100 Years, 1 Organization - Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania

high school through destinations. She
opened up my eyes to so many new
opportunities with Girl Scouts.
During our third session, some of
the OB-PS members came up to
see the activities we were doing
and to speak to us. I met another
woman from Denmark. I met
another few people from the UK
and another Australian woman who
gave me a pen from her country.
After the events at Shelly Ridge were
finished, the girls from my troop and
I attended the flag ceremony for the
OB-PS’s Presentation Ceremony at
the Hyatt at Penns Landing. All of the
members of the OB-PS and the girls
who participated in the flag ceremony
were in the conference room of the
Hyatt. I was the Girl Scout in charge, so
I announced all of the commands for
the color guard. Before the ceremony,
I met the CEO of WAGGGS, Mary
McPhail, and took my picture with her.
Speaking with her was very pleasant. I
was originally instructed to leave the
conference room after I commanded
everyone to sit down. Then, I met
the Vice President of the OB-PS. Her
name is Ginny Radford and she is
from New Zealand. She asked me if
I would stay for the duration of the
meeting to help the members up and
down the steps leading to the stage. I
gratefully accepted. I was thrilled!
The flag ceremony consisted of
singing the World Song and posting
four flags: U.S., WAGGGS, 100th
Anniversary, and Danish. The princess
came into the conference room after
the procession of flags came in. After
the flag ceremony, the president, vice
president, and princess spoke. They
were all very enlightening. I did not
realize that 6 out of 10 women are still
being physically or sexually abused
throughout the world. I sat down
next to the stage. The princess sat
on the stage. There was also a very
good women’s choir called the Anna
Crusis Women’s Choir there. It is one
of the oldest women choirs in North
America and they were trained to sing
special songs for this event. Some of
the songs were “A Song of Peace,”
“Our Chalet Song,” “Our Cabana Song,”
“On My Honor,” and “Make New Friends.“
The Presentation Ceremony
consisted of inducting new members
into the society. Each new member
received a pin and a certificate. They
also had their bio read to the society
and had their picture taken with the
princess. Sapreet and ‘Toyin were a
couple of them. The ceremony was
very interesting and enlightening.
I thoroughly enjoyed everything about
the OB-PS events. I met so many
wonderful women. I also grew a little
bit as a person. I am now considering
adding international studies as a major
when I attend college. I learned about
so many other cultures. I’m sure all
of the girls who participated in any of
these events feel similarly. Thank you
to everyone who helped make the OB-
PS events possible. Thank you, OB-PS,
for holding your annual meeting in
Philadelphia this year! Thanks to you
I have made many irreplaceable and
priceless memories.
gsep.org • spark • fall/winter 2012 27