Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Meet Camp Cahinnio Camp Director Pockets!


Meeting new friends from all over the region! Canoeing across the lake! Singing camp songs all night long! Trying new activities, foods, and games! Camp is a great opportunity to discover hidden talents, new adventures, and great experiences. We got an exclusive interview with Camp Cahinnio Camp Director, Amanda Hall, on her love for camp life and what she is looking forward to this upcoming camp year.

Name: Amanda Hall
Title: Director of Camp Cahinnio
Camp Name: Pockets
Favorite Thing about Camp: Singing Camp Songs
Camp Advice: Try Everything!!!
 
 


GS Diamonds Reporter: How did you get the camp name Pockets? 

Pockets: I choose my name but wasn't really proud of it till several years on staff.  I did at one point take one of my dad's old shirts and sew on scrap fabric to make pockets, I may still have that hiding in a box somewhere.  It is also a funny name because for the first several years as staff I seemed to not have shorts that had pockets.  
GS Diamonds Reporter: What’s your camp background and experience?  

Pockets:  I grew up going to Girl Scout camp in Oklahoma.  I only went once a year and only because of the number of cookies I sold.  I was a CIT and then was on staff for 5 years working my way up the ranks (counselor, lifeguard, waterfront director).  I am on my second year as Camp Director at Camp Cahinnio and about to complete my masters in Camp Administration and Leadership.  
GS Diamonds Reporter: What is your favorite part of camp?

Pockets:  I really love singing at camp.  It is a great time filler, they are always weird and creative, and it is always fun to learn new ones.  There is never a wrong time to sing a song at Girl Scout camp.

GS Diamonds Reporter: What is your favorite camp activity?  
Pockets:  This is a hard one.  I love to canoe, shoot a bow and arrow, cook out, and hike.  However my favorite is one that we do not have at camp and that is Rappelling.  I like the rush and feeling of going down the side of a mountain/rock with nothing but the ground far below me.

GS Diamonds Reporter: What are you most looking forward to this summer?
Pockets:  I cannot wait to see the girls again.  To be able to see girls try new things, make new friends, have fun, and just be themselves is a wonderful feeling.  I also enjoy making things up to do with girls like going on a roller coaster in the dining hall.

GS Diamonds Reporter: What is your advice for first time campers?  

Pockets: Try everything whether it is an activity, game, song or food.  You never know you like something till you try it.  

GS Diamonds Reporter: Why do you love being a Girl Scout?  

Pockets: The opportunities that are available to girls in the program are endless.  Not only did I go to camp but I have travelled around the world from Australia to Mexico, to Scotland.  I cannot wait to share these experiences but also be able to provide opportunities to girls in the future.
We hope all the campers have a wonderful camp experience with Pockets at Camp Cahinnio!!!

Interested in learning more about Pockets??? Post questions for her and we will find out what you want to know!!!!

Meet Camp Crossed Arrows Camp Director Nike!


Biting into a yummy s’more cooked over an open fire! Listening to the sounds of nature as you walk the trail! Singing camp songs all night long! What better way to jump start summer than Diamonds Camp. Camp has officially begun! We got an exclusive interview with Camp Crossed Arrows Camp Director, Linda Archer, on her thoughts on camp life and what she is looking forward to this upcoming camp year.
 
Name: Linda Archer
Title: Director of Camp Crossed Arrows
Camp Name: Nike (Greek Goddess of Victory)  
Favorite Thing about Camp: Camp Family
Camp Advice: Pack extra socks


