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September 22, 2025 12 mins
We spoke with Chief Operating Officer, Elicia Pegues Spearman, about the power-packed roster of activities to recruit new members and adult volunteers throughout September.
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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access My
Malison Demrs. My guest this morning is Alicia Pegeeze Spearman.
She is Chief operating officer for the Girl Scouts of Connecticut.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Good morning, Good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:14):
So Pumpkin Catapulting Challenge, a STEM infused weekend at Sikorski
Moonlight Meandering, all of these activities designed to reflect the
diversity of the Girl Scouts. So you have so many
things that are going to be coming up, and then
beginning on October first, it all starts. Let's talk about it.
Welcome back, Alicia.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
It's so great to be back on your show, and
we're excited to start off our Girl Shout year with
lots of good activities.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
So give me an update on the organization. What's been happening.

Speaker 3 (00:45):
Well, you know, for one.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
Hundred and thirteen years, we've been building girls of courage,
confidence and character.

Speaker 3 (00:50):
Who make the world a better place.

Speaker 2 (00:52):
We have over eighteen thousand girl members and more than
nine thousand adult members. We are busy in the state
of Connecticut. We have two service centers and operate four
retail shops across the state. And we had five great
summer camp programs and one overnight summer camp program this summer,
and the Girl Scouts have been loving it because Girl
Scouts know and their parents know, we are a safe

(01:14):
space for girls to be themselves, find their voice, and
make changes that affect issues most important to them.

Speaker 3 (01:21):
So that's what we're about.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
Absolutely. I was a Girl Scout. Both of my daughters
were Girl Scouts. Love the Girl Scouts and what age
can girls become members?

Speaker 2 (01:30):
We offer various membership levels from kindergarten right up through
twelfth grade, and then if you graduate, you can still
be part of the Girl Scouts organizations as even an
adult volunteer, troop leaders, mentors. There's lots of benefits of
being a Girl Scout because once the Girl Scout, as
you know, always a Girl Scout.

Speaker 1 (01:46):
I know what some of the benefits are, but there's
so many, and we could be here for an entire hour.
Let's highlight some more of those.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
Well, it's really important that people understand what the Girl
Scout experience is about, and we are centered around four
primary pillars them entrepreneurship, life, skills, and outdoors. So obviously
for STEAM it's you know, science, technology and engineering, arts, maths,
and we sparked that interest in compare Girl Scouts for
the modern day workforce. So they do really cool stuff

(02:15):
like game coding, robot building, rocket launching, pumpkin chunking challenges,
maker safe programs, steam camps.

Speaker 3 (02:23):
I mean, I can go on and on about that,
but let's not forget that our entrepreneurship. We're the largest girl.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
Led entrepreneurship program in the world. So when you see
Girl Scouts selling cookies, they are being cookie bosses. They
are being entrepreneurs. So they're setting their goals, they're managing
their money, they're learning about customer service skills and this fall,
you know, they also have a treats and reads program,
so there's a lot of small businesses skills that we

(02:50):
allow our girls to develop. And of course you probably
know that when we sell cookies at election, we're one
of the few councils across GSUSA that does that.

Speaker 3 (02:59):
And we'll have for our new cookie which is.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
Explore More and that is basically based on Rocky Road
ice cream. And so you need to find a Girl
Scout and come on our website to figure out where
you can buy your cookies.

Speaker 1 (03:11):
And what is that website? Is it GSOFCT dot org.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
That's exactly right now.

Speaker 1 (03:17):
I was going to ask you about wreaths and treats,
but I'm stuck on this new cookie.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
Be stuck on the cookie because I've had a taste
of it. It is excellent. It is creamy, toasted almonds flavors, chocolate,
has a crunchy crust. So it's interesting because my favorite
cookie is fin Mint and I'm wondering if Explore More
is going to be my new favorite cookie.

Speaker 1 (03:36):
So it's not filled necessarily like an Oreo cookie would be.
It's just a cookie.

Speaker 3 (03:41):
No, it's filled.

Speaker 2 (03:42):
It a delicious chocolate cream. Yes, it's fill And you
know what. Go on our website. There's a little cookie
icon at the top and you can figure out where
the cookie boosters are going to be, where girls are
selling them or especially for our election week cookies. We
sell cookies between November one and November ninth. It's really
important and.

