Huntington Woman Recognized For 50 Years Of Service To Girl Scouts

COMMACK, NY — The Girl Scouts of Suffolk County honored Carol Keil, a Huntington resident, for her 50 years of service at its annual Volunteer Appreciation & Awards Dinner held in Holbrook on April 19, the Girl Scouts announced.

The Girl Scouts also created a new award in her honor: the Carol Keil Service Award.

Keil was born and raised in Mattituck. She said she was never able to be a Girl Scout growing up. Instead, she got involved when her daughters wanted to join the Girl Scouts.

"When my second oldest daughter was a Girl Scout and the troop leader was leaving, I said I would take her place as long as another mom would do it," Keil said in a news release. "Today that mom is my best friend."

Keil led that troop for 16 years and later rose to leadership positions in Suffolk County and at the Girl Scouts of USA.

Among her fondest memories is a trip to Washington, D.C., where one of her fifth grade girls was afraid to go up into the Washington Monument. Keil assured her she and the other leaders would hold her hand the entire time if she went up. She got onto the elevator and took the ride.

On the way home on the bus, Keil found a sewing kit and invented a "Fear of Heights" badge which she sewed onto the girl’s sash in celebration of her conquering her fear. That girl, Linda Grasso, is now a science teacher at Half Hollow Hills High School.

"I remember Ms. Keil helping me that day," Grasso said. "It had an impact on me that I never forgot and taught me I can do just about anything."

Keil says she has always sought to teach and inspire the girls in her troops, which she said could be in the thousands. She also helped to create a badge for substance abuse prevention, which is now among the dozens of achievement badges available to Girl Scouts.

"Girl Scouts allows for ingenuity," Keil said. "It inspires young women to invent their future. I’m proud that I could be a part of that."

The evening honored 300 other volunteers for their service to the Girl Scouts of Suffolk County.

"We are indebted to the volunteers who help our girls grow into inspired young women," said Tammy Severino, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Suffolk County. "Volunteers help our Girl Scouts learn to appreciate the outdoors, develop life skills, leadership and entrepreneurial skills as well as pursue STEM and the arts."