MERIDIAN —     It’s that time of the year again, when America’s leading entrepreneurial, educational program for girls – the Girl Scout Cookie Sale – gets off to a delicious start.

    Beginning Saturday, Jan. 21, local Girl Scouts will be knocking on doors, calling on local businesses and reaching out to community members, inviting them to indulge their sweet tooth and support local Girl Scouts.

    Area Girl Scouts will kick off the sale Saturday, Jan. 21 with a giant Cookie Rally from 2 p.m.-5 p.m. at the East Mississippi Electric Power Association Building in Meridian. 

     During the three-hour event, young cookie entrepreneurs from local Girl Scout troops will engage in fun activities designed to help them set goals, polish their sales pitch, teach them some creative marketing techniques, and ensure that they know the safety rules of the cookie sale.

    “Since its inception nearly 100 years ago, the Girl Scout Cookie Program has empowered generations of girls by teaching them skills for life and business and by growing their self-confidence and independence,” said Becky Traweek, Chief Executive Officer, Girl Scouts of Greater Mississippi. “The Girl Scout Cookie Program may only last a few months of the year, but through it the girls learn skills that will benefit them for a lifetime.”

 

New cookie joins

traditional favorites



    A new cookie has been added to the lineup of familiar favorites this year. Savannah Smiles is a cool, crisp lemon wedge cookie, packaged in a commemorative box to celebrate the founding of Girl Scouting by Juliette Low 100 years ago in Savannah, Georgia.

    In addition to the new Savannah Smiles cookie, the eight cookie varieties this year include the traditional favorites of Samoas, Trefoils, Thin Mints, Do-Si-Dos, and Tagalongs as well as the newer Dulce de Leche, and Thank U Berry Munch. This year’s Girl Scout Cookie varieties will again contain zero grams of trans fat per serving. The Dulce de Leche, Trefoil and Thank U Berry Munch varieties contain no hydrogenated oil, and four of the cookies – Trefoils, Samoas, Thin Mints and Thank U Berry Munch – are nut-free. The price of the cookies is $3.50 per box.

    Girl Scouts throughout the area will be knocking on doors and taking orders beginning Saturday, Jan. 21. Delivery of cookies will begin Feb. 28, and Girl Scout troops will be hosting Girl Scout Cookie booths at local merchants from March 3 through March 24.

    If no one contacts you to place an order for Girl Scout cookies, call the Hattiesburg Girl Scout office at (601) 582-1455 or visit Girl Scouts of Greater Mississippi online at www.gsgms.org and click on the Cookie Locator button.