Speaker 3 (04:01):
I hope that the businesses will also.

Speaker 2 (04:03):
Support buying cookies for our gifts of Caring, which goes
to our veterans that are spread across the world. Whool
doesn't like a good Girl Scout cookie treat, So you
can make someone excited by buying that as well.

Speaker 1 (04:15):
That is awesome. Oh my goodness. So did you say
wreaths and treats.

Speaker 3 (04:21):
Treats and reads.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
Oh, treats like you can buy you know, nuts and
things like that are mints, or you can buy magazines.
You know, there's a lot of different stationary So the
Treats and Reads program that is our fall entrepreneurship program
for the Girl Scouts. You can just look through the
book and the magazine digitally and figure out what you
want to order.

Speaker 1 (04:41):
I see, I love that. I love those books and
all the stuff for your home. It's so nice.

Speaker 2 (04:47):
Thank you, I DC.

Speaker 1 (04:50):
We talked about the benefits of becoming a Girl Scout.
Let's talk more about the events that are coming up
for youth members and adult volunteers.

Speaker 2 (05:00):
We have lots of lots of events. I mean, our
website shows all our different events. But we recently completed
two major events. Our annual Family Overnight camp out at
hamm and NaSTA Beach State Park, and that was really
cool because our members were immersed in nature and learned
new skills, got the bomb with several Girl Scouts and
shoot leaders.

Speaker 3 (05:18):
And then we have our.

Speaker 2 (05:19):
Overnight at Camp Sakorski, a Lockhey Martin Company, which is
a very high energy, hands on weekend which allows our
members to dive into real world STEM experience with a
lot of the professionals. Obviously, Sikorski is one of the
world's leading aerospace companies, so they'll have a one night
tent camping explore engineering, aviation public speaking along Sikorsky aircraft

(05:43):
engineers and executives. But coming up this month, we're offering
Skies the Limit Hiking Challenge, so we want our members
to explore fifteen designated state parks and forest observing really
how nature connects with everything.

Speaker 3 (05:57):
So that's a program.

Speaker 2 (05:57):
But then we got our Paper Engineering program, and that
is an engineering challenge where Girl Scouts would discover the
art techniques behind pop up book design at least love.

Speaker 3 (06:08):
Pop up books.

Speaker 1 (06:08):
Oh yeah.

Speaker 2 (06:09):
And they can experiment with folds and mechanisms, learn to
prototype illustrations into kinetic cards, and use problem solving skills
and exciting collapsible structures. And I mean, there's just so
much more this echo box and action urban hiking adults
and pediatric CPR. I mean, I can go on and on,
but I think it's important when you hear the breath

(06:31):
and death of our program. That is why one in
six women leaders in Connecticut have been Girl Scouts. That is,
two hundred and twenty one thousand members of women in
Connecticut have been Girl Scouts. It's because of these skills
you learn during your Girl Scouts that help you in
your job and your career, your professional life. You can
excel because you've had exposure to these very things that

(06:53):
you may not have tried without Girl Scouts.

Speaker 1 (06:55):
That was going through the attic and I came across
my little ones, Daisy Vast with the pedals that Yeah,
Honest to god, I could cry right now just telling
you about the different color pedals that I had, say
iron on there and she's twenty one now. It actually
breaks my heart. It was just such a blessing to
all of us to be involved in it.

Speaker 2 (07:16):
Yeah, I think it's great. And you know what, your
daughters can come back and be troop leaders right or
be involved in young alumni events. You have a young
Alumni LinkedIn page. We have activities where you graduated and
you're a Girl Scout alum, what do you do. Let's
get together. Let's go hiking, Let's go camping, Let's go
to some of the interesting places that we have all
across our state. Or if you're retired or you're missing

(07:39):
your girls, they're grown up. Now, come be a volunteer,
Come be a troop leader, Come be a troop co leader.
It really really is easy, and we walk you through
the process and you will brighten up a young person's life.

Speaker 1 (07:50):
Absolutely. Why is it so important to pour into a
young woman's self esteem like the Girl Scouts does?

Speaker 2 (07:57):
Do you want people to be happy? You want people
to be give back to their communities, understand a sense.

