Name: Darlene Brown
Service Unit: SU4641-Indiana
County: Indiana
Total Girl Scout Years: 29
Volunteer Years: 22
Current and Former Volunteer Positions: troop leader, service unit team, program team, co-service unit manager, co-day camp director, outdoor training facilitator, Program Aide training facilitator, archery instructor, troop cookie manager, assist with service unit cookie manager, recruitment, camp activities team member, day camp volunteer
Age-Level Experience: Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette, Senior, Ambassador, Younger Multi-Level, Older Multi-Level, All-Ages Multi-Level, Indie Girl Scouting
Girl Scout Pillar Experience: Life Skills, Outdoors
Specialties: camping, cookie program, additional money earning/fundraising, outdoor skills, flag ceremonies, community service/Take Action projects, badges, event planning, ceremonies/traditions, archery, First Aid/CPR/AED, hiking, knife skills, knot tying, Leave No Trace, crafts
Awards: Volunteer of Excellence, Appreciation Pin, Honor Pin
Certifications: Outdoor Training Facilitator, Program Aide Training Facilitator, Archery Facilitator, First Aid/CPR/AED trained, Mental Health First Aid, Cooking for Crowds
What do you want volunteers to know about you?
I started in Girl Scouts when I was in the second grade and went on until I was in the eighth grade. As a girl, I attended day camp one year at Camp Cherry Hill in Indiana County. I went camping with my troop at different times over those years, attended various events, sold fall product and cookies, and enjoyed it. As an adult, when my daughter went to kindergarten in September 2005, we talked about joining Girl Scouts. I told her I would help out the leader. Well, little did I know, I ended up being the leader. I have continued on with my daughter over the years until she graduated high school in 2018. She has earned her Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards as well. We have gone on many camping trips and attended lots of events. I took all the training I could possibly take over the years. We started attending the Blue Spruce Day Camp here in Indiana County in 2006. I have volunteered every year since and now I'm a co-director for our day camp. We have many memories of things that have happened over the years. We have done a little traveling over the years. We did go on the 100th-anniversary bus trip to Washington D.C. when they had them sing. As a leader, I offered opportunities to my girls for events we had locally whether they all could attend or not. We worked on so many patches and badges over the years. If we went somewhere, if I could find a patch for that activity, I got the patches for the girls. As the girls grew, I grew too. There have been many times they kept me on my toes and there were times I had to try to be a step ahead of them.
What does Girl Scouting mean to you?
Girl Scouting means a lot to me. As a girl, I have learned different things and have gone to different places with my troop and friends. The memories of the camping trips, the one year I went to Camp Cherry Hill for a week of day camp, and I got the attend the Indiana Mall show for the 75th anniversary of Girl Scouting. As an adult, I got to celebrate the 100th and the 110th anniversaries of Girl Scouting. There are lots of values within Girl Scouting and the different skills the girls can learn. The friendships I have made over the years, and the experiences, are things I will carry with me for years to come. Learning some of this as a girl and into an adult volunteer, I can now share it with my daughter, her friends, and other girls who join.
What is your Girl Scout leadership philosophy?
Make it fun. The more fun the girls have at troop meetings, trips, and events, the more they want to come back. Sometimes you may have everything planned out for the whole event or meeting—be ready to make changes or go with the flow. The girls are all different. As a leader, be ready to step outside of the box and learn some new skills to help keep all the girls interested in Girl Scouts. Sometimes as a leader, you do have to get a little crazy. Wear a crazy outfit and bring a stuffed animal to camp to sleep with and things like that—if it helps a girl break out of her shell, so be it. Don't be upset if things don’t go as planned. I have had many times when I had to adjust and roll with the punches.
What advice do you have for new troop leaders?
Relax, have fun, and learn with the girls. Don't be afraid to ask for help. No leader is perfect, we all have made mistakes over the years. The important thing is to be there for the girls at the meetings, trips, and events. If the girls are interested in something you are not comfortable with, like if you are not an outdoors type of person and they want to go camping, it is ok to ask for help from other leaders and troops. You can always work with another troop either in your service unit or outside of your service unit to go on that camping trip or field trip. I have been asked over the years with my different pieces of training if I could help chaperone different trips if someone was not trained for overnight trips, camping trips, and things like that. Now, since my daughter is in graduate school, I no longer have a girl in Girl Scouting. I have stayed on because I have made so many friends over the years. I enjoy helping out.
Other Organizations: I am a member of Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. I also plan youth group activities and Sunday School activities for my church (it's a small church). I have been on the church council for the past five years. I have been involved in PTA as my three kids went through elementary school.
Anything else?
My daughter earned her Gold Award in 2018. She has earned her bachelor’s degree in early childhood education with special ed from IUP, started working as a substitute, and now started graduate school to get her master's degree. My oldest son (middle child) earned his Eagle Award in 2020 (during COVID-19). He is currently attending Penn State Altoona for an Engineering Degree. He has a year or year and a half to finish his bachelor's degree. My youngest son will be ready to start the process for his Eagle Award soon. He is 16 and working on finishing the last couple of merit badges he needs to take the next step. He has three more years left in high school. I am currently working full-time and take college classes part-time.
