For any youth organization to last a decade is a major accomplishment. But one lasting a century is truly remarkable. The Girl Scouts of the USA are celebrating that fact though this weekend here in Houston at their 2011 National Convention.
Hosted at the George R Brown Convention Center by our own local San Jacinto Girl Scout Council, the event began Tuesday with some preliminaries but some of the real amazing parts will take place through the weekend as over 10,000 youth leaders are expected to attend. There they will be exposed to workshops, lectures, exhibits and entertainment provided by such luminaries as Katie Couric, Marlee Matlin, Soledad O’Brien, Robin Roberts, and Houston’s own Mayor Anise Parker.
Girl Scouts of the USA was founded by Juliette Gordon Low of Savannah, Georgia, who imagined that Girl Scouting could be “the magic thread” that would connect girls everywhere–and for 50 million women, the ties have never been stronger.
The Girls Scouts organization has shaped the lives of more than 50 million alumnae alive today, among them many of our nation’s female leaders. A national poll of American women, in fact, found that two-thirds of women of professional achievement and more than three-fourths of those who were deemed “women of distinction” had been Girl Scouts in their youth. The same poll found that more than four out of five successful professional women who had been Girl Scouts rated their Girl Scout involvement as helping them achieve later success.
Kathy Cloninger, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA, tells some of these stories, as well as her own, in the new book – Tough Cookies: Leadership Lessons from 100 Years of the Girl Scouts. Her book calls girls (and the women they wil become) one of our nation’s most underused resources. And citing their untapped potential she calls on girls, boys, parents, the business community, and public to help females make a better, stronger, and more prosperous future for all.
Events this weekend are not limited to current Girl Scouts, parent or youth leaders. Many forums and speakers will be available to the public for the cost of a day-pass registration.
For more information and registration visit the website here.