MADISON – To earn the Silver Award in Girl Scouts, Katie Crocker pursued a two-phase project to benefit her church.

When she graduates from high school, Katie wants to confirm that she left creative pieces of herself at First Baptist Church of Huntsville.

“Church has been a big part of my life, and I wanted to be one of the people who helped make a fun environment for the First Kids group in grades K-6 and the First Students section in grades 7-12,” Katie said.

Katie is a member of Troop 10708. Beth Crocker and Heather Mackrell are Troop Leaders. While Katie worked by herself on the project, her family was very helpful.

Katie chose a two-part project. First, she painted a large, empty wall in the sixth-graders’ Sunday School classroom. Secondly, she built a ‘carpetball table’ for the church’s student center.

“Our church uses mosaics in the signature design because of the ‘Eggbeater Jesus’ mosaic on the building’s front. I incorporated this design in both projects because I wanted to stay true to the theme that makes our church a Huntsville landmark,” Katie said.

Katie’s project required 50 hours: planning, 20 hours; shopping for supplies, 10 hours; and painting and building, 20 hours.

To complete the project, Katie needed lumber, power tools, painter’s tape, paint brushes and paint/stain. “We had generous donors. Haley’s donated the carpet for the table. Home Depot donated all the wood,” Katie said.

“I was able to use money from selling cookies, and the church offered to help as well. My grandfather, David Crocker, came to visit from Knoxville and helped me build the table. He’s a really good carpenter,” Katie said.

Viewing her completed project, Katie believes it “creates a happier, warmer environment that will hopefully help keep families at our church after they visit. I love carpetball very much and first played it at church camp.”

“Carpetball or gutterball is an easy way to participate without having to be social,” Katie said. “That’s great for kids just trying to fit in.”

Katie needed to complete the Silver Award requirements to proceed to the ultimate goal, the Gold Award.

An eighth-grader at Discovery Middle School, Katie participates in National Junior Honor Society. “I’ve received a handful of awards for various pieces of artwork I have created while at Discovery,” she said.

In addition to Girl Scouts, Katie takes voice lessons for singing and attends youth events at church. She has started her own business of painting people’s pets on Christmas ornaments.

Katie’s parents are Andy and Beth Crocker. Andy works as an engineer at Dynetics, and Beth is a stay-at-home mom.