Saturday, July 8, 2017

My First Year as a Girl Scout Leader

By Emily Holmes, leader of Girl Scout Troop 723 in Moyock

My first year as a Girl Scout troop leader was a great success. I started out with seven girls in mid-October and eight more girls joined the troop by the time summer came around. All of them were first year Daisies, half in kindergarten and half in first grade. During our first year, 12 girls completed earned all of their Petals, and the remaining three are not far behind.


All of my girls participated in the Girl Scout Cookie Program. Together, they sold more than 2,500 boxes of cookies. About half of the girls sold more than 200 boxes and one sold more than 600 boxes! My girls also participated in parades, took part in Earth Day activities, went caroling and attended World Thinking Day, just to name a few of the wonderful things we did this year. We had an end of year party where we awarded the girls their Petals, rewards from the cookie program and fun patches. The girls earned a combined 130 fun patches this year!

Our entire troop renewed for next year, and we had three moms step up to become co-leaders. As a leader, I have become CPR/AED/First Aid certified, completed Outdoor I/II training, attended Girl Scout Program Basics I/II as well as many online trainings. We have had a great year and we have learned so much. I am already excited about next year— half of my girls will be bridging to Brownies in the fall and new adventures will begin.