Speaker 3 (08:04):
Of servant leadership.

Speaker 2 (08:06):
And when you come to the Girl Scouts, we have
all these various activities that build that confidence and that
courage to try things. So when you're pouring into a
person a Girl Scout, you know you are basically enhancing.

Speaker 3 (08:20):
A person who contribute to your community.

Speaker 2 (08:22):
And that's what they do. Through our highest awards Bronze, Silver,
and Gold awards. Those are activities that they are basically
create take action projects aimed at making a positive impact
in their communities. So they don't only earn badges, but
they also earn monetary rewards for the work that they
do in their community. So who doesn't want a kind

(08:42):
and carrying human being. I think we underestimate the fact
of being kind and caring and giving back to your community,
but we don't in Girl Scouts.

Speaker 3 (08:50):
That's what we're all about.

Speaker 2 (08:52):
Hmm.

Speaker 1 (08:52):
I love that your mission has remained the same, but
the activities have been more modernized for today's young women.
Do you want to explain that?

Speaker 3 (09:00):
Yeah, I mean, you're exactly right.

Speaker 2 (09:02):
We are modernized because we want to appeal to today's
action oriented young women of character, and we really think
that everyone will find something from our variety of enhanced
activities and updated programs that are strategically taking place in
all corners of the state. So we're statewide, so my
staff will go to the various corners of the state.

(09:22):
We have five communities that we service that include all
of our counties, and we just really encourage everyone to
explore what Growth Scouts in Connecticut has to offer in
the upcoming year. Go to our website www dot GSOSCT
dot org and you can figure out ways to donate
to help us get more Girl Scouts to participate, Come

(09:45):
to our different camps, come to our different programs.

Speaker 3 (09:48):
You can figure out.

Speaker 2 (09:49):
How to be a volunteer, or you can sign up
to be a growth Scout.

Speaker 1 (09:52):
Wonderful. I was going to ask you about donations. Is
it just monetary donations? Is there other things that people
can do.

Speaker 2 (10:00):
They can volunteer their time with us, But monetary donations
certainly help. Corporate sponsorships certainly help. We're just doing a
variety of things. That had Camp CEO at Cuny pac
University where they stayed overnight and there with the professors
that had twenty three girls come. And that's expensive, So.

Speaker 3 (10:17):
We need money for financial aids.

Speaker 2 (10:19):
Or i'll say scholarships for the girls to attend some
of these camps. We buy a lot of materials for
our different programming, for our programs, and the badges invested
they earn. So money will go a long way to
make a young girl Scout very happy and help them
and their troops.

Speaker 1 (10:35):
Absolutely, Alicia, before I let you go anything else, we
didn't talk about.

Speaker 2 (10:39):
No, we talked about everything. I think I want you
to remember that treats and reasons coming up, so girl
Scouts will come around with their forms or email you
and you can digitally buy all these great items. But
then also election week cookies November first and November ninth,
and if you want to find a boost. You can
try the new Explore More cookie, but other than that,
after November ninth is over. To wait until January to

(11:01):
April when our Girl Scouts will be out selling cookies
of the Cookie booth various places. Or you can sign
up digitally if you know a Girl Scout, but go
on our website. If you don't know a Girl Scout,
I'm telling you go to our website www DSOSTT dot org.

Speaker 3 (11:16):
And if you want to be a troop leader or
be a member, call.

Speaker 2 (11:20):
Us at eight hundred nine two two two seven seven
zero eight hundred nine two two two seven seven zero
because we have a lot going on, so get online
and see what our program guide looks like.

Speaker 1 (11:33):
Absolutely, I'm speaking with Alicia Pegee Spearman, Chief Operating Officer
for the Girl Scouts of Connecticut. Again, it's GSOFCT dot org.
Please make a donation. You're pouring into these young women's
lives in so many different ways, and then they'll do
it with their children and their children and the blessing
just gets passed down. Thank you so much for being
here today and for serving the community.

Speaker 2 (11:56):
It's my absolute pleasure. And let's start a moving in Connecticut.
Five dollars for a Girl Scout. Everybody in Connecticut, get
online and give five dollars that's less than a cup
of coffee. Then you'll support a young lady who's going
to grow into a women leader in the community. Thank
you for having me on today.
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