01 May 2022 501der Women 2022: Service projects develop young leaders through Faulkner County Girl Scouts 

Stories by Rita Halter Thomas

Girl Scouts. The words alone immediately bring thoughts of cookies.

Fortunately for Faulkner County Girl Scouts (FCGS), selling cookies is more about the process than the product. It’s less about a box of cookies and more about building character and serving community. It’s less about raising money and more about raising girls with a strong moral compass and life skills needed as they become young women.

“The GS organization is a girl-led organization … leaders may set the path for troops to do things they would never otherwise get to do, but as they progress, the leaders take a back seat and the girls decide what they what to do, within reason, of course,” said Susan Eggert, a lifelong Girl Scout who served as a Scout for 11 years and an adult leader for 30 more.

Eggert, product manager and treasurer for the FCGS, said the county has about 300 Scouts across 22 troops. The Faulkner County Service Unit is a part of the GS Diamonds of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.

According to the Diamonds website, there are five key skills a Girl Scout learns through cookie sales: goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics.

“The whole point of selling cookies is the learning process and what the girls get from it,” said Carol Funkhouser, the mother of 10-year-old Ava. 

“The skills they learn far outweigh the profit,” she said, and added that her once-shy daughter now boldly steps out to talk to people.“I’ve not found anything that empowers her more than Girl Scouts,” Funkhouser said.

Susan Bradshaw, a leader of Troop 6654, has two girls involved. “A parent’s goal in life is to raise strong, independent children with good hearts. Scouting gives girls and women an opportunity to learn how to adopt these qualities while having fun at the same time.”

Bradshaw was a Girl Scout from Brownie through Cadette, and her mom was her troop leader.

“I have specific memories of the things we did together in Scouts, from trying unique foods from other countries to working on badges at home with her. We had the best time doing Scouts together.”

Mary Bolling, a Girl Scout from first grade through her senior year in high school, is now a leader for her fifth-grade daughter’s troop, No. 6073. “I’ve been so impressed with how much our girls have grown since they started. … I feel like this year … they have taken the lead in planning their service projects,” she said.

Each troop decides what service projects they want to do for the year. One would be hard-pressed to count them all, but their efforts include donating hundreds of boxes of cookies to veterans, Bethlehem House, and the Arkansas Children’s Hospital each year. They also give back by placing flags on veterans’ graves on Memorial Day, building food pantries, making food baskets for the homeless, helping with a community garden, cleaning up trash in area subdivisions, hosting cereal drives, working on recycling projects, and singing to nursing home residents and sending cards to them for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Easter. Some even work with park rangers at Woolly Hollow State Park to identify and remove invasive species of plants.

And some Girl Scouts discover their life’s path through the experience.

“My oldest did a GS Destination organized by GS USA and spent a week camping on a beach in Costa Rica caring for sea turtle nests. She was 15. I put her on a plane with no contact with her for a week. Now she is a freshman in college studying marine biology because of what she learned on and became inspired by during that trip,” said Karen Ferrer, who serves as a leader for each of her two younger daughters in Troops 6827 and 6746.

FCGS needs leaders to grow leaders.

“Every year we have girls who want to join Girl Scouts but can’t because there aren’t enough troops,” Eggert said. 

Leaders don’t have to be moms with daughters involved, nor do they have to be a former Scout. Many start out as volunteers or co-leaders. Training is available, and help is usually just a phone call away. Troops meet in churches or community centers, and some even meet in businesses kind enough to offer their meeting rooms. Each troop decides when, where, and how often to meet, but most meet for about four hours per month.

To learn more about Faulkner County Girl Scouts, becoming a leader, or to volunteer, go to girlscoutsdiamonds.org.

Scout’s Diamond Retires

Forty plus years ago, Susan Eggert of Conway followed the lead of her older sister and joined Girl Scouts (GS) where she grew up in Iowa. After 11 years as a Scout and then serving for 30 years in leadership capacities, Eggert will be “retiring” in June from the Faulkner County Service Unit of the Girl Scouts Diamond of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Eggert and her husband are moving to Florida to enjoy their retirement years.

“I’m not sure how one retires from an unpaid position,” said Carol Funkhouser, leader for Individually Represented Girl Scouts, citing all Eggert does for FCGS is a full-time job, but hasn’t been paid a dime.

Funkhouser knew nothing about Girls Scouts until her daughter joined six years ago and credits Eggert for her help and guidance along the way.

“She is an amazing woman and human being in every single way one can imagine,” she said.

Officially, Eggert serves as the product manager and treasury for the Faulkner County Service Unit and is a true 501Der Woman. She handles the registration for events, verifies activities, organizes camps, and so much more.

“Susan is always ready to jump in and solve problems, or guide you to the right person if she’s unable to help,” said troop leader Mary Bolling. “Whether it be 10 a.m. on a weekday or 8 p.m. on a weekend, she is always ready to help … I can’t even imagine what it takes to do her job.”

Eggert, a certified public accountant, master of business administration, and certified management accountant, says her unique skill set makes the job easy for her. “I love numbers, math, and figuring things out. For me, it’s always been fun, and I enjoy doing it,” Eggert said.

“As the treasurer, [Susan] tracks the money for every troop in Faulkner County as well as for the service unit. As product manager, she organizes everything to do with fall product and cookie sales,” said Karen Ferrer, a leader for two troops.

“She is very organized and has shown me the importance of good record keeping,” she added.  “[Susan’s] wisdom and lifetime of dedication is unmatched. She manages complicated fall sales and cookies without breaking a sweat, but will also answer questions about anything GS-related,” said Susan Bradshaw, troop leader.

While all three ladies said that Eggert’s decades of knowledge and tireless service will be sorely missed, Eggert said she will still be available. “I’m not disappearing and will do all I can to assist,” she said. “We have built some really special stuff over the years. We have great folks and strong leaders.”

With all Eggert has poured into FCGS and its leadership, it’s reasonable to believe the best will rise, take hold, and grow the next decade of women into leadership.