Montauk Teen Lauded for Girl Scout Camp Work
Lucia Ibrahim of Montauk was presented with three different proclamations during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the cabin she practically willed into being at the Camp Norweska in the Northwest Woods.
The proclamations cited Ibrahim’s hard work and dedication as she engineered the rebuilding of a cabin to shelter Girl Scouts camping at the site. The cabin had collapsed several years ago.
The cabin, 20 feet by 30 feet in size, has no electricity and no running water. It’s not be used for sleeping, but rather provide shelter from storms when the Girl Scouts camp in on-site. It is wheelchair accessible.
The three proclamations she received were from East Hampton Town, presented by Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc, East Hampton Village, presented by Mayor Richard Lawler, and from the office of Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming, which was presented by Cheryl Rozzi, an aide to Fleming.
Rozzi’s presence was a fitting touch. Ibrahim, who is a rising senior at East Hampton High School, called Rozzi her mentor. It was Rozzi who taught Ibrahim the history of the cabin at the Girl Scout camp, inspiring her to want to rebuild it.
The project was the culmination of Ibrahim’s career as a Girl Scout, resulting in her winning the Girl Scouts’ highest honor, the Gold Award. To win a Gold Award, achieved by only 5.4 percent of Girl Scouts nationwide, a scout must complete a project involving at least 80 hours of work.
Ibrahim put in many more than the needed 80 hours. She raised the funds for the project, then worked with the Town of East Hampton, obtaining the permits needed during the process. She found various local contractors to do the work.
“I first met Lucia when she was working on her Silver Award,” which must be achieved first, Van Scoyoc told the dozens of people gathered for the occasion. “She came to the Town Board to present her proposal to the town for putting Mutt Mitt stations in downtown Montauk for people for properly clean up after their dogs,” he said.
“I was immediately struck by this young person’s community spirit.”
Van Scoyoc described Ibrahim’s presentation to the town board on rebuilding the cabin. “She proposed the replacement of this building which collapsed during a very significant snow fall,” he said. “It lay there for a while derelict here, in the woods She came along and proposed this idea which we thought was great right from the start.”
He thought she was going to need some help from the town. “This is not a small project,” he said. “We were there to help support her through. Frankly, we did not have to give that much support. We help her understand what steps need to be followed and point her in the right direction. It was through her perseverance and her personal contact with the community.”
The community support was overwhelming, the supervisor said.
“People saw this wonderful young lady who was trying to do something for her community and everybody pitched in and this is the result. Really incredible. I can’t be more proud of Lucia,” he said. “For somebody to have such a commitment to their community we really appreciate it so much.”
Ibrahim credited two people in Van Scoyoc’s office as being instrumental to the success of the project, Anne Bell and Joanne Pilgrim.
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