Girl Scout leader recognized by assemblyman

For Mary Jane Burgess, acceptance is key when it comes to community values. When she took on the role of a Girl Scout troop leader, she vowed to ensure that everybody in her community was accepted. That is why she was honored for her service as a scout leader on Aug. 9 when 17th District Assemblyman Tom McKevitt held his Women of Distinction awards ceremony.

A Seaford resident, Burgess has been a Girl Scout troop leader in Plainedge for the past 27 years. She explained how she was nominated for this esteemed award by a fellow Girl Scout volunteer by surprise, and was not prepared for it at all. “I was overwhelmed and very honored,” Burgess said. “I never got something like that before.”

Burgess spoke about how she did not have the opportunity to participate in Girl Scouts as much as she has wanted to as a child. When her daughter entered the first grade, she took advantage of the ability to step up as a leader. Her daughter, now 34, took part in scouts up until her high school graduation and earned the Gold Award, the highest acknowledgement in Girl Scouts.

Burgess previously earned the Continuing Service Award at the 19th Annual Girl Scouts Adult Recognition Ceremony in 2011. She is also part of the Girl Scouts council for Nassau County where she will be attending a national convention that is held every three years. She has attended twice in the past, once as a delegate and the other time as an alternative delegate.

Burgess was honored at the Women of Distinction Award Ceremony for her contributions to the Girl Scouts and her dedication to inviting and welcoming all that are interested into her troop. This includes children with physical or learning disabilities as Burgess believes that everybody deserves a chance to be a part of something like the Girl Scouts.

Her husband, William Burgess, recently was presented with the Theodore Roosevelt Award. “He was actually nominated for very similar reasons,” Mary Jane Burgess said, adding that her husband is a Boy Scout leader who was honored for his contributions to helping children with disabilities through that organization.