Lemont Girl Scouts Celebrate 100th Anniversary

More than 125 Lemont Girl Scouts packed the on Monday to celebrate the 100th birthday of Girl Scouts of the United States of America.

Troop 931 Leader Jodi Stood said nine fifth-graders from Old Quarry Middle School took on much of the responsibility for planning the event. 

The program began with a flag ceremony and opening statements from the girls, and continued with outdoor and indoor games, sing-alongs and a 100-year craft.

The girls also heard from guest speakers Maureen Orlando and Geri Pocilujko, past volunteers with the Lemont service unit, and Laura Petruzzelli, a 100-year-old great-grandmother of a Lemont Girl Scout.

At 7:12 p.m. (19:12 in military time), the Lemont Girl Scouts joined an estimated 3 million current and former Scouts across the country for a "Promise Circle," in which they recited the Girl Scout Promise and Law and sang the song "Make New Friends."

Stood said the program was a "phenomenal" success.

"It was fantastic to take part in this historic event," she said.

Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low assembled 18 girls from Savannah on March 12, 1912, for the first Girl Scout meeting. 

According to the Girl Scouts website, "She believed that all girls should be given the opportunity to develop physically, mentally, and spiritually. With the goal of bringing girls out of isolated home environments and into community service and the open air, Girl Scouts hiked, played basketball, went on camping trips, learned how to tell time by the stars, and studied first aid."

Today, the Girl Scouts of the USA has more than 3.2 million members and more than 50 million alumnae. Famour former Girl Scouts include Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former First Lady Laura Bush, Katie Couric, Lucille Ball, Martha Stewart, Barbara Walters and Dakota Fanning.

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