Girl Scouts is a part of me

Hello friends. yes, I'm here - although very busy. What else is new ?

Last week it was all about Girl Scouts for our family. It's that time of year again where the year begins to come to a close and we get ready for next year.  So much is going on. . .especially when you are the co-leader of two very active troops and service unit manager for our area. (I think there are 25 troops in our unit).

First was Friday night, and the Girl Recognition ceremony. This is where every girl in our council who has earned either the Bronze Award, Silver Award or Gold Award is recognized for her acheivements. In addition, there are two scholarships given - the Arlene Johns Memorial Gold Award and The Holly Hammann Award (specific to our council).

I am so proud to say that 6 of the girls in our Junior Troop earned their Bronze Awards, with three girls each working on 2 separate projects. Three girls, including my daughter, organized and planned a 'Box of Blessings' at a local church for families in need of food for Thanksgiving. They planned out the meals they would receive, made centerpieces, organized and designed a recipe book, went grocery shopping for the food that wasn't donated (with the money donated), filled the boxes, and delivered a large portion of them. Our second group of girls created an interest badge, called 'Becoming a Princess'. They visited brownie troops and taught them how to set a table, how to make a party crown, and other aspects of being a princess. They then presented certificates to each participant and congratulated them for finishing the badge. Amy and I are so proud of them. We took them to dinner and then to the award ceremony where they were presented with the awards.

Then, my dear Girl Samantha was presented with the Holly Hammann award. She was very surprized to have won this (I already knew, as I had to make sure she was there) and I was very proud. The fun part about this award is as her parent, I could only suggest the nomination, and 3 other adults and 1 member of her troop had to write a letter of recommendation for her to be eligible. This award will provide her a week of camp at Camp and she has chosen 'Trail Riders'.  She has loved camp since she was a Brownie, and has earned 7 badges so far during the summer. Again, we are so proud of her and her committment to girl scouts and to her community.

Then on Saturday, it was the Annual Meeting / Adult Recognition Ceremony of our Council - Girl Scouts of Western Rivers. This was a very emotional annual meeting and adult recognition, as at the end of this year, we will merge with 3 other councils in our state and become one. Although there are many mixed feelings about the merge, the bottom line is that it is the best thing for the girls we serve. (personally, I am excited!)

At the recognition part of the day, I am humbled to announce that Amy and I won the award for 'Outstanding Leader of the Year' in our council. Amy and I nominated each other, with the agreement to the nominating committee that if we were being considered, it would have to be together, not just one of us. We've been doing this now for 6 years and in reality, we couldn't do what we do without each other. We have different gifts and we work so well together. Our little brownie troop of 3 that we started 6 years ago has grown to 10 and they will be bridging to Cadette next month. Many of these girls we've had since the first year as they learned about our troop and joined.  Then there is our Brownie troop of 5 girls that will be bridging into Juniors, so we have a total of 15 scouts right now.

 

When we were awarded our pins and certificates, it was fun to be able to go up as a team, and really, as sisters. She is an important part of my life and such a blessing - and the little sister I never had. (and I am the big sister she never had as an only child).

So that's what's been going on in our household these past two weeks. Next weekend we are taking the girls camping along with others from our Service Unit to earn the Forestry Badges our council created a couple of years ago. I hope that the weather will be nice, and not snow like it did last night !

Blessings,

Jill

Comments

[Stephanie T.]

WOW! I sent a million wishes to the universe for a troop leader like you! Natalie has been in scouts since kindergarten...and until this year the troop was busy (and close). One gal took over the troop...and completely dropped the ball. No cookies, no meetings for the last 2 months...the girls are heartbroken.
This is a much longer story...I'll spare all the details) YOU are amazing!! And those girls will carry this with them well into their adult years...Kudos!!!

[stephanie Thiel]

You've been tagged!!

[Shari]

Yeah Samantha and Yeah Jill. You two rock. I really, really wish Jessie was old enough for your troop! Congratulations to two "good souls".

[Pamela]

Bless you for being a Girl Scout leader. Girl Scouting is a wonderful program and I wish more girls had a chance to experience a great leader like you. I was a scout all the way thru high school, earned my Gold Award and everything. Go Girl Scouts!

[Amy]

We rock!

I love you,
~Amy