GS Diamonds Reporter: How did you get the camp name Nike?
Nike: I didn’t have a “good” name my first CIT year so I was searching for a camp name I liked. I happened to be flipping through an encyclopedia in my high school library and flipped across information on Nike – the Greek Goddess of Victory. I was sporty and athletic so I thought it was a great camp name. I’ve had it since I was 16.
GS Diamonds Reporter: What’s your camp background and experience?
Nike: I grew up as a camper at Camp Cahinnio and then served on camp staff at Cahinnio for 5 years. I worked in the “real world” for 4.5 before an opening brought me back to the Girl Scout office in Fort Smith as the Program Specialist and Nature Center Coordinator. In 2011, I was promoted to Camp Director of Camp Cahinnio and Camp High Point. In 2012, through pure luck, I was appointed Camp Director of Camp Crossed Arrows and I plan on spending many more years here!
GS Diamonds Reporter: What is your favorite part of camp?
Nike: Personally, it’s the camp family. You have a whole group of people that are in on a huge secret that you are part of – camp names, camp traditions, and the camp way of life. Professionally, my favorite part is when I can encourage a girl to try something new that she was scared of trying. And when she tries it, she loves it. The best reward of working at camp is to see that instance change in a girls confidence once she gains a new skill that she didn’t feel she had the ability to do previously.
GS Diamonds Reporter: What is your favorite camp activity?
Nike: Swimming, canoeing and horseback riding but not always in that order
GS Diamonds Reporter: What are you most looking forward to this summer?
 Nike: Campers!!! I can’t wait for the campers to arrive and for us to have the chance to invite the campers into our camp family.
GS Diamonds Reporter: What is your advice for first time campers?
Nike: Try new things, pack twice as many socks as the packing list says, and pack a few extra bags that can be used for anything and everything.
GS Diamonds Reporter: Why do you love being a Girl Scout?
Nike: I really can’t put my finger on it, but I love being a Girl Scout and I love that I get to be so involved in camp. I grew up at summer camp and I can attribute some of my life skills to the sessions that I participated in as a camper and a staff member. Because of camp, I’m a Lifeguard Instructor, I have strong canoeing skills, and I know that I can do anything that I set my mind to.  
 We hope all the campers have a wonderful experience with Nike at Camp Crossed Arrows!!!

Interested in learning more about Nike??? Post questions for her and we will find out what you want to know!!!!

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Summer Fun Has Just Begun!!!


The final bell has rung, the last textbook has been read, and the teacher has cleared all the assignments off the Smart Board. School is officially out and it’s time to welcome summer in. Kickback, pour yourself a tall glass of sweet lemonade, chill poolside and soak up the sun, because you’ve made it through another successful school year.

Just because school has ended doesn’t mean your Girl Scout fun has to come to an end. Register for a Girl Scout camp. Enjoy the great outdoors, roast some s’mores, meet Girl Scouts from all across our council, and make memories to last a lifetime. You can get a jump start on earning badges or design your own. Check out www.gsusa.org for more details on how to make your own unique badge. Make a “R.A.K.S” list, and try to complete all your “random acts of kindness” by the end of the summer. There are tons of fun Girl Scouting activities to do this summer, just think BIG!

So what is on your summer “to do” list? Travel to faraway lands and immerse into a new culture? Download a page turning mystery that will keep you on your toes? How about start a new hobby? Challenge yourself to do something you have always been interested in, yet never had the time to start, such as trying a new recipe, taking an art class, or learning how to fish. It is always fun to try new things. Invite a friend to try something new with you, the more the merrier!  There are lots of events going on right outside your door like Girl Scouts Day at Wild River Country, Saturday, June 22nd. Check out other great activities we found going on in your community.

Tell us what you have planned for the summer or suggest other fun activities in your area.

Hope to hear from you soon!!!
 
 
Fun Activities in Your Own Backyard

 
 

What

When

Where

Time

Cost

Details

Contact

Family Network NWA Teddy Bear Picnic

Thurs., June 20th

Mount Sequoyah Retreat Center (Fayetteville, AR)

5:30-7pm

$10

Entertainment by The Kiddos. Kid-friendly box suppers will be provided — along with a mini bear for each child.

 

Call for more details(479) 927-3659)

Mount Magazine Butterfly Festival

Friday, June 21st-Sat., June 22nd

Logan County Fairgrounds

(Fort Smith, AR)

9-5pm Friday, 9-8pm Sat.

Free

Venues include: Art Show & Sale, Photo Contest, Food Vendors, Kids Zone includes Camel Ride, Barrel Train, Petting Zoo, Army National Guard Rock Wall, Live Butterfly Observation, Helicopter Ride, Musical Entertainment

 

Contact for more info (479)963-2244

Two Dumb Dogs by Edith Weiss.

