Forsyth County Girl Scouts 'Bridge' into Second Century

Earlier this month the Girl Scouts celebrated their 100th Anniversary.

Local Girl Scout troops from Forsyth County took part in an event in Savannah by joining thousands of Girl Scouts across Georgia cross the Eugene Talmadge Memorial Bridge. They did so to symbolically “bridge” to the second century of the Girl Scout organization.

Melissa Loggins, troop leader of Cumming Girl Scout Troop 13816, attended the event along with troop leader Robin Nelson, local scouts Allie and Caitlyn Nelson, and Ambassador Girl Scout Persephany Peterson.

Loggins wrote in an e-mail to Cumming Patch her thoughts on the Girls Scouts.

"There's a story that when the organization was started, someone asked Juliet Gordon Low (Founder of Girl Scouts of the USA) what a bunch of girls were going to do. She responded, 'Anything they want to.'

I have been a part of this organization for 24 years (non-consecutive). I walked in the parade for the 75th anniversary. The face of our organization changes and so do the people. But the mission is the same: to inspire the young women around the world to strive for more.

The 100th Anniversary marks the beginning of a new initiative: To Get Her There. It is designed to empower the young women of today to demand more. I heard over the weekend that 17 percent of top jobs (CEOs, presidents of corporations, engineers, scientists) are filled by women. But we are 50 percent of the population.

Our goal is to encourage more young women to pursue those goals. In World War II, Girl Scouts taught Morse code to army personnel. I don't see this as much different.

This is a milestone, it is a moment to remind us to look back and how far we have come and to remember to not sit on our laurels. Right now, we only see nine percent of the young girls in America in our organization. We can do better.
We are about more than cookies, camping, and crafts. We are about science and math. We are about self-esteem and we are about courage, confidence, and character.

As we move forward into the next century, we will be doing amazing things."