ODESSA, Texas — On this day in 1912, one of the most iconic organizations in the country, known for their thin mints and lemon-up cookies, was founded.
"Girl Scouts across the country are celebrating today," CEO of Girl Scouts of the Desert Southwest Patty Craven said. "Doing different activities, getting proclamations from their city councils and helping make a difference within the world."
On March 12, 2024, they celebrated their National Day, as well as having it being officially proclaimed by the City of Odessa.
The Permian Basin chapter has been around since the 1930s. In 2008, it was merged with two other close-by councils to make the Girl Scouts Desert Southwest, taking up about 94,000 square miles in Texas and New Mexico.
And contrary to popular belief, these girls have been doing a lot more than just selling cookies for the past 112 years.
"Girl Scouts to me is an amazing opportunity for our girls to learn, grow and build on different skills," Craven said.
"Throughout the years, I definitely learned a lot of stuff involving public speaking, money management, entrepreneurship," said Eli Roe, current member of the product program department and former girl scout. "It definitely helps expand a girl's mind and it also helps them realize they are able to do so much more than what they think they're able to do. And [it] gives them the chance to explore what they like and what they don't like and it gives them a chance to try it."
They also help young girls learn important life skills.
This includes Roe, who joined the girl scouts when she was three years old.
"I do have very big anxiety," Roe said. "And it used to be to where I would not speak in groups at all. And I would often have panic attacks when I had to. And because of the Girl Scouts and working through stuff slowly, I have now been able to do public speaking during multiple of our events like Woman's a Distinction."
Evident by Roe's comfortableness around the camera, the lights are no longer too bright for her.
Same thing with 6th grader and current cadet Grace Gibson, who’s been with the scouts for the last six years.
"I started out as timid and shy and I was honestly overall anxious to meet new people," Grace said. "My first cookie season I did not talk to hardly anybody."
Fast forward to today…
"So far," Grace said. "The highest I've sold, and this was last year, was 9,576 boxes."
…where she’s been the top seller in the chapter for the past three years.
And selling almost 10,000 boxes of cookies definitely takes some talking.
"So now I'm talking to everybody," Grace said. "I'm making so many new friends and meeting new people."
People who Grace, Roe and Craven now view as their family.
"Girl Scouts also helps build relationships that last a lifetime," Craven said.
"They're the people that you relied on those days that you could tell anything to," Roe said. "And you have an unspoken bond with them because you did get to spend all this time with them."
They call it a sisterhood, and it definitely lasts way more than one day a year.
"If you have a great group, you'll see that they stay friends forever," Craven said.
And an experience these girls will never forget.
"[It's] honestly one of the best things I could've ever been in," Grace said.
If interested in joining the Girl Scouts, visit gsdsw.org. It costs about $25 per membership year. They're also in need of adult volunteers as well.