Girl Scouts prepare for sweet season
by Kellen Moore
Tucked between winter and spring is another season you might not find on the calendar: Girl Scout cookie season.
That season is now in full swing, with hungry residents eagerly anticipating the arrival of cookies to Boone on Feb. 10.
This year's sale is especially meaningful for Girl Scouts, as the organization will celebrate 100 years of scouting on March 12.
Since Jan. 1, about 250 Watauga County Girl Scouts from about 20 troops have been accepting pre-orders of cookies.
“That doesn't mean if you didn't order, you can't have cookies — we promise you,” said troop leader Katherine Hicks, who leads Troop 10289.
While the bulk of the cookies are set to arrive in the High Country in three weeks, a limited amount will be sold at booths outside local stores the weekend of Feb. 3 — the Super Bowl. Other booth sales will also follow.
This year, local girl scouts are offering eight varieties: Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Patties, Caramel deLites, Peanut Butter Sandwich, Shortbread, Lemonades, Thanks-A-Lot and Shout Outs!
While there are not any new varieties this year, there is a special new promotion, Hicks said. Anyone who purchases five boxes of cookies gets a chance to win a year's supply of cookies. (In case you're wondering, that's one box per week.)
Whether it's the delicious taste of old favorites or the friendly smiles of precocious girls, people tend to say “yes” to Girl Scout cookies. In fact, customers in Watauga and Avery counties said yes to 26,184 boxes last year, according to cookie chairwoman JoAnne Jenkins.
Ten-year-old Girl Scout Mercer Fischer said she has enjoyed cookie sales more this year than last because she's gotten her nerve up. Once you get over that first hurdle, the cookies tend to sell themselves.
“With lots of people, you can just ask them if they'd like to buy Girl Scout cookies, and since most of them like Girl Scout cookies, they usually say, ‘Yes,'” she said.
Her fellow troop member, Anneka Suddreth, said there's no single technique that works best for cookie propositions.
“It kind of depends on the person's mood and how grumpy they are,” Suddreth said.
Emma Tzotschew, 10, sold 91 boxes this year and said she likes to tell customers about how the money will be spent.
Her troop plans to visit Washington, D.C., in June for the “world's largest sing-along,” a gathering of about 200,000 Girl Scouts on the National Mall.
Some of the girls that live in Watauga County tend to be more sheltered, and Hicks said Girl Scouting offers experiences they might not have had otherwise.
Over her 22 years as a troop leader, Hicks's troops have been on a cruise and to Mexico, Disney World, the Amish Country of Pennsylvania and more.
When young girls visit faraway places or tackle questions such as which fork to use at a fancy tea party, she knows they're picking up experiences they might have to use later in life.
“You may never use this again, but you'll be prepared,” Hicks said.
That season is now in full swing, with hungry residents eagerly anticipating the arrival of cookies to Boone on Feb. 10.
This year's sale is especially meaningful for Girl Scouts, as the organization will celebrate 100 years of scouting on March 12.
Since Jan. 1, about 250 Watauga County Girl Scouts from about 20 troops have been accepting pre-orders of cookies.
“That doesn't mean if you didn't order, you can't have cookies — we promise you,” said troop leader Katherine Hicks, who leads Troop 10289.
While the bulk of the cookies are set to arrive in the High Country in three weeks, a limited amount will be sold at booths outside local stores the weekend of Feb. 3 — the Super Bowl. Other booth sales will also follow.
This year, local girl scouts are offering eight varieties: Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Patties, Caramel deLites, Peanut Butter Sandwich, Shortbread, Lemonades, Thanks-A-Lot and Shout Outs!
While there are not any new varieties this year, there is a special new promotion, Hicks said. Anyone who purchases five boxes of cookies gets a chance to win a year's supply of cookies. (In case you're wondering, that's one box per week.)
Whether it's the delicious taste of old favorites or the friendly smiles of precocious girls, people tend to say “yes” to Girl Scout cookies. In fact, customers in Watauga and Avery counties said yes to 26,184 boxes last year, according to cookie chairwoman JoAnne Jenkins.
Ten-year-old Girl Scout Mercer Fischer said she has enjoyed cookie sales more this year than last because she's gotten her nerve up. Once you get over that first hurdle, the cookies tend to sell themselves.
“With lots of people, you can just ask them if they'd like to buy Girl Scout cookies, and since most of them like Girl Scout cookies, they usually say, ‘Yes,'” she said.
Her fellow troop member, Anneka Suddreth, said there's no single technique that works best for cookie propositions.
“It kind of depends on the person's mood and how grumpy they are,” Suddreth said.
Emma Tzotschew, 10, sold 91 boxes this year and said she likes to tell customers about how the money will be spent.
Her troop plans to visit Washington, D.C., in June for the “world's largest sing-along,” a gathering of about 200,000 Girl Scouts on the National Mall.
Some of the girls that live in Watauga County tend to be more sheltered, and Hicks said Girl Scouting offers experiences they might not have had otherwise.
Over her 22 years as a troop leader, Hicks's troops have been on a cruise and to Mexico, Disney World, the Amish Country of Pennsylvania and more.
When young girls visit faraway places or tackle questions such as which fork to use at a fancy tea party, she knows they're picking up experiences they might have to use later in life.
“You may never use this again, but you'll be prepared,” Hicks said.