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Girl Scout drive scheduled for Oct. 14 in Ocean Pines

ANNA FOULTZ

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Oct. 4, 2018) Ocean Pines resident Anna Foultz, reportedly the oldest active Girl Scout in the United States, is inviting new and potential scouts to attend an educational event, Sunday, Oct. 14 at 2 p.m. at the Ocean Pines Fire Station.

Ocean Pines Police Chief David Massey and a representative from the fire department are scheduled to provide a briefing for scouts and help them earn a health and safety patch.

“It’s just going to be basically about safety and when you see something to call the police – when you should call, when you should let your parents know about something suspicious,” Massey said. “And then we’ll also talk about bicycle safety and just general safety things.”

Massey said the event is a natural fit for him.

“I have two daughters that were in Girl Scouts,” he said. “We want to be a good partner in our community with both kids and adults alike.”

Foultz said the event would double as a recruiting tool for potential scouts and new scout leaders, adding there is money available for those who cannot afford costs associated with joining the Girl Scouts.

“Any girl in our area who would like to come to the event, please let them come, because maybe they will be a Girl Scout,” Foultz said. “And, also, leaders. If there’s any volunteer leaders who would like to come, they are welcome. But, I have to know how many are coming.”

There is no fee to attend. To register, contact Foultz at 410-641-7667 before Friday, Oct. 12.

Foultz, now in her early nineties, became a Girl Scout when her daughter showed interest.

“My oldest daughter, Betty Anne, she went to school and all the girls were joining Girl Scouts, and she kept pestering me and saying she wanted to become a Girl Scout. I said, ‘What in the world is a Girl Scout?’” Foultz said.

After talking to a local scout leader, Foultz decided to pitch in.

“She came the next day with boxes and boxes of stuff. I thought I would die!” Foultz said with a laugh. “In my first troop, I had 30 girls, can you believe it? That’s how desperate they were.

“But I loved working and helping the girls all those years, and I learned a lot too because I was very shy when I was young,” she added.

In the decades since, Foultz has been an advocate for the organization, a national nonprofit that has approximately 2.6 million members.

“I think it’s a wonderful program and it does a lot of good. It teaches the girls a lot of things that you don’t get at home,” she said. “Parents are so busy working they don’t have time to teach their kids anything. They’re on their own, most of them. You’d be surprised how many people I’ve helped during my lifetime because the parents are so busy – they don’t tell them about themselves and how to become self reliant.

“My heart is in it and I guess I’ll die with the Girl Scouts,” Foultz continued. “My husband used to say, ‘You’re going to die with the uniform on!’”