GIRL SCOUT HONOREES ARE GREAT ROLE MODELS

When the Girl Scouts of Otahki Council set out to honor women in the 11-county area the council serves, it hoped to find individuals whose achievements and commitment to their communities would serve as beacons to girls who might aspire to the same levels of involvement and success.

Clearly, the five women who will be honored Saturday morning are outstanding examples of women who deserve the special recognition.

This is the first year the local Girl Scouts have given out Women's Impact Awards, but the council's executive director, Denise Stewart, says this will be an annual event. Each year, representatives from the 11-county area will tap women -- role models for Girl Scouts -- to be honored.

Look at this year's list: former Missouri Secretary of State Bekki Cook, former state Rep. Mary Kasten, former Judge Marybelle Mueller, author and columnist Jean Bell Mosley and journalist Tamara Zellars Buck.

Cook, a Cape Girardeau lawyer, was the first county native to hold statewide office in more than a century. She was secretary of state from 1994 until this past January.

Kasten served in the Missouri House of Representatives from 1982 to the end of last year.

Mueller served as a magistrate judge, probate judge and associate circuit judge for nearly 40 years, retiring in 1994.

Mosley has written hundreds of short stories and newspaper columns plus four books since her first short story was published in 1947. She continues to write a weekly column for the Southeast Missourian as she has for the past 46 years. In addition to her regular Sunday column, "Joy Along the Way," Mosley's autobiographical book, "Wide Meadows," is currently being serialized each Tuesday on the Learning page.

Buck, who is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian, also is pursuing a master's degree at Southeast Missouri State University and is teaching a writing course at the university.

All five women selected for Saturday's Women's Impact Awards have something in common: They are devoted to the communities that are special to them. Collectively, they have devoted thousands of hours as volunteers in an effort to give future generations a better world.

What better examples for young Girl Scouts than the lives of these inspiring women. Congratulations to each of them for their endeavors and their commitment to high ideals. And congratulations to the Otahki Council for finding a way to give these women the special recognition they deserve.