May 19—Carolynn MacAllister talks about an event on Sunday that highlights leadership among women and girls, offered in conjunction with the Girl Scouts.

1. What is the Strong Women Strong Girls Leadership Event?

Strong Women Strong Girls Leadership Event celebrates the leadership and contributions of strong women and girls who serve in our communities and at Oklahoma State University. The event benefits Girl Scouts in Payne County and will be held at 2:30 p.m., Sunday in the Keystone Lobby of the OSU Spears School of Business in Stillwater. Girl Scout programs provide strong and exceptional leadership experiences for girls. To complement this programming, we chose to host a community panel event highlighting women who have excelled in leadership at OSU and within our communities in Payne County.

2. What is included in the Event program?

The program will include a poster session displaying Girl Scout Troop projects with light refreshments. The main activity will be the Leadership Panel Session.

The panelists are:

* Blaire Atkinson, OSU Foundation President

* Anne Greenwood, Philanthropist

* Claudia Humphreys, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, Owner of Coney Island

* Representative Trish Ranson, Oklahoma House District 34

* Alexis Smith Washington, Ph.D., Senior Inclusion Officer, Williams S. Spears

* Associate Professor of Management

* Gay Washington, Ed.D. Interim Stillwater Superintendent, Educational Consultant

Rebecca Eastham, Ph.D., Director, Spears School of Business Center for Social and Business Impact, is the panel moderator. The primary theme of the panel discussion will be "Challenges and Changes of Leadership Today."

3. Are there other activities at the Leadership Event?

We are recognizing several strong women leaders. The event's honorary chairs are Ann Halligan and Trish Prawl. The amazing leadership of these two women has helped sustain and extend the legacy of the Girl Scout experience in Payne County.

During the awards portion of the event, Mary Frye Ed.D. will be honored with the inaugural Leadership Legacy Award. Mary has spent her entire adulthood making a difference in the lives of people including women and girls. Professionally, Mary was the OSU Director of Campus Recreation and received the Faculty Distinguished Service Award from the College of Arts and Sciences in 1979. Her dedication to community service is shown in her avid commitment to girl scouting since 1962. She has served in multiple leadership positions including as a troop leader and Camp Sylvia Stapley Chairwoman. She was instrumental in securing Camp Stapley and The Lodge in Stillwater, where thousands of Girl Scouts have enjoyed exploring and learning.

We will also recognize Trinity Twellman, who is the 2022 Stillwater Juliette Low Leadership Scholarship recipient. Trinity joined Girl Scouts when she was five years old and as she puts it "has been in love with it ever since." Now as a graduating high school senior, she credits the Girl Scout program for helping her become a leader in all aspects of her life.

4. What type of Girl Scout programs will the funds support?

It is important to note that 100% of the money raised at this event stays in Payne County and helps sustain Girl Scout programs such as leadership development, STEM learning, entrepreneurial experiences, outdoor adventure, and community building skills. Community building through service is an important part of the girl scout experience. Examples of community service projects completed by troops recently in Payne County include Troop 643 building Pioneer Pantry donation boxes for local schools to collect food, hygiene items, and clothes and Troop 1270 rebuilding structures at The Teal Ridge Wetlands that serve as a valuable educational resource and ecosystem for animals.

5. How can somebody register to attend the SWSG Leadership Event?

Leadership Event information is available online at www.gseok.org/strong.

Girl Scouts continues to provide a path to success for many girls in grades K-12, and your support is needed to reach all girls in Payne County with transformative leadership and educational programs and experiences. The Girl Scouts in Stillwater are establishing a robotics team and are searching for an adult volunteer to lead the program.