When she is selling you Girl Scout Cookies, she is learning valuable life skills like goal setting, decision making, money management and people skills. The Girl Scout experience also gives her opportunities to conquer the outdoors, become immersed in STEAM discovery, and tackle the problems of our world in service to others. By supporting her now, you are supporting a future generation of leaders.
Celebrating Girl Scouts’ Cookie CEOs
Life skills, values learned help launch women business leaders
It’s Girl Scout cookie season, and for many Americans, that means rushing to buy boxes of delicious treats. But for the Girl Scouts themselves, it means so much more than helping to satisfy an annual craving.
During cookie season, as Girl Scouts are planning, selling, taking orders, distributing and delivering, they’re also gaining fundamental knowledge in economics, entrepreneurship, salesmanship, the value of hard work and more.
Whether it’s the annual cookie drive or one of the other many community activities in which they are involved, these Girl Scout “Cookie CEOs” are learning the value of goal setting, decision-making, money management and business ethics. All these are a part of what makes the Girl Scout experience so unique and particularly important in setting girls up for lifelong achievement.
Girl Scouts USA founder Juliette Gordon Low once said, “The work of today is the history of tomorrow, and we are its makers.”
Lifelong learning and achievement are the foundation of the organization, and many successful business leaders — CEOs, executives, entrepreneurs — got their start as Girl Scouts.
On the pages that follow, we’ll meet five Arkansas executives who represent Today’s Cookie CEOs. These women serve as strong examples to young girls of the role Girl Scouts and its many programs can have in their future successes.
Andrea Albright, Senior Vice President/Merchandising, WalMart
Andrea’s Favorite Cookie: Do Si Dos
What lessons from your Girl Scout days do you incorporate as a woman leader today?
Confidence and grit. Everyone has an opinion on you and your abilities. Biases are rampant. But believing in yourself and your abilities and never giving up is key to being successful. This was something that I learned in Girl Scouts.
In what specific ways does participation in Girl Scouts foster and develop leadership traits?
I think it teaches a lot of valuable leadership lessons. The badge activities and cookie selling all have lessons that relate to teamwork, commitment, responsibility, tenacity and hard work. These skill sets are critical for success in the corporate environment and in life in general.
What is your favorite memory as a Girl Scout?
Selling cookies. Building my own business, learning how to market it, promote it, sell it and then see the results on the other side…That was incredible.
Sandy Edwards, Senior Director, Crystal Bridges
Sandy’s Favorite Cookie: Thin Mints
What lessons from your Girl Scout days do you incorporate as a woman leader today?
Be prepared. The importance and value of those two words have shaped my encounter with life. The successful act of preparation involves a thoughtful and satisfying approach to gaining knowledge and understanding. Being prepared instills confidence, clarity, independent thought and resilience.
In what specific ways does participation in Girl Scouts foster and develop leadership traits?
The organizational framework is brilliant. Under the thoughtful guidance of the troop leader, effective approaches to collaboration, communication and problem solving are modeled, experienced and adapted. Achievement is recognized and celebrated. Within the security of the troop, a girl is encouraged to pursue personal interests with the aim of doing her best to master relevant and useful subjects. Encouragement to “do one’s best” is a subjective measure that fosters non-competitive, meaningful relationships with other girls when working on shared goals.
In that light, Girl Scouting develops leaders who respect, nurture and maximize individual effort to successfully accomplish a larger common goal.
What is your favorite memory as a Girl Scout?
Deep woods camping in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. For this Girl Scout, there is no richer memory. Discovering a remote site, preparing a hearty meal and then settling around a roaring fire to stories and songs…. Drop mic.
Natalie Ghidotti, CEO, Ghidotti Communications
Natalie’s Favorite Cookie: Samoas
What lessons from your Girl Scout days do you incorporate as a woman leader today?
I think the biggest takeaway from my days as a Girl Scout is the foundation of independence my leaders taught me. As a Girl Scout, we were taught confidence and courage to be anything we wanted to be. We also were taught the importance of teamwork and depending on other girls in our life — and those are things I use today as a leader at work and in my personal life. Girl Scouts taught me that BOTH individuality and teamwork are crucial in success. It’s important to have confidence in yourself to get the job done, but you also need to be willing to come together as a group to accomplish big things.
In what specific ways does participation in Girl Scouts foster and develop leadership traits?
As a troop leader of sixth grade girls (since they were in kindergarten), I believe the best aspects of Girl Scouts are reminding girls on a daily basis that they can do whatever they set out to accomplish. This program is vital in teaching girls from a young age that they have the tools to create change in our world. And the key is to help them understand how to work together (with all types of people) to create the needed change. This is what leaders must do, and the Girl Scouts ensure their girls know this from an early age.
What is your favorite memory as a Girl Scout?
Two favorite memories — the first being camp! I just loved piling in a tent with my friends and playing flashlight games and scaring each other with stories of spiders and bears! The camp songs around the fire and making s’mores — I still love doing that! My other favorite memory is a sleepover party where we put on a talent show, and my group choreographed a dance to the 1988 hit “Jungle Boogie.” LOL! See, Girl Scouts serves in so many ways!
Tanarah Haynie, Founder & Chief Creative Director, Tanarah Luxe Floral
Tanarah’s Favorite Cookie: Tagalongs
In what specific ways does participation in Girl Scouts foster and develop leadership traits?
I have always believed that leadership can be developed. I work on those traits still today. I think Girl Scouting gave me some of my earliest goals and showed me how to obtain them. I loved being a part of it and working to fill up my sash with as many badges as I could!
How can participation in Girl Scouts help set the stage for lifetime achievements?
I think life can be so difficult at times. Participation in the Girl Scouts can set the stage by building confidence. Confidence is the key component that gives you any chance to achieve your goals.
What is one thing you would tell your younger Girl Scout self?
To keep going and make the most of the time I had as a Girl Scout! I stopped way too early in my involvement with the Girl Scouts. Girl Scouting was not as prevalent to the new community I moved to with my family, so there was not an opportunity for me to continue something I loved being a part of so much.
Kara Wilkins, CEO, K. Wilkins Consulting Group
Kara’s Favorite Cookie: Trefoils
What lessons from your Girl Scout days do you incorporate as a woman leader today?
As a lifelong member from Brownie to Senior and a former troop leader, there are countless lessons that I incorporate from my time as a Girl Scout. Selling cookies was my first venture into entrepreneurship and taught me invaluable skills, such as how to execute a business strategy, how to communicate effectively, along with money and time management skills. This set the foundation for me to become the successful owner of K. Wilkins Consulting Group and co-host of “Blackbelt Voices” podcast, which has been nationally featured in O Magazine, Vanity Fair and Apple podcasts.
In what specific ways does participation in Girl Scouts foster and develop leadership traits?
Girl Scouts was the first place where I felt empowered to become a leader in my community. Whether through selling cookies, earning badges or working alongside fellow troop members to accomplish a goal, Girl Scouts allowed me the opportunity to know that I can achieve anything through hard work and perseverance.
How can participation in Girl Scouts help set the stage for lifetime achievements?
Participation in Girl Scouts can lead to a wealth of opportunity for young women. Awards such as the Girl Scout Gold Award are an excellent way to boost your college application, and there are scholarship opportunities available for young women through Girl Scouts as well.
Join the world of Girl Scouts to help her achieve her next big role.
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