THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 10, 1996 TAG: 9605080126
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOHN HENRY-DOUCETTE, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
A Place For Girls is now a place that is open.
The new $2 million Chesapeake center for Girl Scouts officially opened Sunday in a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by 300 people, including Girl Scouts from several Hampton Roads troops.
The opening capped 10 years of planning and a year of construction on the complex on Cedar Road, which the Girl Scout Council of the Carolina Coast hopes will become the center of scouting activity in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina.
While girls from far and wide may make a scouting pilgrimage to the new facility, where proximity is concerned, Chesapeake scouts are the big winners.
``This place will certainly benefit scouts here,'' said Girl Scout media representative Ann Lester. ``It will be much more accessible for them. But we hope it will be accessible to other scouts from the Colonial Coast since the center is located in our demographic center.''
One local scout, 18-year-old Carrie A. Gilbert, said her years in the green uniform gave her opportunities she would not have had otherwise. The Great Bridge High School senior said the center increases the chances local girls have to do the activities the Girl Scout program endorses as building values and self confidence.
``It's nice to have a place for your troop to go,'' said Gilbert, whose troop has traveled as far as Williamsburg and Franklin to camp out overnight.
A Place For Girls is situated on 11 acres of wetland and woods, and will eventually - by the end of this year, Lester said - contain a system of fitness and nature trails, and ample room for a night under the stars.
Gilbert said young girls will benefit from the eclectic contents of the 18,000-square-foot building, which houses performance rooms, a kitchen and centers for education and physical fitness.
And young scouts probably will make up the largest number of scouts at A Place For Girls. Over half the scouts in the Carolina Coast region are kindergarten through third-grade students, according to numbers furnished by the center. Grades four through six make up another third of the region's scouting strength.
Gilbert said rooms like a computer room and an art and science area will be good learning places for young scouts.
Events were taking place at the center even before the grand opening. Girl Scouts held dances. A program educating young girls about the reality behind being a working woman was held in the performing arts room. The overnight area has seen constant use as troops checked out what the place had to offer.
Lester said, ``We'll have things going on here all the time, and when the center isn't in use, it's available for community use.''
Construction and design of the center was partially funded through private donations, and money continued to pour into the center during the grand opening.
GTE, which provides telecommunications service in Chesapeake, donated $30,000 for the computer room, and Armada Hoffler Construction Co., the general contractor for the center's in-progress days, presented a check for $66,000 in saving realized during the construction.
Among many design innovations, A Place For Girls has a drive-through window where volunteers can pick up supplies to support events away from the center. The location is also user-friendly: the Cedar Road center is accessible from Interstate 64.
There are approximately 16,000 Girl Scouts and 5,000 adult volunteers in the 25,000 square mile Carolina Coast area.
All will have access to A Place For Girls. by CNB