Being a leader has allowed me some great opportunities to take the girls in my troop and other Girl Scouts on.

To narrow it down to just one is a big challenge.  I have girls who love food, so I have to say that on our trip to Savannah, my favorite memory is surprising them with tickets to see Paula Deen in her “Real Women of Philadelphia” final episode where a winner was chosen.  Paula saluted the girls with the Girl Scout handshake and one of the winners (I think it was the dessert category) greeted our girls and told them she had earned her Gold Award during her Girl Scout career.

This past summer, I was able to take five girls, of which only one was from my troop, to Europe to explore London, Paris, Adelboden and Lucerne.  It was such a rewarding experience to work with girls who wanted to explore and experience other cultures (and food!).

In each of these events (and particularly with my troop), we have financed all or most of the trips through our product sales earnings.  Our tickets in Savannah were granted because we were Girl Scouts.

This year is my final year with the girls in my troop, but I have found that the older girls have so much curiosity about things outside of their front doors and Girl Scout product sales allow them to finance those visions.

— Carolyn Chrisco, Co-Leader, Troop 799