Molly Fuller has been executive director/CEO for Girl Scouts-Kickapoo Council since last June. She’s spent the last eight years of her career with the Girl Scouts, working in Milwaukee and Rock Island in a variety of positions within the organization. In her current position, Fuller provides leadership, strategic direction, and vision for the development and achievement of the organization’s goals.
Prior to her involvement with the Girl Scouts, Fuller concentrated on other not-for-profit organizations, including social service and the arts.
Her community involvement in the Peoria area includes Rotary, Junior League, and Women In Management.
Tell us about your background, schools attended, family, etc.
I’ve spent most of my life in the Midwest, namely the Quad Cities. My family moved to Bettendorf, Iowa, from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area when I was entering fifth grade. I have three other sisters and one brother; a 10-year age span between the oldest and youngest made for fun and varied dinner conversations.
I graduated from high school in the Quad Cites and went on to attend Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis., graduating with a degree in interpersonal communication and marketing. After graduation I returned to the Quad Cites and worked for a social service organization providing services to children in the foster care system. I got to know Peoria during this time because I occasionally attended meetings at the Peoria home office.
After six years in child welfare, I left for a membership services position in an arts organization, working there during the transition from a child welfare organization to a general non-profit. In 1994, I accepted a position as membership team director for the Girl Scouts of the Mississippi Valley, based in Rock Island on the Illinois side of the Quad Cities. By 1999, I accepted a position as chief operating officer: program services for the Girl Scouts of Milwaukee Area, responsible for providing program services to more than 16,000 girls. In June 2002, I started my new position as executive director/CEO for Girl Scouts-Kickapoo Council.
I’ve enjoyed getting to know the people and the community in the Peoria and surrounding area. I’m a member of the Rotary—Downtown Peoria, Junior League of Peoria, and Women In Management. I’ve also taken on the challenge of the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce Community Leadership School this year.
Tell us about your responsibilities as executive director for Girl Scouts-Kickapoo Council?
As executive director/CEO of the Girl Scouts-Kickapoo Council, I’m accountable for providing leadership, strategic direction, and vision for the development and achievement of the organization’s goals in partnership with the council’s board of directors. The Girl Scouts-Kickapoo Council has a membership of about 7,000 girls and adult volunteers. We offer awesome programs for girls 5 to 17 years of age. We serve girls in the counties of Bureau, Fulton, LaSalle, Marshall, Mason, Peoria, Putnam, Stark, Tazewell, and Woodford.
Kickapoo Council enjoys a strong reputation among Girl Scout councils for our innovative programs and effectiveness in serving every girl, everywhere. For example: Girl Scouts-Kickapoo Council (GSKC) has an overall 16 percent membership to population market share, placing GSKC within the 80th percentile of overall Girl Scout councils. We serve one in six girls, above the national average of one in nine and have a girl to adult ratio of 3:1, above the national performance goal of 4:1.
Kickapoo Council has also been successful in serving a diverse membership, with a particularly high membership share within the African American population (23 percent) and the American Indian population (17.5 percent). The membership to girl population share for the Caucasian population is 15 percent, 8.2 percent for the Asian population, and 6.6 percent for the Hispanic population.
Talk about what the Girl Scout program really is. What’s the purpose of the organization? What does it teach girls who are involved with the program?
The Girl Scout program is girl-driven, reflecting the ever-changing needs and interests of participating girls. It provides girls with a wide variety of opportunities. The program encourages increased skill building and responsibility and also promotes the development of strong leadership and decision-making skills. All programs are age-appropriate and based on the Four Program Goals (Developing Self-Potential, Relating to Others, Developing Values, and Contributing to Society), as well as on the Girl Scout Promise and Law.
The Girl Scout program enables us to develop girls into strong, self-assured women through a dynamic program, which emphasizes character, community service, leadership, and respect for others. Our purpose is “to inspire girls with the highest ideals of character, conduct, patriotism and service so they may become happy and resourceful citizens.”
