By Karen Parr-Moody
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Local 17-year-old Sydney Sabash had never poured concrete or pushed an engineer’s measuring wheel to measure distance. She had never help put up a fence. But that all changed when she took on the job of building a new dog park at the St. Bethlehem Civitan Park at 650 Bellamy Lane.
A tall redhead, Sabash is a Girl Scout who has won many badges since she joined the organization as a Daisy during kindergarten. But in opening a dog park, she was after the ultimate award in Girl Scouting, the Girl Scout Gold Award, which debuted in 1916.
The dog park will be geared toward smaller breeds, with a weight limit of 25 pounds, and will be a nice spot where dogs can run and play without having to be tethered to a leash.
The dog park’s grand opening will take place at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 31 at the St. Bethlehem Civitan Park on 650 Bellamy Lane. It. During the
event, Sabash will distribute educational pamphlets about the park and local dog companies will operate booths. There will also be free treats and a drawing for a grand prize.
On a recent evening, after attending school at Pope John Paul II High School in Hendersonville, Sabash curled up on the sofa with her dog, Scout. The miniature Australian shepherd wiggled around excitedly as the teenager explained her choice of a dog park for her Gold Award project.
“I knew I wanted to do something with animals,” she said while petting Scout. “I have loved being around animals since I was a kid. It took a lot of thinking, but eventually a dog park came to mind.”
To win the Gold Award, a Girl Scout must complete a variety of tasks, from choosing a community issue, to building a team to ensuring that the project “achieves sustainable and measurable impact,” according to the “Go Gold” guidelines.
In recent years the Girl Scouts organization has come of age, underscoring the importance of decision-making and planning roles for its teenaged members. Sabash’s project required a lot of planning and required approvals from the Girl Scout Council in Nashville and from the Montgomery County mayor. And there were changes along the way.
“We changed the location two times before we actually settled on one,” she said.
While she was alive, Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Low personally presented every Gold Award./Contributed
To raise funds, Sabash organized a rummage sale and a bake sale – which reaped $750 – and asked for corporate donations.
“There was a lot of help behind this,” she said, noting that the dog park’s fence was the most expensive item.
Sabash learned a lot through her enterprise. She even poured concrete while the concrete pad was being built and put together the doggie bag dispenser. From start to finish, the project took two years to complete.
“I’m excited that it’s finally getting finished,” she said.
Her work has gained attention.
“We are so pleased that Sydney took on this project for Civitan Park,” said Elizabeth Black, communications director for Montgomery County Government. “It is the first of its kind located in a county park and we appreciate Sydney for thinking of the county for this project. We know if will be enjoyed for years to come by the dogs and dog owners of Montgomery County.”
For more information about the Girl Scouts or about the dog park, contact Bethany Kelly, the regional executive for Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee, at bkelly@gsmidtn.org or 931-648-1060.