This article was originally published March 2, 2024 in the
Edwardsville Intelligencer
GLEN CARBON — For Loretta Graham, the mission of Girl Scouts is to
plant seeds for the future.
Graham is the CEO of Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois, located at 4
Ginger Creek Parkway in Glen Carbon, and her job is a labor of love.
“I always say I’m a proud CEO because these girls and these
volunteers are making a difference in their community,” Graham said.
Graham has been involved with Girl Scouts for more than 30 years,
starting in Minot, North Dakota. She was born and raised in Coward,
South Carolina, and was the youngest of 14 children.
After graduating from college, she got married and her husband was
in the military, and they moved to Minot.
She stayed there for 26 years, working at first in the school system
and coaching basketball, volleyball and swimming. In 1991, she became
a membership director for the Girl Scouts of Northwest North Dakota.
She eventually became program director and diversity director and
was then named executive director for the Sakakawea Girl Scout Council
in Bismarck, North Dakota.
'You always give back'
Graham wasn’t planning on leaving North Dakota and had just built a
new house when she was contacted by a search firm about coming back to
South Carolina for the CEO position for Girl Scouts of Eastern South
Carolina, located in North Charleston.
“I said that once I left those cotton fields and tobacco fields in
South Carolina, I wasn’t coming back,” Graham said. “I told them I
didn’t want to interview for it, but my mother, who since passed away,
raised us in a way that you always give back.
“My mother came to me in a dream and said, ‘Do you think you’ve made
it this far by yourself? Someone in South Carolina helped you to be
the woman you are today. It’s your responsibility to give back what
you received.’ That stuck with me then and it’s stuck with me ever since.”
Still, Graham was planning on going back to North Dakota after a
couple years, once she helped to save a struggling Girl Scout council
in South Carolina. Instead, she spent the next nine years there.
“That council was dying and they’re about ready to close their
door,” Graham said. “When I went there, it had a $1 million deficit
and when I left that council to come take this job, it had a $1.5
million surplus.
“I told my board in North Dakota that I signed a two-year contract,
and I was going to be back. Nine years later in April of 2018, I got
this job with Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois.”
'Change the world'
Graham notes that her career has been about championing girls as
they discover themselves and their dreams.
“It’s about how they will not just lead the world but change the
world,” Graham said.
The vision of Girl Scouts has also adapted over the years to keep up
with advances in technology and growing opportunities for girls,
including an emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics) training.
“When Juliette Gordon Low started the organization in 1912, she said
the world was about to be changed and she changed the world,” Graham
said. “People looked at women and said they belong in the home, and
they should cook and clean and take care of their families.
“Juliette Gordon Low said we can do so much more, and she taught
girls camping, horseback riding, first aid and a lot of stuff with the
armed forces to take care of people.
"Women couldn’t even vote then, but she started changing the
way people think. People look at Girl Scouting and they think camping
and cookies and crafts, but nowadays, we’re about three other C’s:
building girls’ courage, confidence and character.”
'Success speaks for itself'
Graham added that today’s Girl Scouts are “doers, innovators,
problem solvers and creators.”
“This is what is going to make our world a better place, and when I
say that you see Girl Scouts in science, technology, engineering and
math, all of the STEM fields,” Graham said. “Every female astronaut
that has flown into space was a Girl Scout. 50% of our female elected
officials were Girl Scouts.
“Girl Scout success speaks for itself. We are born leaders and we
will continue to lead the world and we’re always moving at the speed
of the girls. When people see us with this uniform on, they feel they
can trust us.”
Graham credits a strong group of volunteers for being the lifeblood
of Girl Scouts.
“We couldn’t do anything we do without our wonderful volunteers, who
are the cornerstone and the meat and potatoes of this organization,”
Graham said. “On March 12, 1912, Juliette Gordon Low started the first
Girl Scout troop with 18 girls and now the organization is 1.7 million
strong. That’s all because of the volunteers.”
'Turn girls into leaders'
Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois encompasses 40 counties and serves
closer to 7,000 girls, with nearly 3,000 volunteers who work with the
girls on a regular basis.
“Last year our membership increased by 9%, but as an organization we
empower girls everywhere to make a difference,” Graham said. “The Girl
Scouts win a lot of awards and they do some amazing things in the
community to get those awards.
“People ask me where I’m from and I say, ‘There’s nothing finer than
to be in Carolina,’ but there is joy in Illinois,” Graham said. “The
people that I’ve met have been amazing and I want to make sure that
every girl who wants to be a Girl Scout becomes a Girl Scout. I know
what we do to turn girls into leaders.”
About those cookies ...
Girl Scout cookies, meanwhile, are still the organization’s top
fundraising source and remain the best-known symbol of Girl Scouting.
They also help to teach the girls life skills.
“Through our entrepreneurship program, we teach girls how to set a
plan and move forward with that plan, and it also teaches girls how to
make good decisions on their own or as a team,” Graham said. “They
learn money management and a lot of successful businesswomen say they
got their start in their business through Girl Scouts. They learn how
to create and manage a budget.
“They learn people skills, which is more important than ever these
days. Girls find their voice and they also build confidence through
customer interaction. Business ethics is another thing the cookie
program teaches, and they learn to be ethical both in business and in life.”
Donors are another important part of the Girl Scout experience, and
Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois offers the Pearl Society for a gift
of $50 or more per month. Pearl Society members receive:
- A freshwater pearl necklace
- A special annual
recognition gift
- Assorted Girl Scout cookies delivered to
your door each cookie season
- Recognition at the annual
banquet, on the website and in the annual report
“A couple years after Juliette Gordon Low started Girl Scouts in
1912, it got into financial distress,” Graham said. “When Juliette got
married, her husband gave her a strand of pearls which were worth a
lot of money and meant a lot to her. When the organization was about
ready to fold, she sold those pearls to save it.
“I look at our donors and say there are the pearls of Juliette
Gordon Low. The Pearl Society is $50 a month, but that’s $1.67 a day.
For $50, two girls every month can be a part of this organization.”
For more information about Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois,
visit https://www.gsofsi.org/ or call
1-800-345-6858 or go to Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois on Facebook.
For more information about the Pearl Society, go to www.gsofsi.org/pearl.
By Scott Marion
Scott Marion is a feature reporter for the Intelligencer. A longtime
sportswriter, he has worked for the Intelligencer since December 2013.
He is a graduate of Brentwood High School and the University of
Missouri School of Journalism.