You’ve worked for Girl Scouts of the USA for nearly a decade. What inspires you to continue your work with Girl Scouts councils?
First, I’m fortunate to have the perspective of both a girl member and as a professional Girl Scout. I was a girl member of Girl Scouts of the USA and have great memories of my experience. Girl Scouts gave me the chance to experience new things, learn new skills, and most importantly, have fun. I strongly believe in the mission of Girl Scouts of the USA.
As a professional Girl Scout, I see the impact we have on the lives of girls. We’re a fun, contemporary program that builds great leaders in any way a girl will be a leader—whether it’s as an at-home mother, in the community or business world, or a member of Congress. Girl Scouts is the premier organization for girls and women. We make a lifelong impact on the lives of girls.
I’m most interested in the part of Girl Scouts that allows me to be a part of research and development in creating new, exciting, and innovative concepts and programs. We’re a mission-based organization whose strength is focusing on the needs and interests of girls to help them become strong, capable women.
Tell us about the camping facilities of the Kickapoo Council and the various camping programs.
Girl Scouts-Kickapoo Council owns and maintains two properties. These properties are used for events and programs conducted by the council. The first of which, Camp Tapawingo, is located on 640 acres of land near Metamora. It’s a natural setting including woods, open meadows, two small lakes, and numerous hiking trails. The camp features a swimming pool, hot shower facilities, a horse barn, and ring. In 1999, we constructed Mary Morgan Lodge, a new dining hall also used for programs. This building is a 12,000-square-foot, two-level facility. The upper level is the kitchen and dining hall, suitable for meetings, training, program activities, and receptions. The lower level is a large multi-purpose room with heating coils in the floor for warmth during colder months. Both levels have a fireplace. For an added attraction, a deck surrounds the front of the lodge.
Also, the council owns Soldwedel Program Center in Pekin. This center offers an ideal indoor facility in an outdoor wooded setting. The center consists of a lodge and two sleeping houses all connected by deck.
Camp Tapawingo is a year-round facility used by our members for camping and program facilities. The greatest use of the camp is during the summer months when we have summer camp programs. We can accommodate up to 150 girls a week at our resident camp during the summer.
Our summer resident camp program is an awesome experience for girls ages 6 to 17 years. Girls can choose from a variety of programs that allow them to experience activities such as horseback riding, swimming, canoeing, creek stomping, archery, lake golfing, and teams course.
We’ve worked hard this year to develop new and exciting programs. In our “Move over Martha” program, girls design and decorate a room at Camp Tapawingo. The “Tapawingo Trek” is based on MTV’s Road Rules. Girls work together as a team to decipher clues that will lead them to different adventures, such as rock climbing, learning outdoor survival skills, and visiting an underground railroad stop.
There’s been some pressure on the Boy Scouts organization to include girls. Has there been the same pressure on the Girl Scouts organization? Why do you believe that’s so?
First, it’s important to remember Boy Scouts of America is a totally separate organization from Girl Scouts of the USA. And, while some councils share programming activities with local Boy Scouts, the two organizations are governed separately.
As the pre-eminent organization dedicated solely to girls, Girl Scouting helps girls ages 5 to 17 build character and skills for success in the real world. Our many years of experience show girls have unique needs and interests best met in a program designed especially for them, delivered in an all-girl setting. As we serve girls in a unique way, we, of course, recognize boys have unique needs and interests as well, which are addressed by organizations designed to meet their specific needs.
Does the cookie fundraiser continue to be the largest for the Girl Scouts? Do you see that trend continuing? What do the funds go towards?
The Cookie Sale Program is our largest and generally most popular program activity for girls. For more than 70 years, girls have voluntarily participated in cookie sale activities that help them develop and practice lifelong skills such as decision-making, money management, setting goals, and delivering on a promise. These activities are directly related to our mission of helping girls realize their full potential and become strong, confident, and resourceful citizens. “Cookie time” is great fun for everyone; girls enjoy the experience, and consumers love the cookies.
