Local Girl Scout Recognized as Community Hero by City of Lake Forest
September 17, 2025
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Emily Lawrence
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elawrence@girlscoutsoc.org
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NEWS RELEASE
Local Girl Scout Honored with Lifesaving Award After Rescuing Fisherman; Recognized as Community Hero by City of Lake Forest
IRVINE, CA (September 17, 2025) – On a quiet April morning at Sand City Beach in Monterey, a day of fishing nearly turned tragic. Local fisherman Robert “Bob” McDonnell lost his footing in the surf and collapsed, unable to move his legs. “I tried getting up but my legs wouldn’t hold me,” Bob recalled. “I was flopping around in the surf line when a man came by and tried to help, followed closely by Alexsis Veal and her daughter, Tayva. Tayva and the man pulled me up and out of the surf while her mother called 911. Without them I would be paralyzed or dead.”
Tayva Veal, a Girl Scout Ambassador from Troop 2898 in Lake Forest—is now being celebrated with the Girl Scout Medal of Honor Lifesaving Award, one of the highest national honors in Girl Scouting, reserved for extraordinary acts of bravery.
16-year-old Tayva remembers the moment vividly. “The fisherman was lying face down in the surf, and anotherman was struggling to drag him out,” she explained. “My mom grabbed onto his arms, and I took off his heavybackpack. When my mom’s back gave out, she told me to take her place. I grabbed one of his arms and the back ofhis waders, and together with the other man we pulled him out of the surf zone. I just knew he wasn’t okay andthat we couldn’t stop until he was safe.”
Once on the sand, Tayva kept Bob upright, propping him against her as he fought to stay conscious. First responders soon arrived, and paramedics later determined that Bob had suffered a stroke. He was airlifted to Stanford Medical Center for surgery. “I’ll be forever grateful to the people who jumped into the surf to help me,” Bob said. “Tayva didn’t hesitate to do the right thing, and it saved my life. She is a credit to the Girl Scouts.”
Tayva’s bravery will be honored in multiple ways. Girl Scouts of Orange County
will formally present her Lifesaving Award at its Board of Directors meeting on September 25, 2025. In between, Tayva and her family will attend the council’s Cookie First Taste event on September 25, where donors and media will preview the 2026 Girl Scout Cookie season and hear about her inspiring rescue. The City of Lake Forest will recognize her as a Community Hero at its City Council meeting on October 7, 2025.
“Tayva’s quick thinking, strength, and courage are the embodiment of Girl Scouts’ mission to build girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place,” said Vikki Shepp Ed.D., CEO of Girl Scouts of Orange County. “She is a true hero—not just to the man she saved, but to our entire community.”
The Girl Scouts Lifesaving Award has been part of the organization’s tradition for more than a century. It is presented only when a Girl Scout’s presence of mind and skill save or attempt to save a life. For Tayva, it was never about recognition. “I just thought, ‘we have to help him,’” she said. “I didn’t really think about anything else.”
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About Girl Scouts of Orange County We are 25,000 strong – 15,000 girls and 10,000 volunteers and adult members who bring girls’ dreams to life and work together to build a better world. Through programs reaching girls in every zip code in Orange County, Girl Scouts of all backgrounds and abilities can be unapologetically themselves as they discover their strengths and rise to meet new challenges—whether they climb to the top of a tree or the top of their class, lace up their boots for a hike or advocate for climate justice, or make their first best friends. Backed by trusted adult volunteers, mentors, and thousands of alums, Girl Scouts lead the way as they find their voices and take action to affect the issues most important to them. To join, volunteer, or support Girl Scouts of Orange County, visit www.girlscoutsoc.org.
