Betty Hoover Receives Dorothy Barber Lifetime Achievement Award

GSCCC CEO Tracy Keller and Betty Hoover

At this year's Adult Awards Luncheon, which was held on February 7, Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast honored Virginia Beach resident Betty Hoover with the Dorothy Barber Lifetime Achievement Award. This award is given annually and honors a woman who has achieved success in her personal and professional life, contributed to her community and Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast and is a role model and mentor to other Girl Scouts.

Hoover joined Girl Scouts at the age of 10 in Portsmouth, Va. in the 1930s. She was the youngest of 17 children, and with five brothers between her and her older sister, Girl Scouts gave her the connection that she needed with girls her own age.

Hoover and her day camp unit in 1957

As an adult, Hoover served in several volunteer roles over the course of 16 years, including troop leader and day camp director. In 1958, her family moved to Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela and there was no Girl Scouting for her daughters. Betty set upon the task of starting Troop 1, and she became instrumental in recruiting and helping more than 3,000 girls become part of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in Venezuela. This wasn’t the only place that Hoover went to work to get Girl Scouts started for girls on foreign soil. When the family moved to Mexico, once again she organized troops where there were none.

Upon returning to the United States, Betty eventually became a professional staff member with the Lake to River Girl Scout Council in Ohio—first in volunteer services and later as the executive director. When Hoover retired, she kept active as an alumna and in recent years, has volunteered her time with the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast archive committee.

“Girl Scouting has been a tradition in my family for years and years,” Hoover said.

In fact, Hoover’s family now has four generations of Girl Scouts in it. Her daughter Barbara Tierney is currently a member of the board of directors for Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast.