My Leader is Special Because...

Girl Scout leaders are the unsung heroes of the Girl Scout movement!  They work tirelessly to make sure our girls are learning, growing and, most of all, having fun as a Girl Scout!  Each year around the nation we celebrate these amazing women (and men) on April 22, the official Girl Scout Leader Appreciation day.  This year we polled girls to find out what they think is special about their leader.  Below you will find some of their answers.  As you can see their reasons are can be silly, fun, and heartwarming.  The common thread is that the girls recognize that the leader is the person that makes the experience one that they will remember!  Thank you, troop leaders for all you do! 

My Leader is special because…

(About a college student that is their leader)

…She has endless patience. – GS Junior

…She has good style! – GS Junior

…She is really really beautiful! – GS Junior

…She is funny and cool! – GS Brownie

…She works very hard to help all of us! – GS Junior

…She can take care of us. – GS Junior

…She is awesome and fun. – GS Brownie

(About a Troop leader/Cookie mom)

…She works very hard and lets us do stuff at her house – GS Junior

…She can be very serious and fun! – GS Junior

…She knows how to get stuff done! – GS Cadette

…She is the best cookie mom ever – GS Junior

…She is funny and fun to hang around with and the BEST cookie mom ever! – GS Junior

…She is fun, funny and the BEST cookie mom ever because she is sooo encouraging and teaches us new things! – GS Cadette

(About a Troop leader/Treasurer)

…She is great and nice and funny.   – GS Brownie

…She makes really great animal impressions – GS Junior

…She has a funny personality and is also AWESOME! – GS Junior

…She is sooo kind! – GS Brownie

…She is really kind and sweet! – GS Junior

…She keeps track of our troop money and helps us know how to use it like budgets and plans and stuff. – GS Cadette

(About a Troop leader/Mentor)

…She is the one that keeps things going and teaches us so many wonderful things. I think we appreciate her more than she knows.  GS Cadette

…She puts in a lot of work, goes out of her way to help us and makes things fun and interesting.  - GS Junior 

…She is smart, kind and funny. - GS Junior

…Today is her birthday and she is here, she goes on every trip, and she is appreciated. - GS Junior

…She chose to be our troop leader and it takes a special person to lead a troop of girls. - GS Junior

…GS Junior says, "My leader is a great leader because she is fun and humble and knows a lot about Girl Scouts." Mom says: I think by modest she means more like humble because [the leader] was saying last night, "Don't write stuff about me on the board, just [about the other leaders]." 

Please take a minute today and often throughout the year to tell your Troop Leader why she is special to you.  It will make all the difference to her!! 

Volunteer Spotlight: Roxanne Flores "By empowering [girls], I empowered myself"

Roxanne Flores - Killeen Sister Cities Service Unit

I was a girl scout from first grade to sixth grade. I actually earned my Bronze award and loved the process. My family moved from Germany to Louisiana which put an end of my Girl Scouting years. There was not an active Service Unit in my small town in Louisiana, so my Girl Scouting came to an end at that point. I picked it back up when my daughter was in the first grade. I was not a leader then, just a parent volunteer and I loved it. My daughter's troop disbanded during that year and my daughter was placed on the waiting list. I was told the list was over a year long and the only way my daughter would get in a troop immediately would be for me to become a Troop Leader. I honestly was scared at the time because I didn't think I could fit it in my schedule. Thankfully, I was wrong and this was the beginning of a new chapter in my life.

 As a troop leader my goal was for the girls to try new things and make new friends. The first rule we set for our troop was that our girls be from different schools. We wanted them to make new friends and step out of their comfort zone. In hindsight, I am happy I made this rule; I think of the friendships that I now have because of Girl Scouts. Melissa and Tobi are some of my closest friends and we would have never known each other if not for Girl Scouting.

Girl Scouts has affected my life completely—personally and professionally. On a professional level, I work as Volunteer Services Youth Coordinator. I was able to use my experience as a Troop leader when I applied for this job. I had the administrative experience but being a Girl Scout leader prepared me for events as well as working with volunteers. During my time with the service team, I was an event coordinator and that taught me event planning. Now I plan many events over a year. When I first started my job I relied heavily on the experience and trainings I had with the Service Unit.

On a personal level, my life has changed drastically since I became a Troop Leader. The first part was leaving an abusive marriage. It is funny to me that I was so wrapped up in the situation, that I did not see how bad it was till I started stepping away and educating myself through activities built the girls’ self-esteem. By empowering them, I empowered myself. I asked myself one time , " How can I be a great role model and show them a strong woman when I am in this bad situation?" I left the marriage and have never looked back. I completed my education and received my degree.   To this day, the girls don't know how much they helped me! I am in awe when we go somewhere and the girls immediately pick up or clean an area because they learned a Girl Scout always leaves a place better than it was before. I see the confidence these girls have when they speak in public and how they try different things because change is good. I see the girls following the Girl Scout law on a daily basis. Girl Scouting is not an activity they do once a week but instead a standard of how the live their lives.

I am the mother of three children; Devon is 18 years old, Olivia is 13 years old, and Shiloh is 1. My son has had cancer twice in his lifetime and I admire his zest for life. I never hear him complain and whenever I feel like complaining, I think of everything he has faced or is facing on a daily basis. I am engaged to be married this month and look forward to the day. I received my Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Texas Women's University. I am actively involved with the Special Olympics as a volunteer and am also a proud parent of an athlete. I am a board member of Killeen Sister Cities Osan Korea, Killeen Chamber of Commerce Public Education Committee, and Friends of the Killeen Library, Keep Killeen Beautiful, and Relay for Life. I have been a Girl Scout Troop Leader for 7 years, and this is my fifth year on the Service Team. I have held several positions with the service team: Event Coordinator, Area Delegate, Secretary, FOGS Chairperson, and Media Communications Chair. I work full time with the City of Killeen and I will hit the twenty year mark in October. I enjoy my job tremendously and love coming to work and love the spirit of Team Killeen.

"Girl Scouting is a Part of Me" by Lisa Deweese

Throughout the month of November, we've been urging everyone who volunteers with GSCTX to Invite a Friend and get them involved with Girl Scouts. There are so many reasons and  girls waiting to embark on the adventure of a lifetime, but they need YOU to guide them. Here is the story of Lisa Deweese, who has seen the benefits of Girl Scouting and volunteering many times over. 

Read about how it has influenced her life positively.Then Invite a Friend to start a troop and embark on the most exciting ride of your lives together!

"Girl Scouting is a part of me.  I have been involved for 45+ years, including 11 as a girl.  My blood may be a bit green.  

Girl Scouting has given me opportunities I probably would have never been offered. It allowed me to take on leadership roles that stretched my comfort zones, both as a girl, as a leader, and also a trainer.  The confidence I developed in Girl Scouting carried over into my professional life, allowing me to tackle bigger projects and positions.

Volunteering as an adult allowed me to make many contacts in the community which I normally would not have made.  It allowed me to get involved in the various communities I lived in as I moved throughout my career.   I started out to "help pay back" the time given to me by the leaders I had growing up.  Once I got involved as an adult, it kept me excited about the future.  Since I didn't have children, it allowed a path for me to still be involved with girls and their schools as well.

Early in my career, volunteering with Girl Scouts was considered good community involvement.  It probably played a role in promotions throughout my career, and put me in position to assume other roles, such as being the local Campaign Coordinator for my agencies involvement in the United Way  and service with the Ladies Auxiliary of the VFW.  I always said that Girl Scouting showed me how to be "flexible and adaptable" and that there was always more than one way to complete a project or tackle a challenge." 

- Lisa Deweese

Central Bell Service Unit

Backpack Buddies is Gearing Up for Annual Drive

This happens to all troop leaders at some point: you're without a service project and you're fresh out of idea. Jen Neve was trying to find a service project for her then Girl Scouts to do during the holiday season. She had the idea to contact a foster care program for children to see if there was anything her girls could do for the children. The program told her the children often arrive with their few belongings in a trash bag and nothing more. They only asked for donations of backpacks.Jen was so overcome by their need she started to organize other troops to participate in the donation. Jen did not know at the time, but she was creating something much bigger than a one time service project: Backpack Buddies.

12 years later Backpack Buddies has continued to grow and is now serving homeless children and families in the Austin and Round Rock area. Jen gets names, ages and gender of the children from the Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) in order to guarantee every child gets a new backpack. Jen asks that individuals/troops fill backpacks with age appropriate goodies for the children and that they do not spend more than $50 on the backpack.

Toward the end of October  Jen will start to match up the troops with the children and will send out the child’s “About Me” information. The backpacks will need to be returned to her before December 8 so you have a whole month to get cracking! If you are interested in participating or want more information on how you can help contact Jen Neve at Jen_Neve@sbcglobal.net .

Girl Scouts Brave Stormy Weather for "Outing for Scouting" Recruitmen

Rain or shine, Girl Scouts are there! This past Sunday Girl Scouts of Central Texas (GSCTX) held the “Outing for Scouting” event at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Bishop Vásquez was in attendance and highlighted the importance of how Girl Scout can benefit the girls and their families now and in the long run

After the service the girls from the troop church braved  the weather and demonstrated just what Girl Scouts can do. The variety of booths ranged from how to play the harp to swaps and finally to camping. Each booth showed that Girl Scouts are about more than cookies.

The “Outing for Scouting” badge was earned by going around to each booth and getting the latest information on scouting.Current Girl Scouts  got to add it to your collection and girls who weren't in Girl Scouts got to start their own. The main goal the event was to encourage girls to join Girl Scouts and to increase the number of adult volunteers and staff at the Sacred Heart Church by interacting directly with the girls and the Church congregation members

Emily Magnotta, the event coordinator, was extremely happy with the  and she know  people left knowing that Girl Scouts welcome diverse interests and backgrounds and can play a key role in the lives of girls and women alike.

GSCTX would like to give a huge thanks to all of our volunteers and collaborators who made “Outing for Scouting”  a big success!

Joining Girl Scouts of Central Texas "has been a better experience than I could have imagined."

"Three years ago my daughter Amy came home from school asking if she could join Girl Scouts of Central Texas. Having never been a Girl Scout myself, I wasn't sure what to expect from the troop or what would be expected of her.

Three years later, I can tell you that I'm thrilled she joined Girl Scouts--it's been a better experience than I could have imagined.

Her leaders, Ms. Stefanie and Ms. Katherine, encourage and TEACH many of the traits that I want for Amy: to make smart, thought-out decisions, be physically active, leadership,environmental responsibility, and kindness/ respectfulness toward others.

Not only is she learning to be a strong, smart young lady, but she's having fun experiences along the way. Horseback riding, hiking, camping,dancing, sleepovers, and sports have all been incorporated into her troop's meetings.

Girl Scouts of Central Texas and Girl Scout Troop 1976 ROCK!"

-Toni D., Austin, TX

Sign your daughter up today  for Girl Scouts and help her experience all the fun and excitement that comes with being part of a troop!

Volunteer now and change the lives of dozens of Central Texas girls right in your community-- you CAN make a difference!

We can't wait to see the great things you'll do!