WINSLOW — Paige Spears, 14, has achieved Scout Canada’s Chief Scout Award. Chief Scout is the highest rank in the Scouting section of Scouts Canada, making it equivalent to Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts or Gold Award in Girl Scouts.

Paige lives in Winslow and holds dual American-Canadian citizenship through her mother. She is a member of the 1st Ketepec Scout Group of Grand Bay, New Brunswick. She has participated in the Scouts Canada program as a visiting Scout with Winslow Boy Scout Troop 433/Venture Crew 443, where her stepfather, Chris Bernier, serves as Scoutmaster. Paige completed the requirements for Chief Scout in June. For her conservation service project, she constructed several bat houses and installed them at Camp Bomazeen in Belgrade, according to a news release from Bernier.

Her stepfather and mother, Yvette Bernier, kept it a secret that Scouts Canada had approved her application for Chief Scout until Troop 433’s fall Court of Honor on Nov. 3. The following day, Paige traveled with them to New Brunswick, where they spent the night in St. John. The following day they traveled to Fredericton for the annual Chief Scout recognition ceremony. She was presented her Chief Scout certificate by the Honorable Jocelyne Roy-Vienneau, Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick in the Parlaiment Building. The Lieutenant-Governor serves as the personal representative of the Queen of England to the Province. After the ceremony, all the Chief Scout recipients were invited to the Lieutenant Governor’s mansion, Government House, for a reception with light refreshments.

“I couldn’t be more proud of Piage as she has worked extremely hard over the past four years to achieve this high honor of Chief Scout award. This is equal to the work needed for Eagle Scout in the BSA. Paige’s perseverance to complete her leadership project of the bat habitats was incredible,” Bernier said in the release.


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