 

Thurs., June 20th, Friday, June 21st.

Fowler Center (Jonesboro, AR)

10am & 2pm Thurs., 10am & 7:30pm (Fri.)

$5

Play presented by Arkansas State University’s Summer Children’s Theatre

Contact for more info (870) 972-2037

The Great War Memorial Balloon Race

Fri., June 21st- Sun., June 23rd

War Memorial Stadium (Little Rock, AR)

4pm-10pm (Fri.), 6:30am-10pm (Sat.), 6:30am-3pm (Sun.)

Adults $5  Kids 12 and under FREE

Live music, Hot air balloon rides, food vendors, bean bag toss, inflatable slides, bounce houses, carnival rides


Girl Scouts Day at Wild River Country

Sat., June 22nd

Wild River Country Water Park (Little Rock, AR)

Park hours

Park hours

Enjoy the water slides, the lazy river, and the wave pool

Contact for more info Wild River Country at (501)753-8600
                  

 
 

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Dedicated Dad of a Girl Scout


When most people think about Girl Scouts often times they think of girls bonding with other girls, leaders and volunteers all being women, and there being no place for men. It’s been long overdue for us to kick those thoughts out of our head, because many dads play a big part in Girl Scouting. The organization is mostly run by women, but there are also some dads out there who have made their daughters’ girl scouting experience great.

I can remember during cookie season, many dads coming to the church to help load tons of cookies into countless vehicles. Not only were they cookie loaders, but also chauffeurs. Every second and fourth Saturday, I remember my dad taking me to my Girl Scout meeting or a Girl Scout event. My dad wore the hat of a chauffeur, but also a seamstress. He would sew each patch on to my vest year after year; and he never complained when he had to re-sew the patches back on because they were upside down. One of my favorite Girl Scout memories with my dad was the annual father/daughter dance. I can remember my dad opening the door, holding my hand as I walked up the steps, and saying this is the way that you should be treated with respect, just like a queen.

Dads can play such a large part in making a girl’s experience in girl scouting one which will last a lifetime. Thank the guy in your life that has helped make your Girl Scout experience wonderful. Whether a dad, a brother, or an uncle, tell them how much you appreciate them.

What has been your favorite Girl Scout memory with your dad? Share with us!

 

Thanks Dad,

JoNece Carter

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Union Service Unit has a "WICKED" good time in New Orleans

The stage is set, the thespians have taken their positions, the curtain rises dramatically- Lights, Camera, Action!!! Thirty four members of the El Dorado Union Service Unit dabbled in the arts this past weekend. They traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana May 31st through June 2nd to see the Broadway musical Wicked at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre.


Wicked is a musical based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. The musical is told from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz; its plot begins before and continues after Dorothy's arrival in Oz from Kansas and includes several references to the 1939 film and Baum's novel. Wicked tells the story of two unlikely friends, Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda (the Good Witch of the North), who struggle through opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government, and, ultimately, Elphaba's public fall from grace. Winner of 35 major awards and three Tony Awards®, WICKED is “Broadway’s biggest blockbuster” (The New York Times, 2010).


All the girls were anxious and excited about the trip to see the musical, but for four girls this trip was more than just about going to see Wicked. This was their first time traveling outside the state of Arkansas. Traveling out of state for the first time is fun and adventurous, because you never know what to expect. They experienced traveling with a group of people, while everyone got to submerge in the New Orleans culture. They tasted New Orleans cuisines, experienced the diversity of the arts, and visited the New Orleans French Quarter. Do you remember the first time you traveled to a different state or country?


The hard work these Girl Scouts put into their cookie season helped fund their trip, along with their garage sale. While planning this trip, the girls learned the values of making smart financial choices, the importance of personal communication, and the fundamentals of decision-making. These Girl Scouts will get the opportunity to earn their “Wicked” patch by identifying stereotypes and giving examples of good and evil from the musical. They are also required interview several people who may have encountered bias due to their race, gender, age, or abilities.


Sounds like the  Union Service Unit had a “wicked” good time this weekend! Check out some of their photos from their great weekend.