Name: Linda Smith
Service Unit: SU5902-Deer Lakes Allegheny Valley
County: Allegheny
Total Girl Scout Years: 42
Volunteer Years: 36
Current and Former Volunteer Positions: service unit manager, troop leader, service unit coach, service unit recruiter, service unit cookie volunteer (helps with booth sales)
Age-Level Experience: Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Indie Girl Scouting
Specialties: cookie program, flag ceremonies, day camp
Certifications: First Aid/CPR/AED, Mental Health First Aid
What do you want volunteers to know about you?
I enjoy working with new leaders. I love flowers and arranging them as well as plants. I love to coordinate events within Girl Scouting. I am dependable and always willing to lend a hand. I love dogs and my favorite seasons are spring and fall.
What does Girl Scouting mean to you?
I believe that helping the leaders and training them is important; it keeps me in with the community of Deer Lakes. I don’t have a troop per se—I am known in my community by the girls and the general public. Helping the leaders means a lot to me—I try to help them relieve the burden, being there for the leader and the girls as well as the parents.
What is your Girl Scout leadership philosophy?
I try to lead with honesty and openness and if there’s a way to make things easier for the leaders and the girls in the troop, I’m all for it!
What advice do you have for new troop leaders?
Find a mentor and work with them—they will guide you along the way. Even if you have been involved in the past, team up with a buddy and have them attend your meetings, show you the way around, and teach you those Girl Scout traditions—it’s important to keep those traditions alive.
Other Organizations: Church member
Anything else?
In the summer months, I enjoy camping. My husband and I have a camp. I am very family-oriented and love spending time with my family. I have a coonhound, Hannah. I have two daughters who are married and two grandsons that keep me busy!
GSWPA 