, a senior Girl Scout and daughter of Brian and Beverly Kramer of Mountain Top, fulfilled the requirements to earn the Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouting for girls ages 14 to 18. Kramer, a senior at Crestwood High School, chose to refurbish and beautify the courtyard at the SPCA of Luzerne County, Plains Township, as her Gold Award project. The project, which began in February 2006, culminated with a formal presentation to the SPCA in November. Over the span of 10 months, Kramer built sizeable benches with attached flower boxes to accommodate potential pet owners when sharing time with the facility's adoptive pets. The project also included enhancing the area by reseeding grass and placing landscaping stones, building a gravel waste garden within the courtyard, removing layers of rust and painting the courtyard's gazebo, and installing a safety fence around an existing structure within the courtyard as an added safety measure. Kramer's 11-year Girl Scouting career spans Brownie, Junior, Cadette and Senior levels in both Idaho and Pennsylvania. She is a member of Senior Troop 3362, Mountain Top, under the leadership of Wanda Rupert. Currently ranked first out of 242 students in the Crestwood senior class, Kramer is a member of the National Society of High School Scholars, the National Honor Society and Who's Who Among America's High School Students. She is a member of the National Forensic League and is secretary of the school's Diversity Club. She also participated in National History Day for three years, placing first at regional competitions for two consecutive years. As a young scholar, Kramer is presently taking two classes at King's College. Kramer has also demonstrated her musical talents in school concert and marching bands, percussion ensemble and jazz band and as a member of the school's chorus. Kramer has also participated in school plays and musicals assuming roles of lead dancer for two large productions. Among her extracurricular activities, Kramer is a ballet and jazz student at Joan Harris School for the Gifted, competed as a member of competition dance teams. She has participated in the Relay for Life, Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure fund raiser and roadside clean up and has performed as a bell choir member and vacation Bible school instructor through her church involvement. Following graduation in June, Kramer plans to attend college and major in civil and environmental engineering. She has one brother, Brian Jr., who is serving in the U.S. Navy. Kramer will receive the coveted Gold Award in late April at the annual Gold Award Luncheon sponsored by the Penns Woods Girl Scout Council, to be held at Edgewood in the Pines, Drums.

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