Leesa Hovius has gained irreplaceable skills and opportunities through her 13 years of Scouting.
Thanks-A-Lot to Girl Scout Troop 30689 for providing Tabernacle resident, Leesa Hovius, with an array of opportunities leading her to many accomplishments.
Hovius’ journey with Girl Scouts began at age 5, when she joined Tabernacle Girl Scouts as a Daisy. She spent approximately five years as a member of a Tabernacle troop before transitioning to her current troop in Winslow — where there are members of all ages.
Now, at age 18, the Ambassador has obtained skills she believes could not have been gained elsewhere, and her list of accomplishments keeps getting longer.
With the funds left to the troop after cookie sales, they voted to award Hovius a lifetime membership to Girl Scouts, voiding her of all membership dues through her continuation of Girl Scouts.
In addition, Hovius ranked third in cookie sales in the Girl Scouts of Central and Southern New Jersey Council. The council oversees Scouts from Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Mercer, Middlesex, Salem and parts of Monmouth counties.
Over an eight-week sale period, Hovius sold 3,010 boxes of Girl Scout cookies, landing her an opportunity to partake in a top-seller photoshoot, which is offered to Girl Scouts in the council who sell more than 1,100 boxes of cookies.
Hovius used a door-to-door sales technique, visiting homes and businesses to secure such an immense number of cookie sales.
“I’ve gained a lot of leadership skills and business skills through cookie sales,” Hovius said. “I’ve learned about money management and how to manage a team.”
While at the top-seller photoshoot, she was congratulated on being a finalist for a contest leading to the possibility of having her photo on a Girl Scout cookie box. To Hovius’ surprise, she was chosen as one of the top six Ambassador contestants, and the only finalist from New Jersey.
She had entered the contest after receiving an email about the opening, and submitted an essay reflective of five skills she has gained through cookie sales: people skills, money management, goal setting, decision making and business ethics.
“So many people don’t see the good work Girl Scouts do with projects, but they see them during cookie sales,” Hovius’ mother Robin said. “They’re gaining so many skills, it’s all the things that go on behind the scenes. While the girls go out and they like to sell the cookies, it’s not about selling cookies — it’s about those skills they gained through the sales.”
As if life couldn’t get more surreal, Hovius was awarded three scholarships totalling more than $3,500 for tuition and books as she continues her education at Rowan College at Burlington County. She was awarded these scholarships through Tabernacle Girl Scouts, Project R-152 and Princeton Area Community Foundation.
Since Hovius was a Tabernacle Girl Scout from her time as a Daisy to a Junior, she was eligible to receive a scholarship. She was awarded the “Selflessness Scholarship” through Project R-152, after submitting an essay about putting the needs of others before her own within her troop. The Princeton Area Community Foundation presented her a scholarship due to her prior community service and her anticipated volunteer hours as a troop leader in the future.
“I hope she stays involved as leader and continues on with volunteering,” Robin said. “It’s a great organization that’s provided her with leadership skills and allowed her to put herself out there.”
Hovius added, “I just want to see everybody flourish with Scouting.”
