(Knoxville, Tenn.)

This year’s Girl Scout Cookie sale has some fresh, new aspects, including a special cookie created just for the 100^th Anniversary of Girl Scouts of the USA: Savannah Smiles. It is a cool, crisp lemon cookie with just the right number of lemon chips to delivery tiny bursts of flavor – and the cookie is named after the birthplace of Girl Scouting: Savannah, Ga.

Additionally, some troops within the Southern Appalachians council will participate in a pilot program in which the Girl Scouts will accept payment for cookies by credit card using a device called GoPayment, a free credit card reader that clips onto smartphones.

Also recently announced was the FREE “Girl Scout Cookie Locator” smartphone app, which allows users to locate Girl Scout Cookies for sale in their neighborhood.

Eight varieties of Girl Scout Cookies will be sold at booths this year: Thin Mints, Samoas, Tagalongs, Do-si-dos, Trefoils, Savannah Smiles, Dulce de Leche and Thank U BerryMunch. The price per box remains $3.50, and booth sales are February 17 through March 11.

“Girl Scout Cookie season is an exciting time for our council,” said Booth Kammann, CEO of Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians (GSCSA). “Proceeds from the sale can help send a Girl Scout to camp, help pay for clothes for an abuse victim rushed to a shelter or cheer up a soldier far from home.”

“This program encourages entrepreneurship, goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics. Selling cookies teaches girls valuable lessons that will impact their futures in an extremely positive way,” said Kammann.

Some troops will even participate in the “Bling My Booth” competition, in which they will go all-out to decorate cookie booths with special themes. In 2012, girls will decorate cookie booths to celebrate the Girl Scouts’ 100^th Anniversary. Girls will then post booth photos on the council’s website, and tens-of-thousands of fans will go online to vote for their favorites.

All proceeds from the Girl Scout Cookie sale stay within the council. Some earnings go directly to troops for girls to decide how to use – from paying for special events to funding community service projects.

To find a Girl Scout selling cookies in your area, call 1-800-474-1912 or download the Girl Scout Cookie Locator smartphone app. Visit www.girlscoutcsa.org for more information on the sale.

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About Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians
The Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians has more than 20,000 girl and adult members stretching from North Georgia to Southwest Virginia. Service centers are located in Chattanooga, Knoxville and Johnson City. Our mission is to build girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place. The council offers financial assistance to ensure that every girl who wants to be a Girl Scout has the opportunity to join this vibrant organization.

Media Contact:
Sarah Malak Pope, Ackermann PR
(865) 584-0550
spope@ackermannpr.com

Juliette Gordon Low, Founder of Girl Scouts

Knoxville, Tenn. - On March 12, 1912, Juliette Gordon Low of Savannah, Ga. made a historic telephone call to a distant cousin saying, “I’ve got something for the girls of Savannah, and all of America, and all the world, and we’re going to start it tonight!”

That phone call was a precursor to the meeting that Low (affectionately called “Daisy” by family and friends) held that evening when 18 girls gathered to register the first troop of American Girl Guides. The name of the organization was changed to Girl Scouts the following year.

Girl Scouts of the USA now has a membership of more than 3.2 million girls and adults and more than 50 million women in the United States today are Girl Scout alumnae.

Today, Girl Scouts of the USA declared 2012 the “Year of the Girl” and launched the ToGetHerThere campaign. Girl Scouts is issuing an urgent call for all members of society to place girl leadership front and center on the national agenda. The ultimate ToGetHerThere goal is to break down barriers to female leadership. The details are posted here.

In addition to focusing on the ToGetHerThere goal, Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians (GSCSA) will produce several large events for the 100^th Anniversary for Girl Scouts, volunteers and alumnae within its jurisdiction. A list of scheduled events along with descriptions is listed below.

Event: Cookies and Cocktails
Location: The Emporium Center (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Date/Time: Friday, March 16, 2012, 6-8 p.m.
Sample savory appetizers and the sweetest desserts – all inspired by Girl Scout Cookies. Chefs from area restaurants are asked to put a new spin on an old favorite. Sweet or savory, chefs may use any of the eight varieties of Girl Scout cookies to create and serve up their signature item of choice. Live music, cocktails and “celebrity judges.” Adults ages 21 and up only.

Event: Celebrate 100 Years of Girl Scouts
Location: Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge (Oak Ridge, Tenn.)
Date/Time: Saturday, March 24, 2012, 10:15 a.m. – 4 p.m.
A day to celebrate Girl Scouting throughout history. Features stage presentations featuring a special guest, lots of fun activities in rooms throughout the museum, lunch and viewing of the new Girl Scout exhibit.

