Honoring Our Girl Scout Volunteers

Lidia Soto-Harmon is the Deputy Executive Director for GSCNC.

At the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital, we deliver the best leadership experience for girls, and at the core of the Girl Scout experience are our dedicated volunteers. Girl Scout volunteers are the steady and sure organizers who are often paid only in muddy shoes, half eaten cookies, and gasps of joyful glee from their girls.

Without the women and men who so graciously give their time, the Girl Scouting movement would not be possible.  Not only do our volunteers organize trips and run troop meetings and activities, they also bandage scraped knees, teach valuable lessons on fund raising, and serve as voting members who review issues relevant to our governance.

Girl Scout Leader Appreciation Day began April 22, 1982, when a flag honoring Girl Scout leaders was flown over the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Each year on April 22 we recognize the more than 30,000 volunteers in the Greater Washington Region (and the millions throughout the world) who help to make the Girl Scout experience successful.

At our Annual Meeting this year, 32 Adult Girl Scouts were awarded some of our most prestigious recognitions for their dedication and service to the larger Girl Scout movement. We encourage Girl Scouts everywhere to take a moment to thank their leaders—whether with a simple expression of gratitude or a recommendation to award their hard work.

As any parent can attest, building a girl of courage, confidence and character is not an easy task. Today, and everyday, we thank the thousands of women and “men-in-green” who devote their experience to helping girls become leaders, entrepreneurs, and adventurers–who make our world a better place.

Guest Blogger: Celebrating Our “Men in Green”

Pictured here: Mike Berg with his daughter Sarah as a Girl Scout Brownie. Mike is a Leader of Troop 990 in Sterling, VA.

It  was seven years ago–when my next door neighbor/Service Unit Manager asked me to lead my daughter’s Girl Scout troop–that I learned in addition to “dad” I was to be called “Man in Green.”  I had not a clue what this honorary title meant, and it is only now that I have given the name any serious thought.

As a “Man in Green,” I have been my daughter’s troop leader since her first year as a Brownie, and I will continue to move through the Girl Scout experience with her until she finishes as an Ambassador.  As my daughter progressed, I, too, began to take on more responsibility. In addition to being a leader,  I have helped our Service Unit establish a mentoring program for leaders with the assistance of another more experienced leader.   In my third year as a Girl Scout, our Service Unit Manager moved away and I was asked to become Service Unit Manager for our area. After spending 5 years in that role, I stepped down as Service Unit Manager to become the SHARE coordinator for our Service Unit.

Although these positions have given me greater insight into the Girl Scout experience, of all the things I have done as a Man in Green being my daughter’s Troop Leader has meant the most to me.   I have had the opportunity to watch the nine girls in my troop grow both individually and together.  We have camped, canoed, hosted dances, and taken a trip to Savannah, Georgia for a week.  I would not trade my experiences as a “Man in Green” for anything.  Being there with my daughter as she achieves her goals has been my greatest joy both as a leader and a father.

In the midst of writing this I realized that the definition of a “Man in Green” is how he, the man, defines it.  It can mean being a leader, working with the troop as a committee member, serving on the Service Unit Team, camping, training, or just helping out whenever and wherever you can.

I am proud to contribute to the Girl Scout movement as a father and a “Man in Green.”