Norah Parrish stands in front of the entrance to Barkdale Park in Archdale. (Courtesy photo)
ARCHDALE – Norah Parrish reached a special achievement in Girl Scouts with a special award after completing project that has enhanced an area for dogs and their owners.
But the biggest reward might have come because of the heightened awareness of Barkdale Park.
“Seeing all the dogs and their owners using it,” Parrish said.
And that was the whole idea.
Parrish received the Girl Scout Gold Award for community service project. She addressed the lack of community awareness regarding Barkdale Park, which is part of the larger Creekside Park in Archdale. That was coupled with the installation of a dog agility course.
The project began in 2022 and was completed this past spring. She has been recognized, in part, for a project to “create sustainable change on a community issue.”
This project addressed the lack of community awareness of Barkdale Park while increasing socialization and exercise for dogs and their owners.
Parrish elicited support from 18 community sponsors, including $1,200 from the Petty Family Foundation. The grand re-opening of that aspect of the Creekside Park facility drew about 100 attendees, including members of the Archdale-Trinity Chamber of Commerce, Archdale City Council and Randolph County Tourism Authority
“My project will be sustained after my involvement because its location is within an existing park that is open to the public,” Parrish said. “They have a full maintenance crew that will mow and keep the area clean. They will also be able to know if any repairs are needed because they go by the dog agility course daily.”
Parrish is a member of Troop 13077, which is part of Girl Scouts Carolina Peaks to Piedmont.
All told, Parrish raised $9,188, aided by donations, yard sales and bake sales.
Parrish said she sensed the dog park was under-utilized during the pandemic, perhaps because many would-be visitors weren’t aware of its existence. She began spreading the word on social media and other grassroots type of advertising.
She also was determined to enhance the facility itself. That came with an agility course that would address obesity of dogs and, in some cases, their owners. To make sure the best-suited equipment was obtained, she met with Trinity’s Dewayne Freeman, who’s known as “Dewayne the Dog Guy.”
Parrish credits others for assisting her, including troop leader Sandra Abrams.
“I feel that I am more patient and that I have empathy toward people that do things out of the kindness of their heart, because they want to, not because they have to,” she said. “My mentor taught me how to bring a team together to get a job done efficiently.”
Her mentor for the project was Brian Clodfelter of the Archdale Parks and Recreation Department.
“Earning the Girl Scout Gold Award designation is truly a remarkable achievement,” Jennifer Wilcox, CEO of GSCP2P, said in a statement. “It is the culmination of so many things – from a girl’s self-discipline and leadership abilities to time management and the creativity, initiative and mastery of skills it takes to complete these kinds of projects.”
Parrish, 17, just began her senior year at Wheatmore, where she has been in the top 10 percent of her class. She lives on the Randolph County side of Thomasville and works part-time at Colonial Grind, a coffee shop.
She has been involved in scouting for about 10 years.
