Girl Scout Troop 1912. It’s Not Your Average Troop.
Senator Katrina Shealy receives her Honorary Girl Scout Troop 1912 pin from Belinda Copeland, Chair of the Board, Girl Scouts of Eastern South Carolina, and Mary Winter Teaster, Chair of the Board, Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands.
You probably won’t find Girl Scout Troop 1912 selling cookies in front of your local grocery store, but you may find a box of cookies or two in the Statehouse, and there’s a good reason for that.
The troop is made of members of the General Assembly, and recently elected South Carolina female legislators were officially welcomed as new members of nonpartisan Honorary Girl Scout Troop 1912.
Established on May 11, 2011, the troop membership is composed of all women in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Until the election of Senator Katrina Shealy, there had been no Senate representation.
The troop number 1912 is a recognition of the year Girl Scouts was founded.
The event took place at a monthly breakfast meeting of the South Carolina General Assembly Women’s Caucus at the Blatt Building in the Statehouse complex. The state’s two Girl Scout councils (Girl Scouts of Eastern South Carolina and Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands) were among the breakfast hosts.
The new members who were present participated in an investiture ceremony conducted by Mary Winter Teaster, Chair of the Board, Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands and Belinda Copeland, Chair of the Board, Girl Scouts of Eastern South Carolina.
This ceremony welcomes new members into Girl Scouting, and as part of the ceremony, legislators made the Girl Scout Promise and recited the Girl Scout Law after they received their official membership pins. New Honorary Girl Scout Troop 1912 members are: Representative Beth Bernstein, Representative Heather Ammons Crawford, Representative MaryGail K. Douglas, Representative Raye Felder, Representative Mandy Powers Norrell, Representative Leola C. Robinson-Simpson, Representative Donna Wood, and Senator Katrina Shealy.
Girl Scouts’ legislative focus, both on a state and national level, encompasses four primary areas: promoting girls’ physical, social and emotional health; increasing girls’ involvement in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM); advancing the cause of girls in leadership; and strengthening their financial literacy
According to Kim Hutzell, President and CEO of Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands, “With the involvement of these exceptionally bright, talented, and diverse women, we couldn’t ask for more effective advocates for girls and young women in those areas. They will play a critical role in educating other state legislators and branches of South Carolina government about the barriers that hinder girls and young women from leadership opportunities.”
Joining the newly invested members, founding members also recited the Promise and the Law. Already invested members are Representative Rita Allison, Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter, Representative Chandra E. Dillard, Representative Shannon S. Erickson, Representative Laurie Slade Funderburk, Representative Phyllis Henderson, Representative Jenny Anderson Horne, Representative Patsy G. Knight, Representative Deborah A. Long, Representative Mia S. McLeod, Representative Elizabeth R. Munnerlyn, Representative Wendy K. Nanney, Representative J. Anne Parks, and Representative Anne J. Thayer.