Event: 100^th Anniversary Knoxville Sing-Along
Location: World’s Fair Park (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Date/Time: Saturday, April 28, 2012, 12-4 p.m.
Girl Scout songstress, Melinda Caroll, will headline this event featuring thousands of Girl Scouts singing along to their favorite songs, plus performances, games, crafts and food. Caroll has been the inspirational creative force behind music for Girl Scouts since 1989 and has performed live before hundreds of thousands of Girl Scouts. Currently sponsored in part by B97.5.

Event: 100^th Anniversary Chattanooga Bridgefest
Location: AT&T Field – Lookouts Stadium, Walnut Street Bridge, Coolidge Park (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Date/Time: Saturday, June 2, 2012, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
A progressive event with Opening Ceremonies in AT&T Field – Lookouts Stadium at 9 a.m., follow by thousands of Girl Scouts crossing the Walnut Street Bridge to symbolically “bridge” to the second century of the Girl Scouting at 10 a.m. Ends with a party in Coolidge Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Lookouts will then host the Girl Scouts at their evening game and hold a camp out on the baseball field. Currently sponsored in part by Sunny 92.3.

Event: 100^th Anniversary Rock the Mall Sing-Along Trip to Washington, D.C.
Location: Knoxville, Chattanooga, Johnson City
Date/Time: Thursday, June 7, 2012 – Sunday, June 10, 2012, 8 a.m. on June 7 (may vary)
More than 250 members of GSCSA and their families will travel to Washington, DC for the June 9 100^th Anniversary Rock the Mall Sing-Along on the National Mall and spend a few days touring our nation’s capital. Busses are scheduled to leave from the Knoxville, Chattanooga and Johnson City Girl Scout Service Centers at 8 a.m. on June 7 and return late on June 10. This will be a great visual as the Girl Scouts will be extremely excited about attending this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Event: 100^th Anniversary Bristol Motor Speedway Overnight
Location: Bristol Motor Speedway (Bristol, Tenn.)
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 29 – Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012 (time TBD)
Set to take place at both Earhart Campground and Bristol Motor Speedway. Event attendees will enjoy activities such as “Bling my Campsite,” in which Girl Scouts will compete to decorate their campsite in the most unique, creative and spectacular ways. Activities inside Bristol Motor Speedway include ride-alongs on the track, tours of the spacious suites, relay races, dinner on the “infield,” movies, popcorn and s’mores!

Event: Tennessee Statewide Camporee
Location: Camp Sycamore Hills (Ashland City, Tenn.)
Date/Time: Friday – Sunday, Oct. 12-14, 2012 (time varies by age level)
GSCSA, in conjunction with Girl Scouts Heart of the South and the Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee, will host the Tennessee Statewide Camporee at Camp Sycamore Hills in Ashland City, Tennessee. Girls and adults will spend the weekend enjoying Girl Scout activities, making new friends, and discovering new adventures. Activities include archery, canoeing, horse riding, rappelling, leather works, hiking, wagon rides, tie-dying jewelry making and much more.

Details for these events will continue to be confirmed in the coming months.

Visit www.GirlScoutcsa.org to learn more about each event and for more information on the 100^th Anniversary of Girl Scouting.

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About Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians
The Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians serves nearly 20,000 girl and adult members stretching from North Georgia to Southwest Virginia. Service centers are located in Chattanooga, Knoxville and Johnson City. The organization’s mission is to build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. The council offers financial assistance to ensure that every girl who wants to be a Girl Scout has the opportunity to join this vibrant organization.

Media Contact:
Sarah Pope, Ackermann PR
Phone: (865) 584-0550
Email: spope@ackermannpr.com

http://clarisnetworks.com/About-Us/Cloud-Giveaway

For more information about Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley, visit www.bgctnv.org.

Knoxville, Tenn. –

The youth will be given hats, scarves and gloves, admission to Holidays on Ice skating rink in downtown Knoxville’s Market Square and lunch at a downtown restaurant.

The event is tomorrow, December 20. Group One will eat lunch at Downtown Grill & Brewery from 11 a.m. to noon and ice skate in Market Square from noon to 1:30 p.m. Group Two will eat lunch at Latitude 35 from noon to 1 p.m. and ice skate in Market Square from 1:30 to 3 p.m.

“We are so thankful to Regal Entertainment Group for sponsoring this field trip to downtown Knoxville for our youth,” said John D. Lee, president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley. “Tomorrow’s activities will create lasting memories for the youth who participate – and enjoying an afternoon in downtown Knoxville will be a first for many of these kids. It will truly be a day to remember.”

Please contact Sarah Malak Pope at 865.584.0550 (w), 615.542.2999 (m) or spope@ackermannpr.com to arrange interviews and/or a visit. Boys & Girls Club staff and youth will be available for interviews.

