Scout troop produces winner in cookie sales, but also life skills

When thousands of boxes of Girl Scout cookies arrive by truck next month in Madison Heights, Ashton Mays will need help hauling away her share.

Ashton, 11, is on track to sell more than 1,000 boxes this year.

For the fourth year in a row. For the record, her totals the past four years were 1,200 boxes and change; 1,500 and then some; 1,318; and this year, probably at least 1,000. Cookie buyers can be fickle, especially given the economy.

A cadet scout in Troop 544 at Sweet Briar, Ashton, an Amherst Middle School sixth-grader, recalled the first time she reached that benchmark. “Um, the first year I was gonna do it, I was pretty close to 800” when she realized it was within reach. “I thought I had 600. But I had 800, so I got real excited.”

Ashton is the daughter of Cathy and Neal Mays of Amherst, and her brother, Jason Van Mays, 17, an Amherst County High School senior.

“She has regulars, who buy from her,” said her mother, Cathy Mays, a Sweet Briar College graduate who is the catering manager at the college. “She does her homework.”

“She’s the only one in this county who has done this,” her mother said, one of 31 girls throughout the council who reached the goal this year.

The biggest single sale was for 26 boxes. They come a dozen to a case. Most popular this year: thin mints. Caramel delights and lemonades also are popular.

Several people scaled down orders this year, from something like, say 20 last year to maybe seven this year.

Ashton decided to not try to surpass last year’s goal.

She delivers the majority of cookies herself. The orders are organized with individual bags.

“One thing that has made a difference, she does thank you notes on each bag,” her mother said, a printed card with the thanks in her own handwriting. “We’ve had several people comment about how much they appreciate the notes.”

The notes have the recipient’s name, how much is owed and, of course, the thank you.

“It’s something she really takes charge of,” her mother said. “This is her baby, this is what she looks forward to.”

The reward is that the Girl Scouts of the Virginia Skyline Council recognizes the girls’ cookie achievements. The council started its own “string of pearls” program to honor the top sellers, following in the steps of Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low, who sold a string of rare matched pearls for $8,000 to pay for scouting operations.

Besides a pearl, Ashton will receive a certificate and have her name on a plaque at the council headquarters in Roanoke.

Ashton became a Daisy scout when she was 5.

One of Troop 544’s strengths is that it is the largest in Amherst County, with 28 girls of varying ages, so that as the older girls learn leadership skills, then the younger girls have strong role models, said the leader, Jill Granger, a chemistry professor and associate dean at Sweet Briar College, and another troop leader, Beth Rucker.

Troop 544 has a large number of middle school girls, which is unusual because often, girls move on to other activities at that age. The troop also has four trained leaders. Ashton said troop events keep her engaged in Scouting, though she is trying different activities at school, such as basketball this year. She also likes math and is in an advanced math class.

The scouts stress those skills, such as with a Saturday event at Sweet Briar –– Brownie Science Try-It Day –– in which dozens of scouts learned about science and math through various activities.

As for the cookies, officials stress that Girl Scout products are safe –– none has been affected by the recent nationwide recall of peanut products.

The cookie sale ends March 31.

For cookie questions or to buy them, call Rucker at (434) 528-0204 or cell, (434) 444-4697, or Arlene Wilhelm at (540) 777-5105 or (800) 542-5905 or visit http://www.gsvsc.org. The council asks that buyers contact their local Girl Scouts.