By Lisa Jones, Chief Executive Officer

Supporting girls’ health, wellness and leadership development is not only important to us at Girl Scouts – NC Coastal Pines; it is an essential part of our mission to build girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place.

Over the last few weeks, I have had several opportunities to witness girls’ developing into our leaders of tomorrow.  I recently met with our IT2 Girl Advisory team ­­who shared with me their impressions about our Council’s strengths and opportunities from an older girl perspective.  Girls’ voices are important part of our mission.  The advisory team also provided feedback about creating an online forum where all girls and volunteers could share suggestions for consideration during our strategic planning process.

A very visible way to see our mission in action is through our Girl Scout Cookie Sale. Everyone knows about Girl Scout Cookies, but do they know what girls are really learning through the program? Not only are our Girl Scouts having fun selling cookies, they are learning how to set and achieve goals, manage money, work as a team, make sound decisions and provide great customer service.

Girl Scout Troops experienced of the rewards of philanthropy and community service, as they helped to deliver this year’s donation of 95,952 boxes to our Operation Cookie Drop sites. Those who attended the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base drop not only met female pilots, but also experienced the pilot’s seat first hand.

Three Girl Scouts in particular soared to new heights during the 2013 Cookie Sale.  Girl Scouts – NC Coastal Pines is pleased to announce Hailey of Albertson as the Overall Top Seller, with 3,100 boxes of Girl Scout cookies sold. Xena of Cary placed second with 3,041 boxes sold, and Taylor of Knightdale placed third with 2,800 boxes sold.

This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of joining these top sellers and their families for a celebratory luncheon on the Bicentennial Terrace of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh.  I enjoyed the conversations I had with these growing leaders, and was impressed to hear what each girl valued most about the experience and how their accomplishments made them most proud.  I can easily envision each one with a future in sales, business management, or even CEO of Girl Scouts!

I am proud of all the Girl Scouts who helped make this year’s Cookie sale such a success.  It is truly an honor to witness girls developing the courage, confidence, and character to be both leaders today and in the future.