Monroe Honors Girl Scouts' 101st Anniversary

Juliette Gordon Low, a Savannah, Ga., native, started the Girl Scouts with a troop of 18 girls on March 12,1912 to provide them with the opportunity to develop physically, mentally and spiritually. This year, the Girl Scouts of America is celebrating its 101st anniversary.

On Monday night, First Selectman Steve Vavrek's proclamation declaring March 25 to be Girl Scouts Day in Monroe was read aloud at the beginning of the Town Council meeting.

Monroe scouts were in attendance with Trina Nagle, leader of Brownie Troop 34199, a mixed troop with girls from Fawn Hollow and Stepney elementary schools, and Stacey Baghdady, junior Girl Scout leader of Troop 34022 and co-leader of her daughter's Brownie Troop 34142 at Monroe Elementary School.

Town Council Chairwoman Enid Lipeles read the proclamation, because Vavrek was representing Monroe at an event for the Tommy Fund for Childhood Cancer the same night.

The proclamation noted how the Girl Scouts also started in Connecticut in 1912.

"For over 100 years, girl scouting helped build millions of girls and women of courage, confidence and character, who act to make the world a better place," the proclamation states.

It says the organization "helps girls to discover themselves and their values, connect with others and take action to make the world a better place."

Vavrek's proclamation recognized the "dedication, time and talents of volunteers of different backgrounds abilities and areas of expertise" in leading Girl Scout troops with over 47,300 girls in grades K-12 across the state of Connecticut.

The Gold Award, the highest honor in girl scouting, "requires girls to make a measurable and sustainable difference in their community, assess a need and design a solution, find the resources and support to make it happen and complete the project," the proclamation says.

Girl Scouts' core programs center around science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), environmental stewardship and healthy living to help in developing a solid foundation in leadership.

Today, more than 59 million American women are Girl Scout alumni and 3.2 million girls and adult volunteers are active members, according to the proclamation.