Submitted by Allie Hulcher
City of Vestavia Hills Councilor Kimberly Cook with Girl Scouts from different troops across Vestavia.
Over 325 girls attended the 2018 G.I.R.L. Leadership Summit Aug. 25 at Mountaintop Community Church in Vestavia Hills.
This event, hosted by Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama, gave girls the opportunity to learn about advocacy, financial literacy, emergency preparedness and career mentorship. What is G.I.R.L.?
Girl Scouts show grit like a “Go-getter,” problem solve like an “Innovator,” embrace the new like a “Risk-taker,” and display empathy like a “Leader.” This event, like all programs offered to Girl Scouts, prepares girls for a lifetime of leadership. Girl Scouts from the Vestavia-area helped plan the event and lead on-stage.
Charlotte Hottle, a sixth-grader at Pizitz Middle School from Troop 30172 was part of the G.I.R.L. Squad and led more than 300 girls in learning a dance.
“At the summit I learned that girls can do whatever they put their minds to no matter what anyone says,” Hottle said.
Keynote speakers included Wendy Davis, a forensic examiner with the Computer Analysis Response Team of the FBI, and Brittany Wagner, a life coach and an athletic academic counselor and star of the Netflix show Last Chance U.
“When I think of Girl Scouts, the first thing that comes to mind is leadership,” Davis said in her talk about her role at the FBI. Davis was a Girl Scout Brownie.
Wagner, whose famous line is “Do you have a pencil?” used the symbolism of a pencil to teach the girls about moving on from mistakes, having empathy for those who have less and not being confined to a box on a form.
“I didn’t let the fact that I was a girl and everybody else was a boy make me say, ‘I can’t do that,’” Wagner said. “I want you to go through your life without checking the boxes. Think about what you want to be, what are you passionate about, what do you like, what are you good at, what are your strengths. And don’t check a box that tells you that you can’t do it.”
Momentum, a women’s leadership program in Alabama, hosted a mentorship panel with women from various fields including a pharmacist, a lawyer, a judge, an architect, an engineer, a doctor and an author. Girls asked questions to the panel then broke out in small groups for rounds of “speed mentoring” where high school girls could ask questions about the women’s job and how to pursue their career dreams.
Throughout the day, girls also learned to code with Apple, broke wooden boards with Action Martial Arts, learned yoga and hula-hooping, got hands-on at exhibits such as the Society of Women Engineers and the Alabama Chapter of the Ninety-Nines, a women’s pilot organization.
They learned the importance of diversity, financial training like how to budget and save for a car with Wells Fargo, emergency preparedness with the American Red Cross and how to be an advocate with attorney, author and advocate Liz Huntley and Tara Preyer from VOICES – For Alabama’s Children.
Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, and our platinum sponsors: Publix Super Market Charities and Vulcan Materials Company Foundation.
As the world’s leadership development organization for girls, Girl Scouts welcomes girls of all backgrounds and interest who want to develop the courage, confidence, and character to make the world a better place. Troops are forming now and girls can join by going to girlscoutsnca.org/join.
“No other organization is bringing together time-tested, research-backed methods with exciting, modern programming that speaks to today’s girls and is designed to cater to the strengths of girls’ leadership development,” said Karen Peterlin, CEO of the Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama. “The 2018 G.I.R.L. Leadership Summit is just one amazing example of the programming we offer girls that prepares them for a lifetime of leadership.”
Submitted by Allie Hulcher
