Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania (GSHPA) has awarded Erika Phillips, of Gap, its Girl Scout Gold Award, the organization's highest honor.

For her project, Erika cleaned, sanded and refurbished 32 picnic tables and benches in the Salisbury Community Park.

The Gold Award represents the highest achievement in Girl Scouting. It  recognizes girls in grades 9 through 12 who demonstrate extraordinary leadership through sustainable and measurable "Take Action" projects.

"The Gold Award has taught me how to be a better leader by leading my team in the right direction and making sure the things that needed to get done were finished and correct," Erika said.

"It has helped by showing me how to discover major problems and minor problems in my community and how to take action on those major and minor problems in the world and fix them to make the world a better place for all ages, races, genders, and religions," she said.

Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania serves nearly 27,000 girls in 30 counties in central and northeastern Pennsylvania.