I hear there’s a cookie selling contest going on. Apparently Queen Bee and P are neck and neck. P said she has sold more than Bee but wouldn’t give me a number.

Is she bluffing?? Are you selling more than both of them??

1. All great events start with a great idea.

2. Think through your goals and objectives: Answer the questions “why am I doing this event? what will I learn from it? how will I grow? what specific goals do I want the event to achieve?

3. Design the event: Try to design the event so it will catch people’s interest. Ask yourself you can make your event fun and worthwhile for people to attend. Give your event a clear, short name that clearly says what the event is about. Think of a ‘gimmick’ that will draw people to the event - a speaker, movie, learning opportunity like outdoor education, etc. or maybe a potluck.

Try to include unstructured, participative activities. What’s the use of planning an event that brings people together if they don’t interact and network? Will they learn much if they just sit and listen to “talking heads”?

4. Promoting Your Event: Before you start buying commerical space, think about who your target audience is. In the example of our International Day, our target audience we decided is Girls Scouts and the community at large. Now we can decide how to reach that audience. To promote to Girl Scouts we decided to speak to the troop leaders and get them pumped up so they bring it to their girls. Another idea is to speak to the girls themselves. Remember to tell them WHY they should come - What they will get out of this event. (And it’s not “so I can get my Silver, duh!”) People always want to know what’s in it for them. Let them know that if they come they have the opportunity to earn the a Brownie try-it or a Junior badge. Wow, now you have their attention! Especially, the leader’s who are always looking for program ideas. And hey, it’s also going to be FUN!

Our second audience is the community. How will you reach them? Try publicising it in the local newspaper and there is more than one of those! Instead of buying ad space, send the editor an e-mail with the Who, When, Where, What’s for the newspaper’s calendar section. They always need content here and as a bonus, you are doing positive media relations for Girl Scouts (i.e. getting our name and message out there). But what is our message to the community? Why should THEY attend? I think that’s something that you as a group need to discuss and understand. Another way to garner community attention is to place poster and flyers in strategic locations around town - places you know many people congregate such as Wal-Mart, Starbux or a grocery store. Remember to ask permission first before taping up a sign anywhere.

Another good method, is word-of-mouth. Tell everyone you know about the event and hype it up to friends and family. People you care about will of course want to support something that you are involved in.

Here’s a recent article I found in the Beaumont Enterprise:

ExxonMobil’s Vander Laan Part of Growing Group of Women in Leadership Roles in Petrochemical Industry                   

Beaumont Enterprise - January 12, 2008

Lisa Vander Laan, manager of ExxonMobil Corp.’s polyethylene plant for almost a year, is seeing more women in leadership roles in the petrochemical industry, which once - like many manufacturing jobs - were almost exclusively male-dominated.

“It certainly has been,” Vander Laan said of who traditionally has led industrial workforce. “But it’s changing. When I started in engineering, there were very few (female) supervisors and managers were even harder to find.”

ExxonMobil also broke the local mold by bringing in Lori Ryerkerk for a tour as Beaumont refinery manager. She is now at corporate headquarters in Irving.

Vander Laan, 40, a Lake Charles, La., native who graduated from Louisiana State University in 1989 with a degree in chemical engineering, spent her first decade with ExxonMobil in Baton Rouge in manufacturing and the next seven years at the corporation’s Houston headquarters for chemicals before she took over at the polyethylene plant, 11432 U.S. 90.

The plant produces the polymer that is sold to other companies that make end-user products such as plastic film that holds together a package of water bottles, for example, or plastic dry-cleaner bags, or the plastics sacks that hold groceries.

The material for it comes through an ethylene pipeline from the ExxonMobil chemical plant next to the Beaumont refinery.

Like the other ExxonMobil plants in Beaumont, the polyethylene plant is designated as a Star Site by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which means it has attained a high level of safe operations through programs developed by labor and management.

It’s a designation the polyethylene plant must recertify in 2009, and it’s the kind of thing that Vander Laan said suits her well.

“I tend to be more inclusive and teamwork-driven,” she said of her own management style. “I got lucky. This is one of my favorite jobs. It’s a big responsibility. The people are my favorite part of the job. They talk about their can-do attitude.”

It came as no surprise to Vander Laan that she would become a chemical engineer. It seems to run in the family.

“My dad is a chemical engineer. I have an older sister and younger sister who are chemical engineers. And all the girls married ExxonMobil guys,” she said.

