Melody Day thought she was just another mom attending a Girl Scout meeting after her daughter said she wanted to join. She never thought she’d become her troop leader too! However, after more than a decade of leading, this troop mom says she wouldn’t change a thing.

Like so many Girl Scout moms out there, Melody’s volunteering experience began when she stepped up to the plate and took on the role as a troop leader when no one else could. That was 12 years ago. Since then, she’s built a lifetime of endless memories and helped the girls in her troop grow both individually and together.

Melody says her favorite part about being a troop leader is hearing the girls laugh and having a good time. Well, that’s no surprise considering all of the great times they’ve had as a troop. After all, her goal as troop leader is to provide experiences and opportunities for the girls. She’s a firm believer that confidence and character comes from experiences and doing, trying, failing and succeeding. Some of her favorite memories include her youngest riding a unicycle on a high wire at COSI even though she was scared of heights, the sleepover at the zoo, overhearing the girls say that everyone needed to wear their Girl Scout shirts to school the next day because it was a “Girl Scout law,” drawing chalk art at an elementary school, her daughter making new friends at camp… The list goes on and on. That’s the beauty of being a Girl Scout troop mom.

To new leaders, Melody says this:

“YOU volunteering is awesome and thank you! We all started out where you are… and even though I’ve been a leader for 12 years or so, I still put check marks in the Pinterest fail column! So don’t beat yourself up if you feel like you’re not ‘getting it!’ Ask for help if you need it. Besides VTK, there’s also lots of level specific FB groups (like GS Brownie Leader Think Tank) that discuss badges and ideas for badges if you get stuck. Also, keep an eye out for “field” trips your troop can make. It varies up the routine gives you a break because you won’t need to plan that week’s meeting.

Thank you, Melody! We appreciate you and all of the “troop moms” out there.