Special day brings out girls interested in Scouting

Girls of all ages from the Tri-City area ventured out in the spirit of fun and exploration Saturday for Girl Scouts Day at the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium.
Girl Scout Day is an opportunity for girls and their families to learn about the Girl Scout leadership experience. Girls in kindergarten through 12th grade enjoyed demonstrations, face painting, agriculture, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and other fun hands-on activities.
The event garnered commitments from both non-Girl Scouts and parents. There were 45 girls registered for membership in Girl Scouts and 19 adults signed up for volunteer leadership.
Jennifer Gonzales, mother of Thela Gonzales, signed up as an adult volunteer to create more Girl Scouts’ membership opportunities for Hispanic girls in the area.
“Growing up in a bilingual home, it’s hard for kids to translate everything, especially as it relates to financial matters,” said Gonzales. “I want to inform parents about what the Girl Scouts have to offer.”
Gonzales registered her daughter to join a brownie troop.
Some parents expressed sentiments of gratitude for the Girl Scouts’ open invitation to include non-Girl Scouts.
“I am glad the event was open to everyone,” not just Girl Scouts, said Paul Cheramie, father of third-grader Ranilie Cheramie.
“It provides an opportunity for girls who might be interested in joining, like our daughter,” Cheramie said.
Cheramie’s daughter joined the ranks at the brownie level.
For mother Chanel Maize, she attempted last year to get information about Girl Scouts through a toll-free number and never heard back from anyone. Maize didn’t want her daughter, Yulianna Fonseca, a second-grader, to miss out on an opportunity to join a Girl Scout troop this year, so she decided to attend Girl Scout Day.
Morgan City Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi welcomed the girls and acknowledged the presence of his own daughter attending the event.
The U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit, U.S. Wildlife Refuge, Gulf South Safety, Morgan City Police Department K-9 Unit, and Morgan City Fire Department were organizations participating in the event.
Girls were able to try on life jackets in a demonstration simulated by the U.S. Coast Guard as a preventive measure for water safety and watched a short film.
Lady, Morgan City K-9 unit’s finest, showcased her sniffing skills by identifying a case with drugs hidden in it.
Tyler Barrier, U.S. Fish and Wildlife biological science technician, brought with him animals from the local habitat. One amphibian, in particular, was a great hit — Thomas, a corn snake.
He is not poisonous.
Fonseca, a newly signed up Brownie, made a courageous effort to pet Thomas.
“My goal is to create more troops and continue the excitement of Girl Scouts,” said Laurey Jones, membership executive of Girl Scouts Louisiana East. “We have a lot of different programs to offer girls from programs that focus on self-esteem, building girls’ character, and helping them to be more financially literate.”
These are some of the focused initiatives of the Girl Scout organization, Jones said.
Cadette Troop 20266 helped girls decorate cupcakes at their booth. Learning decorative cupcake skills is one of the many skills learned from the Girl Scout experience. Troop leaders Jessica Dupre and Constance Richard supervised their group of Cadettes.
Members of the Cadette division are in sixth and seventh grade.
Brownie Troop 20539 assisted girls to create a Girl Scout swap pin.
The Brownies learned their pin-making skills while serving in the Daisies division as Girl Scouts.
Brownies are members in the second and third grade.
Lena Clements is currently troop leader of Holy Cross’ brownie and daisy troops.
With faux gems scattered along the table and rubber textured rectangles stacked neatly, Daisy Troop 20461 eagerly assisted girls in creating picture frames.
Daisy members are in kindergarten and first grade.
Anehemiah Charles, a fourth-grader at Hattie Watts Elementary in Patterson, expressed an interest to join Girl Scouts. Charles’ aunt, Jerl Washington-Edwards, brought her to the event along with a cousin, Kennadi Edwards.
“I want to learn what Girl Scouts do,” said Charles. “I liked the face painting booth the most.”
She also took a slight liking to Thomas the corn snake.
“Thomas felt oo-ey. I don’t like poisonous snakes but I liked Thomas.”
The official Girl Scout year starts Oct. 1 and ends Sept. 30. Registration is ongoing throughout the year.

This story was written by Shea Drake of The Daily Review staff. Reach her at sdrake@daily-review.com.