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About Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley
Boys & Girls Clubs currently serves more than 5,600 youth and teens, ages 5 to 17 years throughout the Tennessee Valley region. The organization also provides 404,401 USDA hot meals and snacks annually for youth free of charge. The Clubs serve a variety of youth, more than 80% of whom live with a single parent, foster parent or other nontraditional guardian. There are 16 Club locations strategically placed throughout Knox, Blount, Loudon and Northern Anderson Counties. The organization employs more than 260 trained, professional, caring staff and welcomes more than 1,200 volunteers annually. It is a charter member of United Way.

Media Contact:
Sarah Malak Pope
Phone: 865.584.0550
spope@ackermannpr.com

Knoxville, Tenn.

Due to pro football season being in session, Manning will not be able to attend, but he is sending each of the members a special gift package and providing pizza and drinks.  Manning and the PeyBack Foundation have sponsored this event for the teen members for the past seven years. 

The Moses Teen Center is located at 220 Carrick Street, Knoxville, Tennessee, 37921.  The event will take place in the auditorium on the second floor.

“For the past seven years, Peyton Manning has brightened the holiday season by donating needed items as well as a pizza party for deserving members.  Since his involvement as a summer staff member at the Boys & Girls Clubs many years ago, he realizes not only what impact he has had on our members, but also the impact that our members have had on him.  We appreciate his loyalty to our organization and to our community,” said John D. Lee, President/CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley.

Manning’s relationship with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley goes back to his college days at the University of Tennessee.  Manning is a former staff member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley, as he worked for two summers as a participant in the Athlete Reading Program.  He was also the featured speaker at the 2006 Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame and Induction Ceremony, an annual event that benefits the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley.

Interviews and photo opportunities may be arranged on site.  For more information, call Anna Beth Meccia at (865) 232-1120 or Sarah Malak Pope at spope@ackermannpr.com.

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ABOUT BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY: The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley serves 5,600 children through 15 locations in Knox, Loudon, Blount and North Anderson Counties.  On average, 1,200 youth, ranging from 5 to 17 years of age, walk through the Clubs’ doors daily.  Programs at the Boys & Girls Clubs encourage youth to aspire to BE GREAT by increasing academic success, encouraging healthy lifestyles and developing productive citizens.

Knoxville, Tenn. – John D. Lee, current President and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley (BGCTNV), was recently inducted into the Boys & Girls Clubs in Tennessee Hall of Fame.

John D. Lee with Lawrence Hahn, former Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Oak Ridge and Boys & Girls Clubs in Tennessee Hall of Fame member

The Boys & Girls Clubs in Tennessee Hall of Fame is open to any individual who has provided exceptional service to a Boys & Girls Club(s) in Tennessee, either from Club membership, serving as staff or on a board of directors, volunteering or any other beneficial service.

Lee, who recently announced his retirement of BGCTNV as President and CEO, has spent more than 40 years of his career working with the organization. He began as Assistant Executive Director in 1970 and he is only the second President/CEO in the organization’s history since its inception in 1943.

Lee’s retirement is effective Dec. 31, 2011. Lisa Hurst, current Executive Vice President of BGCTNV, has been named his successor.

L to R: John D. Lee (Tennessee Valley), Farzin Ferdowsi (Middle Tennessee), Chuck Owens (Kingsport), Steve McKinney (Rutherford County), James H. Tucker (Cleveland) (not pictured Bernal E. Smith, Sr. (Greater Memphis))

For more information about John D. Lee and the Boys & Girls Clubs in Tennessee Hall of Fame, contact Sarah Pope at (865) 584-0550 or spope@ackermannpr.com.

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About Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley
Boys & Girls Clubs currently serves more than 5,600 youth and teens, ages 5 to 17 years throughout the Tennessee Valley region. The organization also provides 404,401 USDA hot meals and snacks annually for youth free of charge. The Clubs serve a variety of youth, more than 80% of whom live with a single parent, foster parent or other nontraditional guardian. There are 16 Club locations strategically placed throughout Knox, Blount, Loudon and Northern Anderson Counties. The organization employs more than 260 trained, professional, caring staff and welcomes more than 1,200 volunteers annually. It is a charter member of United Way.

WATE-TV stopped by the Club on Tuesday to learn about the project. Click on the photo to see the story!

WATE-TV Coverage of Alcoa Inc. Work Day at BGCNTV

Lisa Hurst

“The board is thrilled that Lisa has accepted the position of president and CEO,” said R.L. “Bunny” Oakes, III, chairman of the organization’s Corporate Board of Directors. “The search committee conducted an extremely thorough national search for the new President and Lisa came out as the top candidate. Her passion and dedication to the Boys & Girls Clubs are what is necessary to succeed as President and CEO, and we know she is the perfect fit.”

