For local Girl Scout troop members and leaders, Feb. 21 was like Christmas.
That afternoon, pallets were unloaded from a box truck and taken into the sanctuary at Cornerstone Community Church in Seymour, where the plastic wrapping was ripped away to reveal boxes of Girl Scout cookies.
Then they were separated by the type of cookie: Trefoils, Do-Si-Dos, Samoas, Tagalongs, Thin Mints, Girl Scout S’mores, Toffee-Tastic and Lemon-Ups.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryThat night, the girls and their parents came by to pick up what they had presold so they could deliver it. Whatever was left could be purchased at cookie booths, which started Feb. 22 and will continue on weekends through March 22.
For those receiving the cookies, it also felt like Christmas because they finally could enjoy what they had ordered since presales started Jan. 1.
“Everybody’s making their New Year’s resolutions to lose weight. We’re selling cookies,” Troop 135 leader and Jackson County Girl Scouts service unit manager Chealsy Parr said, smiling.
This year, 105 girls from six troops — five based in Seymour and one in Medora — took orders for cookies from Jan. 1 to 21. Altogether, they sold 1,857 cases.
Parr said that number is up this year mainly because there are two more troops than last year.
Parr and this year’s cookie chairwomen, Shawna Banks and Roberta Rooks of Troop 1549 in Seymour, are proud of the girls’ presales efforts.
“It just speaks to what they probably already have instilled in them and what we’re bringing out, which is being a Girl Scout, being a sister to everybody, having kindness,” Parr said. “We say we build girls up — courage, confidence and character — and I think with them coming together, that just shows you that they really are learning that and they are going to be carrying that into adulthood.”
Four of the 18 members of Troop 1549 sold more than 300 boxes apiece. Banks said that’s big for her troop because they only had five members last year.
“We had a new girl put on a uniform and go out to sell. It’s like, ‘How can you say no to this kid?’ I couldn’t say no to her,” Banks said.
“We had some newer ones, and they have sparked a fire,” Rooks said. “Honestly, it’s actually renewing some of our older ones.”
The order that arrived in Jackson County on Feb. 21 also included what local Girl Scout troop leaders thought they could sell at the booths.
“We just do one big order and pray for the best that we sell it all,” Parr said, smiling.
In the past, Parr said they have relied on selling cookies at booths set up outside Walmart. That will continue on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays starting this week and going through March 22.
This year, though, 17 other locations in Seymour have stepped up to allow Girl Scouts to sell cookies.
“There are so many places new this year, so that’s awesome that businesses are starting to welcome us more besides Walmart,” Parr said.
On the first day of cookie booths, local first responders challenged each other to support Girl Scouts.
Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 108 posted a picture on its Facebook page about buying $300 worth of Girl Scout cookies from Troop 1239 outside JCPenney in Seymour.
“FOP Lodge 108 challenges everyone to get out and buy some Girl Scout cookies today, especially the Seymour Fire Department,” the post reads. “FOP Lodge 108 is very happy to support a great cause.”
A little while later, the Seymour Fire Department posted a picture on its Facebook page about buying more than $310 worth of cookies from Troop 112 in the parking lot at Village Center in Seymour.
“Challenge accepted,” the post read. “Seymour Fire Local 577 never backs down when challenged by the Fraternal of Police Lodge 108, especially when it comes to Girl Scout cookies and kids.”
At the booths this year, a new cookie, Lemon-Ups, has been added to the lineup.
It’s a crispy lemon cookie baked with messages inspired by Girl Scout entrepreneurs. “I am a go-getter” and “I am an innovator” are among the eight phrases that bring the experience of Girl Scouting to life. They replace Savannah Smiles, which was retired last year.
“I’ve always been a Tagalong girl. I really have enjoyed those, but this year, our new Lemon-Ups, it’s just different than the previous lemon cookies we’ve had,” Parr said. “I’m actually not even a lemon person, and I like this cookie, so I’ve really gravitated toward it this year.”
The new cookie along with Trefoils, Do-Si-Dos, Samoas, Tagalongs and Thin Mints are $5 per box, while Girl Scouts S’mores and Toffee-Tastic are $6 per box. Toffee-Tastic is a gluten-free cookie.
Of the cases ordered in Jackson County, Thin Mints was the most popular at 583.
“I don’t even have another one close,” Parr said. “Most of the rest of them, like Samoas, Do-Si-Dos and Tagalongs, are all in the 300s. I’ve always been told that Do-Si-Dos are Seymour’s favorite cookie, that people will ask you for those, and that’s true, but you’ve got your people that just love Samoas, too. I have an appreciation for most of the cookies.”
Doing presales and working at the booths, Parr said scouts receive a lot of benefits.
“A lot of learning how to talk to adults, learning how to interact with people that you don’t know, learning how to respond when people they don’t know ask them questions,” she said. “They develop not only selling skills at the booth but social skills, and that’s something you definitely need going forward in life. I’m very thankful for that aspect of booth sales.”
The net proceeds from cookie sales are retained by the originating council and troop to allow members to do community projects and fun activities.
The Jackson County troops are a part of Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana, which includes 14,000 girl and adult members in 64 counties in western Kentucky and southern Indiana.
Parr said the county program will receive a certain amount of money for each box sold, and that will be equally divided between each troop. The troops will then decide how to spend their money.
“The mission of Girl Scouts is not just to spend our money on things that are fun but to build in service projects for the community, making sure we’re giving back, having a little fun, preparing for the things that we’re going to have to buy as a troop to continue, like memberships and vests and stuff, so we teach them about needs versus wants,” Parr said.
“We also like to teach a little savings because we don’t know when we might fall on hard times,” she said. “Next year might not be a good cookie year, so we need to prepare.”
Whether the service projects are big or small, Parr said the girls benefit from the experience.
“Don’t get me wrong, the girls love the fun events that we pick out, but they really look forward to the community service projects,” she said. “We definitely have a lot of girls in our troops that are wanting to change the world.”
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Jackson County Girl Scouts cookie booths in Seymour
Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through March 22 at Walmart Supercenter, 1600 E. Tipton St.
Today: 4 to 6 p.m. at Tractor Supply Co., 2003 E. Tipton St., and Huck’s Market, 1373 W. Tipton St.; 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Mi Casa Mexican Restaurant, 101 S. Broadway St.
Saturday: 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at German American Bank, 1725 E. Tipton St.; 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at The Fitted Foot, 1239 E. Fourth St. Road; 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Mi Casa Mexican Restaurant, 101 S. Broadway St.; 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Racin’ Mason Pizza and Fun Zone, 357 Tanger Blvd., Suite 317
Sunday: 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Orange Leaf, 524 E. Tipton St.
March 6: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at The Brooklyn Pizza Co., 753 W. Second St.
March 7: 9 to 11:30 a.m. at Blush and Brush Beauty Bar, 115 E. Second St.; 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at JCPenney, 1224 E. Tipton St.; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Bite the Bullet, 101 E. Second St., and Prestigious Affairs, 108 S. Chestnut St.; 3 to 8 p.m. at Rails Craft Brew and Eatery, 114 St. Louis Ave.
March 8: 1 to 4 p.m. at JCPenney, 1224 E. Tipton St.; 2 to 4 p.m. at Petsense, 1006 E. Tipton St.
March 13: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at The Fish Stand, 423 N. Ewing St.
March 14: 12:30 to 3 p.m. at Racin’ Mason Pizza and Fun Zone, 357 Tanger Blvd., Suite 317
March 21: Noon to 2 p.m. at June Bug Boutique, 6720 N. County Road 1075E
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