What many people don’t realize about the cookie program is girls at Kickapoo Council really become mini business owners, with cookie sale program activities fostering business and entrepreneurial development. Girl Scouting has always encouraged goal setting and career exploration through its many events and initiatives; in fact, many of today’s businesswomen say selling Girl Scout cookies was an important first step toward successful careers.
All of the proceeds from this sale stay here in the central Illinois area, directly benefiting all of the Girl Scouts in our community, including the Girl Scout troop or group you buy cookies from. Revenues from the Cookie Sale help keep Girl Scouting affordable and provide financial assistance needed to keep Girl Scouts available to all girls. Examples include financial assistance for girl membership and program activities; wider opportunities (educational travel); council events; council publications; support and training for parents, leaders, and girls; upkeep and development of council campsites; and Girl Scout outreach activities for girls at risk.
In addition to the Cookie Sale Program, what other charitable and community work do Girl Scouts participate in?
Community service is at the core of Girl Scouting. Girl Scouts and community service go hand in hand. It’s a part of our fundamental beginnings. As stated in the Girl Scout Promise, “To serve God and my country, to help people at all times,” and in our Law, “I will do my best to be helpful and friendly…”
The notion of service was included in the first Girl Scout handbook, How Girls Can Help Their Country, published in 1913. Girl Scouts then were encouraged to untie a knot in their necktie or handkerchief only when they had done something good for somebody else—even if it was as simple as making room on a seat for someone or giving a drink to a thirsty person. Today, community service remains central to Girl Scouting and is a fundamental part of what shapes active citizens and our female leaders of tomorrow.
Is there anything people are surprised to learn about today’s Girl Scout organization?
People are surprised to learn this isn’t the Girl Scouts their mothers participated in, and we aren’t all about cookies, camps, and crafts. We’re now about providing a contemporary program, building character in young women and providing good citizenship to the world in which we live.
What are today’s Girl Scouts doing? You name it. Girl Scouting is helping girls—all girls everywhere—grow strong by building enthusiasm for science and math, encouraging health and fitness, and successfully facing contemporary challenges like teenage pregnancy and drug abuse. Building solid values and serving others is a priority, just as it always has been in Girl Scouting.
Research shows Girl Scouting makes a difference in the lives of girls—and throughout the community. In Girl Scouts, today’s girls realize their dreams and become tomorrow’s leaders in business, sports, government, science, education, or the arts—and in their communities.
Why are organizations such as Girl Scouts important for today’s girls? Are the principles of Girl Scouts perhaps even more important then ever before?
In 1912, Juliette Gordon Low couldn’t have envisioned the ways Girl Scouting would grow and change over the next nine decades. Social problems have escalated, the world has become a global village, and technology has progressed at dizzying speeds. In 1912, badges could be earned for dairy maid, laundress, and child-nurse. Today’s recognitions include computer smarts, stress less, high adventure, and space exploration.
While many things have changed in the past 90 years, the core elements have remained the same: Girl Scouting is still an all-girl organization, the values expressed in the Girl Scout Promise and Law still bind us together, and the goal of serving every girl, everywhere is the same dream Juliette Gordon Low envisioned in 1912.
The Girl Scout program is girl-driven, reflecting the ever-changing needs and interests of participating girls. The program encourages:
- Increased skill building and responsibility.
- Development of strong leadership, decision-making skills, and goal setting.
- Building confidence, respect, and self-reliance.
- Learning from caring, positive adult role models in a safe environment.
- Improving and exploring the world around them.
- Developing the spirit of volunteerism.
- Improving their own abilities and talents.
- Fostering the understanding and acceptance of others.
Girls have the opportunity to contribute to the direction of their Girl Scout experience, work with adults, and have the most current resources that are concise and deal with real issues. By identifying girls as valued partners with a say in what they do, we’ve adopted and live by the “by girls, for girls” philosophy. We’re truly listening to girls’ voices. TPW