My name is Sandy Gentry, Byrnes, Eastlick.
I was a Brownie for 3 months back in 1963, then a Senior for 3 months in 1973. Just 4 years later, following in the footsteps of my older sister, I became a Troop Leader in the Tidewater Council, Virginia Beach, VA. As a 19 yr old troop leader, I learned with my girls how to do all the things I didnt get to do as a child. I moved to Blacksburg, then Charlottesville, always having a Girl Scout troop, and sometimes 2, because my bridging girls also needed a leader. I loved adult outdoor training so much, that I became a volunteer trainer as well as camp director at Camp Sugar Hollow, Crozet, VA. I came back to Virginia Beach, and of course started a troop back home. I even had girls in my wedding as flower girls, and taught the Fashion badge by helping them make their dresses for the wedding. Funny, when we finally had children, I had 2 sons! They were tag-a-longs in all my many Girl Scout adventures, and I even took on Cub Scouts for them as they grew. We moved to Colorado Springs, CO, and I had a troop of 28 Cadettes, who all made Victorian dresses, and went to the Molly Brown House for a Victorian Tea Party to honor Juliette Low in 2012.
We finally moved back to Virginia that year, and my last troop was in Fredericksburg. I ended my Girl Scout career to develop my own business, and, as all things do, the program took a change I had a hard time adapting to.
If I could share my heart, my love of campfires, skits, and songs, of whipporwills and marshmallow and chocolate smudged pug nosed little girls, I would always be back in my favorite Girl Scout memories.
For the future, continue to develop new programs as girls’ interests always change and grow, but please remember to keep the basics. Making new friends, keeping the old, remembering why Juliette started this wonderful adventure, not for any amount of money to be earned, but to share our talents and skills with a new generation of amazing young ladies who will carry on the torch.
