Recently in Thankful Thursdays Category

This Valentine's Day, Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama would like to thank all of our volunteers.  As you wrestle cases of cookies, stand at booth sales and ask yourself, why am I doing this?    We cannot even begin to describe the difference you are making in our council and your community. Your hard work and diligence is paid off by building girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place. As you spend your time making a difference in the lives of others, you are investing in our future. On this Valentine's day, please know we are thankful for everything you do, and WE LOVE OUR VOLUNTEERS!

I had the opportunity to attend an end-of-the-year tea last weekend, my first tea since I was in a sorority in college.   It was a beautiful day, and the girls were stunning in their matching dresses, hair bands and hats.   The tables were set with wedding china and silver tea service. One of the leaders gave us a great talk on tea parties, their history and some points on etiquette, which was a lot of fun.   We proceeded to have a delightful afternoon together.

Having worked 30 years in higher education, graduation time always brought some melancholy.   Some of those students would march across the stage out of my life.   There would be some who would stay in touch and others I would never see again, even though I might have interacted with them daily for four years.

This celebration had that same feeling.   This service unit had five girls who were graduating from high school and going on to college and their journey in life.   All the girls from this service unit signed their graduation cards, illustrating the circle of friends created by Girl Scouts.    One of the leaders spent about a week making pearl bracelets for each girl attending the afternoon tea.    As they were given the pearl bracelets, which were a big hit, they were told the story of Juliette Low and her pearls.    Each part of the event reminded me how every leader that spoke that day was an educator.    Each one took the time, like Juliette to sacrifice something so these girls can have some life-changing experiences.

Thank you for all you do for the girls of our council!

Liz Brent, Ph.D.

CEO

Liz Brent, our CEO, would like to give thanks to the Brownies and Junior of Jackie Culberson's troop and Diane Griffin's Brownie troop, who created holiday cards for the GSSA board members. 

The board members were delighted and said the cards were creative and beautiful!  Thanks, girls!

It has been a beautiful fall, wonderful bright days with the leaves turning magnificent shades of red, oranges and brown.   Being outside in nature always reminds us of the changing seasons and with fall comes Thanksgiving, a time to be grateful.

I have had the opportunity to experience a number of excellent events for girls this fall, events which are educational and build girls of courage, confidence and character.   I have also heard about many other events which I didn't have the opportunity to attend, where girls learned about cars, science, and the outdoors, to name just a few.

 What I am always struck with at these events is the generosity of those parents who take the time from their harried lives to invest in the future.  I worked at two large council events and saw many of the same parents spend most of their Saturday with their daughters or troop to assure those girls have wonderful childhood experiences.  Thanks to those of you who share your gifts with the girls who will be our future.    Thank you for being the type of person who recognizes that wise investments now will reap tremendous rewards later.  Thank you for having the patience to take your daughter to many places, participate, wait, listen and assist in giving them memories many of them will never forget.   And thank you for your generosity of spirit, to do this for the often unarticulated thanks for giving of yourself to others.

 I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.   Thank you so much.

Gratefully,

Elizabeth M. Brent, PhD.
 CEO

Service Unit 7 wants to thank Teri Eversole for volunteering her time to supervise horses for us at camporee. We couldn't have done it without her!  The council would like to thank Tracey Nichols, Liz Carnahan, Wendy Kidd, Shirley Willis and Mary Staton for volunteering their time at Autumn Adventures at Kamp Kiwanis.

Once a month on "Thankful Thursday" we invite you to join us in highlighting the work of special individuals who make a difference in Girl Scouting.

We'd like to thank Troop 9349 from Enterprise, Alabama, who spent months making quilts to present to Ft. Ruckers soldiers who have served overseas as part of their Bronze/Silver Award Projects.  Working with a local quilt shop, they learned sewing and quilting skills, had lots of fun, and took pride in creating a project from planning to completion.  They were part of a special ceremony to present quilts to the soldiers -- one of whom was the father of one of the quilting Girl Scouts!

They were even featured on local television.  Here is the link to the broadcast.  Check it out!

Once a month on "Thankful Thursday" we invite you to join us in highlighting the work of special individuals who make a difference in Girl Scouting.

This week Kim Kersey, service unit manager and troop leader in Troy, would like to thank the parents of Troops 9105 and 9163 for their wonderful support over the past year!

Each week on "Thankful Thursday" we invite you to join us in highlighting the work of special individuals who make a difference in Girl Scouting.

This week Junior Girl Scout Aliyah, from Troop 9041, would like to thank all of the parents in her troop who help with activities. 

This week we would like to thank Alison Simonton for spending over a week looking at two different software packages that we would use with volunteers.  We appreciate your time and great advice. 

Each week on "Thankful Thursday" we invite you to join us in highlighting the work of these individuals.