By Katie Doolittle
Strong, brave, compassionate, exceptional: these words epitomize Caytlin Johnston’s character. As one of her teachers at North Thurston High School described her, this young sophomore is “a natural leader and influencer of her peers,” someone who connects with others during their hard times and confronts life’s challenges with “poise and grace.”
Caytlin is currently leveraging these skills in pursuit of her Gold Award, the highest honor offered by the Girl Scouts of America. As such, she’s working with an adult mentor and several local organizations to eradicate unsafe driving from our community.
For Caytlin, the issue is personal. She chose this topic because her beloved older brother, William, died at age 18 after losing control of his car. Speed was a factor in the crash.
“My brother would be proud of me for trying to take my sadness and turn it into good,” Caytlin says. “The goal is to save lives and to prevent other people from feeling the pain that my family and I felt when we lost my brother. My life is forever changed. I lost my best friend. I have no other siblings.”
Caytlin describes Will as “the brother that most of my friends wanted.” Despite their eight-year gap in age, Will always included his little sister, even when his friends were around. “I hope I never forget some of the fun things that we did together,” says Caytlin.
“I remember piling pillows on top of us and hiding in a closet and calling for our yellow lab Summer to come find us. We also used to climb into boxes and pretend they were our car. I remember us making up songs and listening to music. And when I was sad, he would call me in his room and we would just hang out.”
To honor her brother, Caytlin helped organize a dedicated patrol on October 19, the five-year anniversary of Will’s death. Seven local law enforcement agencies participated, and both Caytlin and her mother went on separate ride-alongs that day. Says Caytlin, “My mom spoke to every person that they pulled over for speeding, telling them about the purpose of the dedicated patrol, and that she hoped that their family never got the news that she got.” Everyone involved with the patrol passed out Target Zero Task Force pamphlets featuring William Johnston’s story.
Target Zero Thurston Task Force manager Anne Larsen explains, “The goal of Target Zero statewide and in Thurston County is zero highway deaths or serious injury by 2030. Our Thurston County Target Zero Task Force conducts enforcements, education and engineering updates to work towards that goal.”
Larsen is Caytlin’s Gold Award mentor, working with her on project planning and implementation. In addition to the dedicated patrol, Caytlin will do safe driving presentations to fellow teenagers at various school and community functions.
Larsen will join her, as will Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock and Olympia Police Department Officer Kory Pearce. Larsen describes the whole team as “involved and very dedicated to Caytlin and her project.”
Larsen also shares that, during October’s dedicated patrol, Caytlin rode along with Officer Roland Weiss of the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office. “He sent me this quick note after the patrol ‘Caytlin helped us arrest a fleeing bad guy! It was great. She’s my hero.’ That pretty much sums up the law enforcement sentiment I’ve heard.”
Larsen adds, “Caytlin is so brave to take a tragedy that happened to her family and speak about it to her peers. Everyone that meets Caytlin is blown away by her dedication to honoring her brother and impacting the lives of young drivers.”
Joe Pallito, a staff member at North Thurston High School, concurs. Having lost his youngest daughter in a car crash, he shares a special bond with Caytlin and checks in with her whenever possible. “I just want her to know we are here for her,” he says. “She is a very brave young lady and does not shy away from what happened. Of course she has her moments, but she is going to make it! We are very proud of her.”
Caytlin’s mother, Carrol Johnston, has also been her daughter’s troop leader since the kindergarten Daisy days. Over the years, she’s had myriad opportunities to witness and appreciate Caytlin in action.
Carrol notes, “One of the things that I respect most about Caytlin is her friendliness and ability to reach out to those around her, especially those who are hurting. As a Girl Scout Lead, she is always embraced by the younger girls because of her enthusiasm, ability to have fun, and her kindness. I really appreciate these characteristics of Caytlin.”
“She has such a soft heart and she is someone that you want to spend time with,” adds Carrol. “I’ve been blessed to have two children who are loving and have a servant’s heart.”
A blessing, indeed. Many thanks to Caytlin for her inspired leadership and continued efforts to positively impact our community.