Chemical engineering at Lamar University draws more women than any other engineering specialty, said Jack Hopper, dean of the College of Engineering.

Since 2002, Hopper said women averaged 41 percent of the graduates in chemical engineering, and that trend is holding.

“Females identify more with chemistry more than they do with physics,” Hopper said, drawing on more than 40 years of experience in tracking the trends.

An emphasis in physics would lead engineering graduates into electrical, mechanical and civil engineering, Hopper said.

All aspects of engineering, including chemical engineering, require mathematics, “and women are excellent mathematicians,” Hopper said.

Vander Laan agrees that there are “significantly more women” in chemical engineering than in the other engineering disciplines. She said ExxonMobil encourages girls to get into math and science.

“We have an ‘Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day,’ ” Vander Laan said. It’s in the spring, she said.

Her own daughters are 10 and 12, and she has no idea whether they are headed for chemical engineering like she and her sisters, who “love math,” she said.

Even though the responsibilities of plant manager are a challenge, Vander Laan said ExxonMobil also is supportive of what she calls a “work-family balance.”

“It’s not just being female, but it’s also family,” she said. “It’s not just women who need to get home and be with the kids, but men need to get home and be with the kids, too.”

From U.S. News & World Report:

You will need to complete the following eight activities to earn this award. To find complete descriptions of these activities please see page 142 in your Cadette Girl Scoute handbook.

1. Find out about Senior Girl Scouting

2. Read two sections in the A Resource Book for Girl Scouting

3. Do an activity with Senior Girl Scouts

4. Help others learn about Cadette Girl Scouting

5. Find out about the Apprentice Trainer, Leader-in-Training (LIT), Counselor-in-Training (CIT), and destinations

6. Conduct a leadership activity with a group of younger Girl Scouts

7. Design your own bridging ceremony

8. Plan and participate in a summer Girl Scout activity

Have fun and let me know if you need any help!

The 2008 Girl Scout Leadership Institute (GSLI) (formerly Girl Congress) is part of the leadership development program for girls in grades 6 -12, designed to develop and hone their leadership skills, provide an opportunity to discuss key health issues relevant to them, and engage in a fun and interactive learning environment with peers and adults. Sponsored by Girl Scouts of the USA and Girl Scouts of Central Indiana, the GSLI will be held on October 29-30, 2008, in Indianapolis, Indiana, prior to the National Council Session.

Over 2,000 girls from across the country will have the opportunity to participate in this unique and exciting event. The 2008 GSLI will serve as a model for future national, regional and local GSLIs to be implemented throughout Girl Scouting. As part of this leadership experience, girls will have the opportunity to engage in a myriad of workshops in an environment that fosters inclusion and pluralism. Workshop topics range from understanding the democratic process in a way that prepares girls to better participate in the business of the National Convention to learning and discussing key issues of health relevant to and identified by girls, such as self-esteem, bullying and stress.

With experts in these fields leading group sessions, girls will be provided a safe space to discuss ideas and issues that are important to them. Through participation in these workshops girls will identify ways the information is personally relevant, as well as strategies to take action back in their communities.

Registration info:
Registration opens January 31, 2008
Fee is $125 per participant.
Registration deadline is July 31, 2008
For more information check out www.girlscoutsindiana.org

 I really feel like I’m getting nothing accomplished today and that’s so frustrating. So many things are coming at me from all directions… I don’t know what to do first. Can I run away?! One of these days you won’t hear from me b/c I have run away to Charleston.

Let me know if you guys want to see this when it comes out in theaters in March. Sounds like an awesome thing for all girls and women to see. We could go out to dinner beforehand too.

Here’s the movie trailer. Aparently it has started playing before Juno.

I drink a cup of green tea every morning and maybe one in the afternoon and maybe then one at night before bed. It does revive me.

Please do…

AMEN!

Black Eyed Peas - “Let’s Get It Started”

Cyndi Lauper - “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”

Whitney Houston - "I Wanna Dance With Somebody"

Janet Jackson - "Love Will Never Do"

Janet Jackson - “Escapade”

Madonna - "Vogue"

Madonna - "Holiday"

Madonna - “Like a Prayer”

Madonna - "Material Girl"

Madonna - "Get Into the Groove"

The Faders - "No Sleep Tonight"

Paul Oakenfold - "Starry Eyed Suprise"

Atomic Kitten - "The Tide is High"

Elvis (Paul Oakenfold remix) - "Rubberneckin"

Israel Kamakawiwo - "Somewhere Over the Rainbow; What a Wonderful World"