THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 16, 1995 TAG: 9504130199
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARY ELLEN RIDDLE
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Robin Gard has been a Girl Scout leader for at least 10 years. She's immersed herself in Scouting so thoroughly, she can't quite remember when it all began.
Her two daughters, both Scouts themselves, are following in her sensibly placed footsteps. And Gard has even helped out with her son's Scout group.
In other words, she's dedicated.
This year, the Manns Harbor Brownie leader is acting as the public relations coordinator for the North Outer Banks Service Unit of the Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast. Pretty wordy, but the lengthy title only suits the lengthy work Gard and many other volunteers do for the Brownies, Juniors, Cadettes and Senior Scouts who live in Dare County.
Gard and others were on hand at First Flight Elementary School in Kill Devil Hills on April 8 for the 10th annual Skills Day, dedicated to preparing Scouts for camping - and for life.
More than 135 girls attended the event under blue skies on a glorious Saturday. Scattered on blankets and sit-upons near tents, stirring pots and tying knots, girls from first grade to high school worked together.
Thirteen troops arrived at 10 a.m. and were scrambled together, then divided into smaller groups. This mixing was a planned way for strangers to interact and learn more than how to pitch a tent or build a cooker.
Katie Thompson of Manteo, a 17-year-old Senior Scout who returned for her 10th Skills Day, said she has come away from Scouts with so much.
``It's helped me to learn skills for living, leadership skills and how to react with other people,'' she said. ``It taught me to be a better person than what I thought I could be and to go for my goals.''
Thompson has definately gone for her goals. The teen is not only an active Senior Scout, but also a Brownie leader, a board member for the council and soon to be a governmental page.
Cooking is Thompson's favorite part of Skills Day. ``It's always an adventure. There's always something that will go wrong, or we won't have enough charcoal and the fire will go out. It's just a big challenge.''
Scouting does more than develop skills; it develops friendships.
``This is my faithful partner, the one who has helped me,'' Thompson said as she hugged Gard. ``We depend on Katie,'' Gard said.
Dependability is the watchword for Scouts, along with preparedness and quick-thinking. At Skills Day, the girls learn a little bit of all of those things.
Divided into basic and intermediate skill levels, the Scouts learn to respect the environment, dress for outdoor camping, tie knots, administer first aid, cook outdoors, pitch tents, build fires, wash dishes and more.
``There's so much to teach the girls to prepare them for an outdoor camping trip,'' Gard said. ``Safety is stressed at every station.''
Girls learn how to handle hot wax and matches, and to keep bandanas on their heads for first aid needs, to keep hair from the campfire or to mop a sweaty brow.
They make first-aid kits, learn to recognize heat exhaustion and learn to store and prepare food safely. The buddy system is enforced, littering, of course, is forbidden, and nature is both protected and revered. And although they're camping, the girls still have to comb their hair, brush their teeth and use deodorant.
Year after year, these adult volunteers return to Skills Day - some who are Scout leaders, some who are not.
``It's an excellent opportunity for the girls to learn and put to use when they go camping in May,'' said Gail Lawrenson, a program and training director. ``And if they don't, it makes the leaders crazy.''
``You can't take time at your meals,'' Gard said, ``to teach the girls how to cook.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARY ELLEN RIDDLE
Hannah McOwen, 6, of Manteo, learns to tie knots at skills camp.
by CNB