As Girl Scouts begin to celebrate 100 years since Juliette Gordon Low founded the organization, they are also celebrating the roll-out of an all-new collection for girls of all ages.
Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) has developed and updated badges aimed at giving girls the skills they need to succeed.
Girls can still earn popular long-time badges such as Cook, Naturalist, and Athlete − topics as relevant today as they were in 1912 − but now they also have badges such as Product Designer, Digital Movie Maker, Customer Loyalty, and even the Science of Happiness. And new “Make Your Own” badges at every level give girls the opportunity to explore any interest they choose.
“Girls told us they want more challenge, and we’ve responded with substantive, focused, fun new badge offerings that will prepare girls for lifelong success,” said Kathy Cloninger, Chief Executive Officer, Girl Scouts of the USA. “What we need today are more adult volunteers to help girls bring these leadership experiences to life.”
Badges now come in categories:
- Legacy
- Financial Literacy
- Cookie Business
- Skill-Building
- Make Your Own.
There are also awards such as a new pin called My Promise, My Faith, which helps a girl celebrate what her faith and the Girl Scout Law have in common.
The new badge portfolio, called The Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting, also complements GSUSA’s National Leadership Journeys, which help girls explore how to be leaders in their own lives and in the world around them as they take on projects to prevent bullying, protect the environment, and more.
The Girl Scout organization has transformed itself in recent years to focus on leadership development for girls in the 21st century, and the new badge offerings reflect that transformation.
“The Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting builds the critical thinking, creativity, and entrepreneurship that the next generation of leaders will need to make the world a better place,” said Cloninger.
The Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting has found immediate, widespread acceptance in the Girl Scouting community. The initial press run of 850,000 copies has all but sold out.
Local Response
Girl Scouts of the Missouri Heartland is the local Girl Scout council for the southeast Missouri area, serving a total membership of approximately 16,000 girls in grades K-12. The council was created from the merger of five legacy councils, including the Cotton Boll Council which served girls in seven Southeast Missouri counties.
The new council includes a geographic area that goes from the Mississippi River to include a handful of counties in Kansas and Oklahoma, and from the Missouri-Arkansas line noth to Columbia, Jefferson City, and Moberly.
Pre-orders for The Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting resulted in a near sell-out of the first shipment of books received to local Girl Scout shops.
“We are very excited to see such a positive response about these books,” said Jennifer M. Orban, CEO of Girl Scouts of the Missouri Heartland, “Volunteers have told us that The Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting is better than they could have imagined, and girls have declared them ‘cool and fun’.”
By Annabeth Miller, SMT Editor
The Belarus National Christian Choir presented an exhilarating evening of music that was part concert, part worship experience at First Baptist Church in Dexter.
The evening proved the point that music is a universal language and be savored, cherished, and appreciated whether sung in English or Russian. The concert program included Belarusian, Russian and English selections; many Belarusian favorites, others that are favorites in churches in America. The choir’s rich, full sound filled the FBC Worship Center with majestic, moving music.
The choir of 17 women and 14 men were accompanied during the evening by a wonderful string ensemble and three exceptional pianists, all of whom also sang in the choir. An ensemble from the choir also performed on traditional Russian instruments, including accordian, guitar, and balalaika.
Viktor Krutsko, President of the Evangelical Union of Belarus, was spokesman for the group and introduced the music selections and the choir.
From the very first selection of the evening, you heard the powerful, rich harmonies of the choir and traditional Russian music.The lavish harmonies blended with splendid melodies for an evening of incredible music, whispered prayers and moving worship.
Much of the evening’s repertoire was in Russian or Belarusian, which only proved that music is an international form of expression and can be enjoyed and appreciated in any language. It was interesting to note one word sounded the name – whether in Belarusian, Russian or English. The word is “alleluia.”
During the evening the audience was also treated to selections from the talented string ensemble, a wonderful trumpet soloist who performed a moving medley of Maltbie Babcock’’s traditional hymn “This Is My Father’s World” and the spiritual “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands.”
In addition, a trio of ladies performed traditional Belarusian folk tunes – what Krutsko called “Belarus Bible – Believing Bluegrass.” An ensemble of men on traditional Belarusian instruments accompanied the trio.
An ensemble of the men also came forth and performed a traditional American hymn – “Leaning On The Everlasting Arms” – by blowing across bottles. The number was popular with the audience, and the sound they were able to create from simple bottles filled with different levels of water was incredible.
The First Baptist Church choir joined the Belarusian guests for two selections, sung in Russian. FBC Music Minister Rich Lee, who has traveled to Belarus three times and accompanied Belarus choir on its tour, taught the church choir the selections earlier this fall. Lee directed the combined choir for the two selections.
“Please pray for your choir,” Krutsko said as the choir settled into the church’s choir loft. “They are going to sing perfect Russian!”
Lee also conducted the Belarus choir on a moving arrangement of “It Is Well With My Soul” that move the audience to its feet in applause.
The evening of music concluded “American music with Russian words” – a very thrilling arrangement of “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
Formed in 1986, the choir has performed in Eastern Europe, France, Germany and Russia, and is currently making its 5th tour in the United States.
Belarus National Christian Choir
Dexter First Baptist Church, Oct. 13, 2011
Helping Hand For Children
The Stoddard County Real Estate Board recently made a donation to the Stoddard County Children’s Home. The Board presented the home with $1000 plus arranged for a new American flag to be presented by State Senator Rob Mayer at the home. On hand for the presentations were (front row, from left) Frank Killian, Judi Boyle and Lauren Mayer of the Children’s Home; Shirley Carney and Jim Tweety of the Stoddard County Real Estate Board, and Brad Jarrell representing State Senator Mayer; (back row, from left) Mary Worley, Sherry Burnett, Sue Horn, Audrey Holifield, Kathleen Dover, Melanie Miller, Jeanie Barker, Jane Flowers, Scott Chesser, Sherry Hubbard, Linda Collier, and Michele Horton. (SMT photo by Annabeth Miller)
With cotton harvest in full swing, the Cotton Ramble was appropriately named. Starting in downtown Sikeston, riders had a choice of a 13-mile course, a 26-mile course and a long 65-mile for the more serious rider.
All participants started the routes at the historic train Depot through a designed course, passing by shaded, tree-lined streets with majestic homes. Those riders that took the longer routes traveled along fields of cotton as well as soybeans and corn to Vanduser and near Bloomfield before returning to the start/finish line.
Other riders from Dexter included Jerry Dorton, Mark Zabelin, Shanan Zabelin, Tracy Hedrick and Alan Hedrick.
Special Thanks for Rodney McConnell for the use of his pics from the Cotton Ramble.