“I’m excited to lead the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley into this next phase,” said Hurst. “I firmly believe that I can provide the leadership to our team to fulfill our vision of ensuring that every child in our community has access to our programs, achieves academic success, lives a healthy lifestyle, and becomes a productive citizen.”

Current BGCTNV President and CEO John D. Lee recently announced his retirement from the organization. His retirement is effective December 31, 2011.

Hurst is available for media interviews. For more information or to set up an interview with Lisa Hurst, contact Sarah Pope at (865) 584-0550 or spope@ackermannpr.com.

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About Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley

Boys & Girls Clubs currently serves more than 5,600 youth and teens, ages 5 to 17 years throughout the Tennessee Valley region. The organization also provides 404,401 USDA hot meals and snacks annually for youth free of charge. The Clubs serve a variety of youth, more than 80% of whom live with a single parent, foster parent or other nontraditional guardian. There are 16 Club locations strategically placed throughout Knox, Blount, Loudon and Northern Anderson Counties. The organization employs more than 260 trained, professional, caring staff and welcomes more than 1,200 volunteers annually. It is a charter member of United Way.

“We are looking for ideas about protecting our valuable resources and addressing our challenges regarding jobs, housing, transportation, a clean environment and community health,” said Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan, chair of the PlanET Board of Mayors. “Our goal is to create long-term solutions for investments in our region and to define the next chapter in our rich history, leaving a legacy of optimism and opportunity for future generations.”

Visitors to the kick-off event will also have an opportunity to interact with the technology the project will use, including websites, online/instant polling software, public surveys and social media tools. Members of the project’s community leadership team will also be on hand to answer questions and discuss the project and its timeline.

“We want people to have a chance to see what the community input process will look like and to meet some of the people who will be working with them in the community over course of the planning project,” said Maryville Mayor Tom Taylor, a member of the PlanET Board of Mayors. “The open house will allow participants to hear stories from their neighbors and learn how they can be a part of adding their stories to the process.”

Guest speakers at the kick-off event include a Union County retiree, a Knox County community leader and an Oak Ridge High School senior, and will illustrate the range of stories, experiences and dreams the project hopes to record in five counties participating in the project: Anderson, Blount, Knox, Loudon and Union.

“While visioning processes are not new to our area, the PlanET project’s strength is its focus on very specific topics and concerns that affect our ability to improve the quality of life for everyone in the five counties,” said Mayor Beehan. “The PlanET project will remain focused solely on topics that help us improve economic and workforce development, air and water quality, affordable housing, healthy living and transportation. By spotlighting these topic areas, we will be able to concentrate the community’s efforts to take advantage of how and where these topics interconnect with one another.”

The project will begin collecting input in November when the first series of community forums will be held in each of the five counties.

For additional information about PlanET and its activities, visit the organization’s website at www.planeasttn.org.

PlanET is a regional partnership of local governments, economic development agencies and non-profit organizations working towards a shared vision for East Tennessee’s future. The project is funded through a mix of federal dollars and local support.

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Media contact:
Jeff Hooper
(865) 584-0550

Tony Hollin, Chairman, President and CEO of Edfinancial Services and member of BGCTNV Corporate Board of Directors

Hollin is a member of the Corporate Board of Directors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley (BGCTNV) and has served on the marketing and communications committee, property committee and annual giving committee.

“Tony and Edfinancial’s philanthropic roles in the Tennessee Valley region have had an enormous impact on the community, especially through their commitment to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley,” said John D. Lee, President and CEO of BGCTNV.

“The company’s employees work every day to make a compelling difference in the lives of the students and families they serve by donating time, energy and funding – as both a company and individual associates,” said Lee.

Hollin was a member of the Boys Club of Valdosta and spent his youth playing sports at the Club, which enabled him to play high school and collegiate football.

For more information about Tony Hollin and Edfinancial and their contributions to BGCTNV, contact Sarah Pope at (865) 584-0550 or spope@ackermannpr.com.

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About Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley

Boys & Girls Clubs currently serves more than 5,600 youth and teens, ages 5 to 17 years throughout the Tennessee Valley region. The organization also provides 404,401 USDA hot meals and snacks annually for youth free of charge. The Clubs serve a variety of youth, more than 80% of whom live with a single parent, foster parent or other nontraditional guardian. There are 16 Club locations strategically placed throughout Knox, Blount, Loudon and Northern Anderson Counties. The organization employs more than 260 trained, professional, caring staff and welcomes more than 1,200 volunteers annually. It is a charter member of United Way.

Media Contact:
Sarah Malak Pope
(865) 584-0550
spope@ackermannpr.com