Girl Scout rally gets children excited

Eight-year-old Olivia Franklin eagerly flipped through the pages of a Girl Scout magazine Saturday.

"I'm looking forward to going camping and shooting a bow and arrow," Olivia said about her expectations for becoming a Girl Scout.

She wasn't alone. Many girls attended a Girl Scout rally held at Stevens Creek Elementary School in Martinez on Saturday.

The event, sponsored by the Lakeside Service Unit, was designed to get girls ages 5 to 17 and their parents interested in participating in Girl Scouts.

Officials also were there to answer any questions people had about the organization, Valencia Robinson said.

The service unit will hold another meeting at Stevens Creek Elementary at 6:30 p.m. today.

"We want to get as many leaders as we can," said Robinson, a field director for the Girl Scouts' Central Savannah River Council. "A lot of times, we get a lot of interested girls that want to become a Girl Scout, but we don't get as many interested parents that want to become troop leaders."

Julie Woodward, who lives in Martinez, said she knows this problem too well.

"I couldn't get my daughter, Emily, involved with a Girl Scout troop last year," she said, adding that the troop had problems getting a troop leader.

At Saturday's rally, parents and daughters were able to mingle with one another, form troops and get parents to volunteer as troop leaders.

"It takes teamwork," Woodward said, adding that her daughter will join a troop this year. "It takes everyone working together and helping each other."

Priscilla Abernathy, of Martinez, found the meeting informative and said she can't wait to get her 5-year-old daughter, Ashlyn, involved with the organization.

"I like it because it gives the girls a chance to do various activities like camping," she said. "I also like it because it helps build self-esteem and teaches the girls about respecting others. It prepares them for the world."