girl scouts of the colonial coast
A guest blog by Khaila Blakney, marketing and communications intern for Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast
The Girl Scout
Leadership Experience doesn’t stop once you pass the Girl Scout Ambassador
level. The journey continues well into adult years and allows girls to continue
making an impact on their communities each day. Girl Scout alum often apply the
knowledge and skills they gained as young Girl Scouts to programs geared toward
building the new leaders of tomorrow.
Marsha Riibner-Cady is
one of those alum. She has fostered two after-school programs for Girl Scouts
to further their education outside of the classroom.
For Marsha, being a
Girl Scout was much deeper than wanting to gain the knowledge, skills and
experience that the organization allows. Joining the sisterhood was also a way
for Marsha to bond with her mother who was her Troop leader during her time as
a Girl Scout. After high school, she went off to college and earned her Bachelor
of Science degree in Biology. Marsha’s accomplishments did not end in college.
She later created her own laboratory equipment telemarketing business that she
ran for three years.
As the years passed,
Marsha’s love for Girl Scouts never went away. In 2006, she became a Membership
Specialist for her local council in North Carolina. Her hard work in the
position did not go unnoticed. She became the first recipient of the North
Carolina Governor’s medallion award for Director of Volunteers in 2012 for her
work with the Girl Scouts.
In 2016, Marsha put
aside her membership job and became the Director of the After-School Enrichment
Program for Dare County Schools where she now supervises 400 students at five
different elementary schools. Her new position has allowed her to give back to
the Girl Scouts in a new way. Marsha alongside Peggi Leonard have created two
Girl Scout after school care programs at Kill Devils Hills Elementary School
and Nags Head Elementary School. Marsha also enlisted the help of some community
partners, including Lora Gilreath, Girl Scout Brownie Troop Leader and
Community Policing Officer for Kill Devil Hills Police Department.
All of the participants
of her after-school programs are registered Girl Scouts. The program is
designed to give the girls a different view of what Girl Scouts is while
encouraging teamwork and personal responsibility. Marsha has worked with her
Brownies on their “It’s Your World, Change It” journey and a variety of petals
with the Daisies.
We are very thankful to have someone like
Marsha in our Girl Scout community and hope that her story inspires many others
to continue their Girl Scout journey for years to come.
