GIRL SCOUTS TO SELL COOKIES TODAY

Jessica Braeuner of Oak Ridge knows firsthand the benefits of Girl Scout cookie sales. Girl Scouts from the local Otahki Council begin taking cookie orders today.

Braeuner, a high school junior, has been a Girl Scout for 12 years and has been a Top 10 cookie seller since she was a third-grader. Top sellers usually sell between 500 and 800 boxes of cookies.

"It's hard work," Braeuner said. "But you just get brave and go door-to-door."

Proceeds from cookie sales remain in the local council. Cookie money helps fund program and camp costs. The local council operates three camp properties and a service center. Money also underwrites financial aid programs. And a portion of the money is distributed to the troop levels where girls decide how it is spent.

Thanks in part to cookie sales Braeuner has taken four Girl Scout trips. "I love to travel," she said. "I have met hundreds of new people and I have too many pen pals. I seriously doubt I would have taken trips like this without Girl Scouts."

In 1993, Braeuner traveled to Washington D.C. with her mother and two other scouts and their parents. "We got to meet many different people from many different ethnic backgrounds and cultures," she said. "It was a major learning experience." Most of the costs were paid through Girl Scout Travelship Scholarships.

In 1994, she traveled to Dayton, Ohio, for a Wider Opportunity about aeronautics, aerospace and the history of flight. "This was a great opportunity because this is what I intend to go into as a career," Braeuner said. "Again, Girl Scouts made it possible with their Travelship Scholarships."

In 1996, she went to a Leadership Institute on Coaching in New York City. "I applied because of my love for sports," she said. "Plus, while there, we discussed what would be ideal for the first nationwide Girlsports Event."

And last summer Braeuner traveled to Spartenburg, S.C., for the first Girlsports Event. "Three of us from New York were fortunate to be a part of it," she said. "We got to meet two Olympic gold medalists and accelerate at our chosen sports."

The chance to travel has helped Braeuner mature, she said. "I've become more independent. I can stand on my own two feet."

Cookies cost $2.50 per box. Thin Mints, the perennial favorite cookie, is just one of eight varieties. Shortbread, Caramel deLites, Peanut Butter Sandwich, Lemon Pastry Cremes, Peanut Butter Patties, Five World Cinnamons with Sugar and Reduced Fat Iced Ginger Daisies round out the selections.

Orders will taken through Jan. 26. Cookies will be delivered between Feb. 26 and March 13.

In 1997, area Girl Scouts sold 184,500 boxes of cookies. That's an average of 85 boxes per girl.

For information or to order cookies, contact the service center, 1432 Kurre Lane, in Cape Girardeau, or call 334-7741.