines Council.