Democracy Matters
November 2, 2023
Multi-level Troop 1411 received an exciting guest appearance from Maine State Representative, Michele Meyer in November to discuss state government and work on the Democracy badge at South Berwick Town Hall.
The troop first met Michele back in February when she invited the Girl Scouts to her farm for a maple tour and a visit with her Nubian goats! Since then, the group has been a close connection.
“Michele invited us to come up to the State House in Augusta for a for a grand tour […] Our girls weren’t quite ready for the trek, so we called to see if Michele would mind coming to us, and she didn’t hesitate,” says Troop 1411 Leader Christina Towers.
During Michele’s visit, the Brownies and Daisies asked questions, learned about voting processes, passing laws, and mostly enjoyed hearing about how Michele got her start in state politics and where it’s gotten her today. Michele said that working with today’s youth is one of the best parts of her job.
“Michele did a great job sending home the message to be a good citizen and that these girls can do anything they set their minds to,” says Christina.
The troop wasted no time in putting their new democratic knowledge to work, ending their meeting by going through a full voting process on which badges they wanted to work towards for the year. They even got to use a real voting booth and ballot box to tally up results!
“This was a great reminder to get out and vote. These amazing kiddos are watching and soaking it up like a sponge,” says Christina.
In what Christina describes as a “true Taylor Swift moment,” the girls surrounded Michele at the end of the troop meeting, eager for an autograph from their new favorite political role model who made sure to put her John Hancock next to the memorable words “Be a good citizen” for each of the 14 Girl Scouts in attendance.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we had some girls working in our State House someday,” says Christina.
