The S'MORE - Happy Birthday, Troop Spotlight, STEM Programs, Cookie Contests and More!

	Happy Birthday, Girl Scouts!

	Today, we celebrate our 102nd birthday! Juliette Gordon Low organized the first troop on March 12, 1912 in Savannah, Georgia. More than 100 years later, her vision continues to build girls of courage, confidence and character! We hope you are celebrating this great week! We would love to share photos of your parties, community service projects, etc. with others on Facebook. Send your photos and stories to prdept@gsksmo.org. In celebration of our 102nd birthday, FREE shipping from the GS E-Shop until March 16. Happy Girl Scout Week to all of our girls, volunteers and alumnae!

	Engaging Customers at Your Cookie Booth

	If you are a teen Girl Scout leader, you have probably heard from your girls that it is tough to get customers to purchase cookies from them. It is much easier to tell an older Girl Scout "no thank you" than a cute Daisy or Brownie Girl Scout. We know you have heard it all! We love how Senior Girl Scout Troop 110 from Olathe, Kansas gets customers to engage with them. First, they used their teamwork to set their goal (now this goal has been chosen for a few years) - travel to Europe! They had a new strategy this year - just a simple hand-held sign with a thank you for helping us travel to Europe. By eliminating some of the information, it brought customers to the booth and into conversations with the girls. The girls were able to share their plans and answer questions of the customers. It worked! We can never under estimate that personal conversation, and this is a great tactic for older troops! We are sending a GS Shop gift certificate to Troop 110. Join them in the spotlight by submitting your troop story and answering the following question: What activities do you do on troop camp-outs? Send your submission to prdept@gsksmo.org by March 28 for a chance to be spotlighted in the April S'MORE and a GS gift certificate.

	Fun Cookie Contests for March!

	Do you have a cookie booth sale scheduled? Take part in some fun activities to celebrate the world's largest girl-led business! You can "bling" your booth celebrating the theme, "Girl Scouts Change the World" and the 5 skills. Decorate the booth, submit your photo and encourage others to vote for your photo on Facebook. Four opportunities to enter for 1st - 3rd place each week and then an overall grand prize winner who will receive $250 and a troop pizza party. Submit your photo for the 1st week by March 13 to prdept@gsksmo.org. You can also participate in the Twitter contest #gsksmobuy5boxes @gsksmo for the last two weeks of the Cookie Program, March 17-30. A troop and customer winner each week! If you have added your booth sale to SNAP or participating in a council booth sale, you will need to download the sign your troop can decorate and affix to a wooden stick. When a customer buys at least 5 boxes have them pose with the sign and tweet! You will both be entered into the contest. Read all the details about these contests and more now.

	Boots Wanted!

	Please help us stock our boot collection for Camp Daisy Hindman's Summer Horse Program! We are looking for new or used boots of all sizes that have flat soles and a heel. Please contact campdept@gsksmo or call (816) 759-3090 if you can help. Donations may be brought to any GSKSMO office. Thank you!

	National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

	Join the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Championship on March 21 at the Municipal Auditorium for Girl Scout night! All Girl Scouts and their families are welcome to take advantage of discounted tickets to experience a collegiate national championship. Girl Scouts in attendance will have an opportunity to compete in on-court promotional contests during Friday's evening session. And on March 19 join the NAIA for Teaming Up for Character, a unique field trip, which combines the excitement of college basketball with powerful messages that help students learn to do the right thing in all areas of life! For more information on both of these events, visit their Community Partner page.

	Journey of a Leader - Register Today!

	Please join us for our Annual Meeting & Adult Recognition Luncheon on Saturday, April 12 at the Ritz Charles in Overland Park, Kansas. Our Annual Meeting will provide a state of the council and national updates and an opportunity for you to elect our new Board of Directors and National Delegates. Following the meeting, we will move to our Adult Recognition Luncheon where we will celebrate our amazing adult volunteers! Make plans to join us for this special event and register today!

	STEM Programs at Camp

	There are some exciting programs for young scientists at camp! If your Brownie troop is working on the Wonders of Water journey check out our Wonders of Water programs at Camp Tongawood on May 10. Check out the interactive calendar. Cadettes can explore the sky at an Astronomy program at Camp Tongawood on April 12. We are moving the telescopes to Camp Winding River for a special Senior/Ambassador Astronomy session on May 17.

	Final Spark Event of the Year

	Calling all Cadette, Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts! Please join us on Tuesday, May 6 at 7:00 pm for the final Spark Event of this membership year. Black & Veatch will host Girl Scouts at their World Headquarters so they can show girls how exciting a career in engineering could be. Hands-on activity stations will be fun and challenging for girls, and they will get a chance to talk to females in the STEM field about the path that led them to STEM. Get all the information and register now.

	Thank You for Helping us Exceed our Goal!

	We're thrilled to announce that 16 volunteers and staff joined Daisy's Circle at the Volunteer Expo in Topeka. Our goal was to gain 15 Founding Members for our new monthly giving program. Thank you for helping to "bring her promise to life" and exceed our goal! By joining Daisy's Circle, and through your valuable volunteer service, you make it possible to provide the very best leadership experiences to all girls in our council. Pictured at right, Founding Member Jennifer MacLaren (left), Fund Development Manager Elizabeth Wheeler (center), and Vice President of Fund Development Mary Pat Beals (right), pose with our life-sized cutout of Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low. Jennifer was also the lucky winner of our Girl Scouts prize package! Visit www.DaisysCircle.org to learn more or become a Founding Member. Thank you for all you do to support Girl Scouts!

	Upcoming Events

	March 20 Earthworks and Exchange City Brownies Kansas City, Missouri March 29 Cybertales! Brownies Liberty, Missouri April 19 Kansas City Roller Warriors All ages Kansas City, Missouri You Schedule It! Chip's Chocolate Factory All ages and families Kansas City, Missouri You Schedule It! Paint, Glaze and Fire All ages Overland Park, Kansas You Schedule It! Topeka Zoo Badge & Journey Workshops All ages Topeka, Kansas Even more events can be found on the interactive calendar Note: If you would like to read the S'MORE without graphics (great for those smartphones), below there is an update my profile / email link and you can select to receive this e-publication in TEXT-ONLY Format.