Through Thick & Thin: Meet Troop 1245

Thirteen years ago, eight 5-year-old girls got together for an adventure in Girl Scouting. This year, with their original troop leader and co-leader by their sides, the girls of Troop 1245 have bridged to adult status.

Troop leader Taralyn Krohn tells us that the girls have grown and learned so much in their years together. In addition to a strong volunteer team that never wavered (for 13 years!), Taralyn credits the girls’ parents for helping keep the troop on track.

Here’s Taralyn’s story, in her own words:

Building a Team

“Tears run down my eyes with happy thoughts of all the memories we have made. We have been together for the past 13 years. We have had the same troop leader and co-leader for all 13 years. Sometimes making decisions has been hard, but we stuck together, respected each other’s point of view and if we had something to say, we said it to one another and not behind each other’s back.

We started out with eight girls and those eight girls received their Bronze and Silver Awards. Three of the 8 will earn their Gold Awards this year.

From day one, we had wonderful parents that gave us support and participated. We have always had the same cookie mom, the same treasurer, and had a parent that called every girl prior to a Girl Scout event.”

Working it Out

“We expected all of our girls to get along and would frequently throughout the years mix them around with each other so they became a team and could not pick and choose who they wanted to hang out with at meetings. This helped build a strong unit, kept our troop from having cliquey behaviors and built leadership skills. If the girls had a problem, they talked about it and as leaders we helped them brainstorm solutions.”

Advice for Newer Troops

“As a seasoned Girl Scout Leader just a bit of advice. Pick a good co-leader that is as dedicated as you are, take one day at a time and create memories for your girls that they will never forget. It is all a process and giving of myself to Girl Scouts has definitely been one of the best investments of my life.”