Cookie salesgirl moves a Mint

By JEFFREY SIMMONS/Staff

Miranda Mitchell doesn’t count calories; she counts cookies.
The Spiller Elementary fourth-grader and Junior Girl Scout was honored earlier this year for selling, inventorying and delivering more than 1,000 boxes of Thin Mints, Tagalongs and other cookie varieties to customers in Wythe and Bland counties.
According to the Virginia Skyline Council, Mitchell was one of 28 girls in the council’s 38-county region to reach the 1,000-box milestone during the 2009 sales period, which runs from January to March.
In early January, Mitchell and her family traveled to Roanoke for her induction into the String of Pearls Society, a tip of the hat to Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Low, who sold her heirloom pearls to fund the fledgling organization, according to a news release. Along with receiving a stuffed animal, shirt and necklace, Miranda also had her name added to a plaque at council headquarters.
“We went door to door; we do a lot of that,” said Miranda’s mother, Kim, who along with her mother, Rosie Warden, and other family members helped the Girl Scout sell the snacks to support Troop 60 activities.
“(I) kind of got nervous a little bit,” Miranda said of the face-to-face meetings with potential customers. She had a great time, though, petting all the homeowners’ cats and dogs.
“Everybody was really nice,” Kim said. “(There were) very few people that would not buy.”
Some of those residents who didn’t buy for one reason or another still donated money to the troop. The most popular varieties among those who did shell out $3.50 for a box? The Caramel deLites and Thin Mints.
“Everybody likes the Caramel deLites best,” said Miranda, who is also a fan of the tasty treat.
After taking orders, Miranda and her family members had to pick up the cookies from a supply house in Wytheville, sort them and then make deliveries.
According to the Girl Scout Web site, the annual cookie fundraiser teaches girls about business -- and life.
“Many successful business women today say they got their start selling Girl Scout Cookies,” the site said. “Girls practice useful life skills like planning, decision-making and customer service. During cookie activities, girls are members of a team working toward a common goal, with each girl striving to do her best.”
Kim concurred.
“I like it because she’s learning how to communicate with people when she goes to the door,” she said. “She’s getting confidence.”
Selling snacks, though, isn’t all about life lessons and marketing ploys.
Local troop members get to use part of the proceeds to pay for camp and other outings – in other words, fun.
“We are letting them decide how they want to spend their money,” Kim said, adding that trips to a snow tubing park and aquarium are on the possible to-do list.
While the current cookie season has been under way for two months now, it likely won’t be as fruitful as last year.
“We didn’t go door to door this year because it’s been so cold,” Kim said.
For more information about Girl Scout cookies or Girl Scouting in general, visit www.girlscouts.org.
Jeffrey Simmons can be reached at 228-6611 or jsimmons@wythenews.com