Last Chance to Vote Etta for Mother Ginger!

We've said it before and we'll say it again - vote GSCTX CEO Etta Moore for the role of Mother Ginger in Ballet Austin's production of The Nutcracker! Voting ends tomorrow so spread the word to all of your friends via word of mouth and online. Having Etta star as Mother Ginger for the December 22 performance would be a great way to kick off the 100th year of Girl Scouts! Be sure to vote today and tomorrow.

Vote for Your Favorite Austinite

Vote ONCE A DAY, EVERY DAY through Nov 30 for your favorite community leader - the person with the most votes wins! The winner will be announced by email Dec 1.

The Community Leader Mother Ginger Contest

Ballet Austin's Mother Ginger Contest recognizes and celebrates an unsung hero of the community who is generous, respected, influential and adored in the community: a way to help honor a dedicated, giving Austinite for community service that goes above and beyond. Through an online nomination and selection process, we've narrowed the list to several finalists. Now it's YOUR turn to decide who is crowned Mother Ginger for the Dec 22 performance.
Prizes

•Starring role as Mother Ginger for the Dec 22, 7:30pm performance of The Nutcracker

•VIP treatment with their own 'celebrity' dressing room

•Box seats for friends and family to witness their debut

•Discounts for other guests to see the Dec 22 performance

•Ballet Austin Gift Basket filled with surprises

•Photo and video of the winner's performance

#GirlScouts100 - Let the Celebration Begin!

Central Texas Girl Scouts discuss the 52nd National Convention with Kandace Fierro, Public Relations Specialist for GSCTX. For more photos and full coverage of the convention, search #GirlScouts100 on Twitter!

Honor Local Women with Nomination

Give thanks this holiday season to extraordinary women in your community! GSCTX is now accepting nominations for Women of Distinction events in Austin, San Angelo, Brownwood and Killeen.

The coveted award honors women who have distinguished themselves as outstanding members of their community and who can serve as role models to all Girl Scouts, girls and adults alike.

"Women of Distinction events allow Girl Scouts to formally recognize women who illustrate the values of Girl Scouting: courage, confidence and character," says Etta Moore, CEO for the Girl Scouts of Central Texas. "Their accomplishments motivate volunteers to remain committed to our girls' futures and inspire girls to set and achieve ambitious goals. Together this is how we build strong communities."

Central Texans are strongly encouraged to nominate women leaders from their community as Women of Distinction. Past honorees have excelled in the areas of business, education, government, communications, health care, sports, volunteer services, multicultural activities and Girl Scouting.

Nomination forms can be completed online at www.gsctx.org. Forms are also available for download online and at our Girl Scouts of Central Texas offices. The nomination deadline for San Angelo and Brownwood is December 31, 2011. The nominate deadline for Austin and Killeen is January 11, 2012.

-Kandace Fierro

View photos from last year's events on our Flickr account!

Out and About - November

Take A Seat: Troop 4808 from Forest Trails Service Unit placed second in their division for their entry at the Round Rock Chalk Walk and Arts Festival last month. The contest encouraged eager participants to use their creative vision and decorate a chair. The uniquely decorated chairs were judged and then auctioned off with proceeds going to the Round Rock Area Art Council’s community programs. Great job, girls!

Sister Girl Scouts: Our friends from the San Jacinto Girl Scout council didn’t hesitate when they heard of the devastation the wildfires left on many in the Bastrop area. Troop 18998 collected and donated items including camping gear to the local troops. The girls also made t-shirts for girls affected by the fires to wear with slogans like ‘A Sister to Every Girl Scout’ and ‘I Love Girl Scouts’ on them. Thank you ladies! Your help means a lot. 

Interview with Oldest Living Central Texas Girl Scout

With the 100th Anniversary approaching, GSCTX set out to find Girl Scouts with more than 50 years of service to the organization. During our search, we found the oldest living Girl Scout in Temple, Texas. Mary Alice Marshall will turn 103 this December and while her interests have turned to other things like serving on the Texas Symphony Board, Mary Alice will always consider herself a Girl Scout.

Mary Alice was born and raised in East Texas. She started piano lessons at age five and from there, “music became [her] life.” After graduating with a degree in music, she joined Temple College as a music teacher. Her passion for music stayed with her throughout her career and when she decided to retire from teaching, she knew still wanted to incorporate it into her new endeavors.

When her daughter joined Girl Scouts in the 1970’s, so did Mary Alice. She served as a Song Leader at camps and volunteered with her daughter’s troop. Shortly after joining the girl leadership organization, Mary Alice was elected president of the Hillsboro Council. Along with a friend, Mary Alice heard of open land in the area and decided to go through the application process with the government to secure use of the land. Upon approval, the council named it Camp Kachina and it still serves local Girl Scouts to this day. Mary Alice “is very pleased to know [she] played a part in getting the camp” and it was one of the things she is more proud of doing during her time as president.

Mary Alice sees the strong leader her daughter has become and her success is due in part to what she learned as a Girl Scout. Of Girl Scouting, Mary Alice says that it “is a strong program to this day and programs for youth are now more important that ever.” It was an honor to meet with Mary Alice and hear all her stories – both Girl Scout and beyond. Take note from Mary Alice and join us in the year 100! We can’t wait to celebrate with you.

Visit GSCTX on YouTube.

Grown-up Girl Scout Camp!

Girl Scouts has always held a special place in my heart. I was a Girl Scout from kindergarten through my senior year of high school. My older sister currently helps run a troop which my niece belongs to and I couldn’t be more proud. For all these reasons and more, I listened up when my sister told me to enter one of the GSCTX Twitter contests. I entered the contest and with random luck, I won two tickets toS’more Soiree! I, of course, planned to take my sister and together we planned our weekend as we impatiently waited for the days to go by.

I hadn’t been to the location of the event, Camp Texlake, since my last year of high school. Driving there, I remembered the countless visits with my troop, the old Starcke Lodge, my favorite view and all of the fun I experienced when I went there.

Once my sister and I checked in, we went out to do some walking. It was so cool to be there with my sister! We were never in Girl Scouts at the same time, but I love that she and my niece can experience the same fun and great things about Girl Scouts that I did growing up. We walked by the ‘singing trees’ and I visited the old Starcke Lodge. Lots of great memories there!

As the day’s activities began, I ran into my old troop leader Sue. She was one of the two women who led my troop for all those years. We have many memories together and seeing her there really made my weekend. Aside from all the fun I had in Girl Scouts, I learned a lot and I credit my time there in helping me become the woman I am today. I feel this is an organization all girls should experience.

S’more Soiree was everything I could have imagined and more! My sister and I did horseback riding together and afterwards, I had a spa treatment. At the end of the day, I went on a hayride. I particularly like being able to go by places around the camp I’d been to as a kid, being able to see some new things and also see how Camp Texlake has changed over the years. If you ever go, make sure camp staff, Princess, does your tour! She truly embodies the great spirit of Girl Scouts and has great stories!

As the day came to an end, my sister and I headed back to the lodge for dinner and a concert with Sarah Hickman. The food was great, the S’more martinis were better, and Sarah Hickman was so much fun! It was so cool to see women of all ages gather to enjoy the evening and come together in the spirit of Girl Scouts. I would definitely go back to S’more Soiree. I will always consider Girl Scouts as some of the best times of my life. 


-Kristy Hilbig


For more photos of S'more Soiree, check out our Flickr account!