Leader Appreciation Day 

On April 22, 1982, a flag honoring Girl Scout leaders was flown over the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. So began Leader's Day in Girl Scouting, a very special day that comes during National Volunteers Week. That same flag is now at Edith Macy Conference Center and is flown on April 22 of each year.

The purpose of Leader's Day is to recognize all the women and men who serve as Girl Scout volunteer leaders. These women and men act as positive role models and help girls to meet today's challenges and to become tomorrow's competent, self-assured women.

Here are a few things that you and the troop can do to show your appreciation.

• Call the leader to say thank you
• Design a greeting card
• Design and present an award or certificate
• Do a "good deed" service project for the leader and/or leader's family
• Make a banner
• Give a picture of the girls in the troop
• Make and present a scrapbook of the troop's activities
• Plan a surprise party
• Write a poem or story

And the list goes on. You know your troop's leaders best. Think about what would make them feel special and then start planning your celebration of their leadership for Girl Scout Leader Appreciation Day on April 22.

Angel in Green

• Having left mortal earth I passed through Heaven's gate
• And while anxiously awaiting the outcome of my fate
• I walked among the angels all robed in purest white
• Whereupon I saw one figure that cast a greenish light.
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• She sat upon a misty cloud, a harp held to her breast,
• In a flowing, blowing gown of green, unlike all the rest;
• I asked what great deed she'd done to earn the special hue
• That gave her color where others had none, or maybe just a few.
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• She said, "On earth I sought no fame, fortune was not my goal
• I shunned the power of politics and worked without a toll;
• I spent time with children, helping them to grow
• For as you reap in life, so must you learn to sow."
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• "You see," she said, "the dividend while growing up I'd share
• I repaid where many others were too self-involved to care;
• Girl Scouting was my choice of roads to follow in my quest
• For among the girls I found a love deeper than the rest."
•  
• "A teacher was I, my work was hard, I had no diploma or pay
• But where family and institutions failed I helped them find the way;
• The lessons I taught were obscure and difficult to see
• For they didn't have names like spelling or math or geometry."
•  
• "They were lessons in life delivered through guided experience
• And they taught such things as character, spirit, and confidence;
• Though on earth my life was blessed, it's even moreso today
• For when I look down I see my work as my girls show others the way."
•  
• "On earth, Girl Scouting taught me to leave things better than before
• And the same applies to that mortal place where life never was a bore
• Now having lived by that Girl Scout rule in every earthly endeavor
• I have become an Angel in Green and shall be a Girl Scout forever."

Leader's Day Poem

This is a special tribute to some people we all know.
They're someone we entrust to help young women learn and grow
To them the chance of helping girls learn something new and grand,
gives them great pride and makes them glad they're there to lend a hand.

There isn't much that they can't do, this band of volunteers,
from singing, camping, cookies, crafts, to working well with peers.
So hear us as we sing your praise and give a heartfelt cheer,
for all the work that you have done throughout the passing year.

And when it comes to giving thanks, nothing could be sweeter
then remembering you with kindest thoughts, a special Girl Scout Leader.

By Sandy Norman