[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 85 (Wednesday, June 18, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1250]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO THE GIRL SCOUTS OF AMERICA

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                           MICHAEL P. FORBES

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 18, 1997

  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Girl 
Scouts of America on the occasion of their 85 years of service to our 
Nation's girls and young ladies.
  Girl Scouts of the United States of America was founded in 1912 by 
Ms. Juliette Gordon Low, with 18 girls in Savannah, GA. Three years 
later the first group was established in Suffolk County, LI. In 1930, a 
noted environmentalist from Bellport, LI, Birdsall Otis Edney, became 
the first, and remains the only, Long Islander to be president of the 
Girl Scouts USA.
  The mission of the Girl Scouts is to help all girls reach their full 
potential. To that end they teach girls to set and reach goals, improve 
their decisionmaking skills, appreciate the diversity of others, and to 
become leaders. Under the able leadership of its executive director, 
Marilyn Proios, and 8,360 adult volunteers, the Suffolk County Council 
provides this benefit to one of every four girls in Suffolk County, LI.
  Next January, the Suffolk County Girl Scout Council will celebrate 
the 30th anniversary of its founding in Smithtown, LI. Since 1968, the 
Suffolk County Council has grown into the largest Girl Scout Council in 
New York State; serving 31,000 girls in Suffolk County. The Suffolk 
County Girl Scout Council is the largest youth-serving agency in all of 
Suffolk County.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the 
Girl Scouts of America for 85 years of outstanding service to the young 
women of the United States of America.

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