By Gerri Miller
Staff Writer
A Millbrook teenager is the first person in her troop and in the tri-county area to win the highest award possible in the American Heritage Girls organization.
Abigail Fields, 17, earned her Stars and Stripes Award by spearheading a project to landscape an area in front of the Millbrook Economic Development Center/Millbrook Chamber of Commerce building around the flagpole. This is the building where City Hall used to be.
Abbie had the help of many community volunteers. Her Troop ALO125 and Trail Life boys from the same troop did the majority of the work. She said another group from Frazier United Methodist Church assisted with the project. She is from a family of six siblings and some of the younger children helped her as well.
The group landscaped the area around the flagpole with drought-resistant plants and paving stones, enhancing the entrance to Millbrook’s downtown area and directing focus toward the American flag.
Abbie said the project took five months to complete from start to finish. The community project was spearheaded by Abbie in order to earn her Stars and Stripes Award. The Stars and Stripes Award is earned after years of completing various badges and service projects and takes months of planning, fundraising, and coordination. Abbie is the first young woman to attempt this award in the history of troop AL0125.
Abbie is from a military family and moved to Millbrook from Alaska where she lived for two years. She is homeschooled and will graduate in 2022. She said she has also lived in New Mexico, West Virginia and Rhode Island. In a few months she said her family will be moving to Key West.
She has been a part of the American Heritage Girls for seven years.
Abbie said completing the project “gave me the confidence that I could push more than I thought.” She said she wants to find more community service projects because she likes helping other people.
She will present her project to the Millbrook City Council on April 13th.
The American Heritage Girls and Trail Life troops are chartered by Millbrook Presbyterian Church and meet on Tuesday evenings. The mission of American Heritage Girls (AHG) is to build women of integrity through service to God, family, community, and country.
If you have any questions about either group, please call the church office (334-285-4031)
