Rankin Inlet (May 12/04) - Carla Punshon of Rankin Inlet has been involved with the Girl Guides of Canada for most of her life.

The winner of the 2004 Nunavut government's Adult Volunteer of the Year Award has worked tirelessly with the Rankin Inlet Guides since moving to the community more than six years ago.

Punshon has been a Guider, area commissioner, trainer and district commissioner, and recently added international advisor for Nunavut and the NWT to her impressive Girl Guides resume.

The Girl Guides of Rankin Inlet won the 2003 Group Award.

"The personal award has given me more recognition in the community than the group award," says Punshon.

"But Girl Guides is a group effort and, to me, the Adult Award is still a group award."

Punshon, 31, says the Guides movement was going strong when she first arrived in Rankin, led at the time by people such as Heather Solomon and Linda Huisman.

She says the level of community awareness for the organization has risen substantially during the past few years.

"When I started in Rankin, the community perceived Girl Guides as all white and rich.

"We've changed that to show the real faces of who's involved in the organization here. We've also attracted Inuit leadership, which they hadn't had for quite some time when I first arrived."

Punshon grew up in the Girl Guides system. She spent 11 years as a youth member and another 14 (and counting) as an adult.

To her, Guiding has become more of a lifestyle than an extracurricular activity. "That's part of why I keep doing it, because it's always been there for me. But the number one reason I keep coming back is still the girls themselves.

"They're excited to see me there and they miss me when I go away on holidays.

"It's those feelings that really keep me going."

As for the future, Punshon says local Guiders will keep striving to offer their girls more exciting challenges and opportunities.

"When we're able to take the girls travelling or have them involved with activities they wouldn't normally get the chance to do -- that's quite exciting for us."