Michelle Pratt, a Girl Scout with Troop 646 in Scottsville, collects donations for the Allen County Health Department outside of Dollar General Store in downtown Scottsville on Saturday morning. Pratt sold 1,000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies last year and looks to match that feat this cookie-selling season, which begins Friday. Photo by Clinton Lewis

Last year, Anna Bewley beat the streets of Bowling Green when it was time to sell Girl Scout cookies. She went some places on foot. Sometimes, her mom drove her around. Businesses were a frequent stop for busy Anna. But sometimes, people did not want to buy. Thats when Anna would just say, Thanks anyway, and go on to the next place, she said as she geared up for this years cookie-selling season, which kicks off Thursday. Annas persistence paid off eventually. The 12-year-old Natcher Elementary School sixth-grader sold 1,095 boxes of cookies at $3 each last year and won several prizes, including a television. I had a TV before last year but it kept going out, she said. Now I have a TV that I won and its working fine. But prizes werent the only reason that Anna worked hard to sell. I guess I just like to separate them out and deliver them, she said. Its fun. Anna should know. In 2000, she sold 715 boxes of Girl Scout cookies. Making business a fun challenge is just one goal of the Girl Scouts sale. Girl Scouts learn skills that theyll need to become successful adults, like leadership, like money management (and) goal setting, said 23-year-old Heather Watt, membership development specialist for the Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana Caveland Service Center in Bowling Green. Raising money for the Scouts is the main reason that Girl Scouts sell the cookies. The annual sale is the Girl Scouts Councils biggest fund-raiser, and most of the money raised directly benefits the Girl Scout Council. Less than one-third of your $3 (for each box of cookies) goes to pay for the cookies, according to information from the Girl Scouts. The remainder of the purchase stays within the Girl Scout Council. Michelle Pratt, a 16-year-old Girl Scout from Allen County, enjoys all the benefits of selling cookies. You feel like youre selling something for teamwork because we make money for the Girl Scout troop so we can do things together, she said. Last year, Girl Scout funds helped Michelles troop go camping and take a trip to an amusement park. Michelles mother, Tamela Mann who is also her daughters troop leader is glad there are funds that each troop can use, especially since there are sometimes Scouts who couldnt otherwise afford to go on such trips. If we go camping, the troop will pay for it, and the girls dont have to, she said. Making funds available to troops means that more girls can be involved in Girl Scouting. We strive to reach every girl everywhere and that is the goal of the Girl Scouts, Watt said. The cookie sale is our biggest fund raiser of the year and the money goes toward helping girls who otherwise would not be able to afford to be in Girl Scouts, as well as camp maintenance and training and materials for volunteers. Last year, Michelle sold 1,000 boxes of cookies and won a computer. This year, she hopes to sell even more. Watt understands Pratts determination. She was a Girl Scout through high school and started a chapter of campus scouts at Western Kentucky University, where she attended college. Watt says the Girl Scouts cookie sales were one of the things that helped her learn to work toward goals in life. Through the sales she learned record keeping, money management, communications skills and how to set goals. Its given me the confidence and skills I needed to be a successful adult, and here I am working for the Girl Scouts, she said. Its definitely something I believe in.