Tag: Girl Scout Cookies

Area chefs to create delectable dishes inspired by Girl Scout Cookies

Posted by admin – March 1, 2012

(Knoxville, Tenn.) – Girl Scout Cookies are the stars, but who will be the champion?

That will be decided on Friday, March 16, when men and women over the age of 21 are invited to attend “Cookies & Cocktails,” a first-time event in which attendees will sample savory appetizers and the sweetest desserts – all inspired by Girl Scout Cookies! The event is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. at the Knoxville Emporium Center on March 16.

During the event, chefs from area restaurants are asked to put a new spin on an old Girl Scout Cookie 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. Attendees will enjoy samples and cocktails while listening to live music from Old City Buskers.

“Celebrity” judges include Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett, former University of Tennessee basketball star Dane Bradshaw and food editor of the Knoxville News Sentinel, Mary Constantine. Attendees will vote on the “People’s Choice” winner. WATE’s Lori Tucker will emcee the event.

Chefs from Knoxville Catering, Coolato Gelato, Magpies Bakery, Nama Sushi Bar, The Crown & Goose, Echo Bistro and Wine Bar, Roman’s Pizza and Chez Liberty will create culinary masterpieces for the event.

“Cookies & Cocktails is going to be a ton of fun,” said Booth Kammann, CEO of the Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians (GSCSA). “It is an adult celebration of the Girl Scout Cookie season that will feature the community benefits of the program in a fun, festive and adult-oriented environment.  We look forward to engaging a diverse group of adults in Girl Scouts, via an event targeted specifically toward them.”

In 2012, Girl Scouts of the USA will celebrate its 100th Anniversary. “Cookies & Cocktails” is just one of the many events that GSCSA will produce this year to celebrate the anniversary.

Tickets for “Cookies & Cocktails” are $50. Attendees must be 21 years or older to attend. Pre-registration and more information is available online at http://www.girlscoutcsa.org/events/284. Tickets will also be sold at the door pending availability.

For more information on the Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians, visit www.girlscoutcsa.org.

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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

Girl Scout Cookie sales drive is in progress in East Tennessee

Posted by Erin Freeman – February 29, 2012

Girl Scouts of the Southern AppalachiansEast Tennesseans love the Girl Scouts and Girl Scout cookies. The Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians was recently featured on WBIR-TV to help kick off the traditional Girl Scout Cookie sales drive.

As part of this year’s sales drive, the local council is testing the ability to process credit card sales at the cookie booths.

This year’s cookie sales also includes a new variety in honor of the Girl Scouts’ centennial.

Booth sales begin Friday for Girl Scout Cookies

Posted by admin – February 15, 2012

(Knoxville, Tenn.) – Craving a Thin Mint, Samoa, Tagalong or Do-si-do? If so, you are in luck! Booth sales begin this Friday, Feb. 17 outside area businesses for Girl Scout Cookies.

This year’s Girl Scout Cookie sale has some fresh, new aspects, including a special cookie created just for the 100th 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’ 100th 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

Girl Scout Cookie Distribution Impresses UT Logistics Expert

Posted by admin – February 21, 2011

Knoxville, Tenn.  — Stacked to the ceiling of a West Knoxville warehouse, hundreds of palettes of Girl Scout Cookies were ready to be sorted and distributed to Girl Scout Troops throughout the region on Monday. 

“We’ve been looking forward to the arrival of these cookies for months now,” says Booth Kammann, CEO of the Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians.  “The Girl Scout Cookie Program accounts for more than half of our operating budget, so this is a critical step.”

Associate Professor of Logistics at the University of Tennessee, Dr. Mary Holcomb, Ph.D. visited the warehouse to observe the process, as volunteers began to sort and distribute hundreds of thousands of boxes of cookies. 

“It’s phenomenal how much product they run through the warehouse in such a short amount of time,” says Dr. Holcomb.  “There was clearly an enormous amount of planning leading up to today.”  Kammann estimates that on Monday alone 12,000 cases, which equates to 144,000 boxes, will be distributed to the greater Knoxville area, with even more cases scheduled to be distributed the following day.

Photo Courtesy of Daniel Andrews

Dr. Holcomb points to the Girl Scouts color-coded system as a key component of the program’s success.  “It’s visually-driven, making the process of sorting the cookies very accurate and highly efficient.” 

As the cars, vans and SUVs, lined up outside the warehouse, staff and volunteers worked side by side.  “We know we have a lot of work to do in a short amount of time, but we’re happy to do it,” says Kammann.  The Girl Scout Troops in the Southern Appalachians Council benefit directly from the cookie sales; proceeds range from $0.55 per box to $0.75 per box, estimates Kammann.  Girls set goals and determine how these proceeds are used, including support of troop activities and community service projects.

Similar distribution centers are bustling with activity in Chattanooga and the Tri-Cities this week.  Between all locations, volunteers will distribute more than 1 million boxes of cookies this week. 

In 2010, the Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians sold more than 1.6 million boxes of Girl Scout Cookies.  A total of 9,235 Girl Scouts participated last year, but Kammann says the process would not be possible without adult volunteers.  “This is a logistical feat and we greatly appreciate our volunteers who make it happen.”  Dr. Holcomb agrees, “The concerted effort of these well-trained volunteers is extremely valuable to the process.” 

While Girl Scouts are beginning to fill pre-orders this week, booth sales of Girl Scout Cookies begin on Saturday, February 25.  For a list of booth locations in our region, you can visit the council’s website at www.girlscoutcsa.org.   

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About Us
The Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians has 21,000 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.

All Girl Scout Cookie Varieties Still Available

Posted by Ryan Willis – February 3, 2011

Knoxville, Tenn. - Despite a widely syndicated article in the Wall Street Journal that claimed the Girl Scouts were dropping unpopular cookie flavors, the Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians is selling all eight cookie varieties. 

Of 112 Girl Scout councils in the country, only 12 councils are participating in a pilot program that focuses on the six top-selling cookie varieties. These councils are seeking new ways to increase efficiency, ease and simplicity for everyone involved in the cookie program. 

The pilot project will be evaluated at the end of cookie season to see whether a more streamlined product line achieves these objectives. No decision has been made in any council regarding which cookie varieties will be offered in the future. 

“While we look forward to the results of this pilot program, we want our community to know that they can still enjoy a wide variety of cookies from the Girl Scouts in our council,” says Booth Kammann, CEO, Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians. 

The varieties of Girl Scout Cookies include: Thin Mints, Samoas, Tagalongs, Do-si-dos, Trefoils, Lemon Chalet Cremes, Thank U Berry Munch, and Dulce de Leche. 

Members of the Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians will be selling cookies January 12 through March 20. The price per box remains $3.50.

Visit www.girlscoutcsa.org for more information. Booth sales outside local stores begin February 25, and the website will have a cookie locator map showing neighborhood booth times and locations.

“We wouldn’t want any of the misinformation about the variety of Girl Scout Cookies being offered this year to negatively affect our girls’ ability to reach their goals,” adds Kammann. 

All girls benefit equally from the troop’s sales, because proceeds go to the troop treasuries—not to individual girls. Girls have fun reaching a goal, customers get a great product, and all profits stay in the region to be used by local troops and the council to fund services for more than 20,000 girls and volunteers.

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About Us
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.