It's Girl Scout cookie time

For The American

Thin Mints, Samoas, Tagalongs and all the other popular Girl Scout cookie varieties will hit the streets Saturday when the Girl Scouts-Western Oklahoma 2010 Girl Scout Cookie Sale begins.

Once again this year, cookies are available for purchase now from the first day of the sale so customers won't have to wait for orders to come in.

"We offered cookies on demand last year and the response was phenomenal," said Barbara Mitchell, director of customer relations and product sales for GS-West. "Customers like being able to get their favorite cookie now and not wait for orders to come in. It also helps the girls sell more cookies. We found last year that when people realized they didn't have to wait for their favorite cookie order to come in, they tended to buy more cookies throughout the entire cookie sale."

The cookie sale will run through March 7. The cost for a box of cookies from Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma has not changed at $3.50 per box. The new cookie flavor for this year is Thank U Berry Munch ? a cranberry, krispies and white chocolate cookie.

Girl Scouts also re-vamped last year's Dulce de Leche, a caramel chip cookie inspired by the flavors of Latin America. Cookie booth sales will begin Feb. 7 throughout the 39-county service area where cookies can be purchased on site. To locate a cookie booth near you visit www.gswestok.org.

In addition, the Oklahoma College Savings Plan will partner with Girl Scouts throughout Oklahoma for a second year asking Oklahomans to vote for their favorite Girl Scout Cookie. The winning cookie will be announced by State Treasurer Scott Meacham.

Also, the Oklahoma Girl Scout who sells the most cookies this year will receive $1,529 towards an Oklahoma College Savings Plan sponsored by OCSP. Plus, the Oklahoma College Savings Plan will award $529 to the Oklahoma Girl Scout Troop that gets the most votes in the "Vote for Oklahoma's Favorite Girl Scout Cookie" promote.

To vote for a favorite cookie, go to www.ok4saving.org and click on the Girl Scout banner.

"The cookie sale is an important part of the Girl Scout experience," Mitchell said. "Girls learn entrepreneurial skills, develop public speaking skills, gain a greater understanding of what it means to create a budget and the value of funds raised. Most of the girls will use the money they earn through the cookie sale to attend summer camp and other Girl Scout opportunities -- many of whom would not be able to participate in these programs all year long if not for the cookie sale."

Another new aspect to the cookie sale this year is electronic. For the first time, Girl Scouts across the country will now be allowed to use the Internet to promote the cookie sale. Because the cookie sale is a leadership experience for girls the Internet can only be used for promotional purposes. Girls will not be allowed to have online stores or sell via e-mail.

"However, we are anticipating that Girl Scouts in Western Oklahoma will get very creative and come up with fun ways to use the Internet to promote their cookie sale," Mitchell said. "In fact, our council is hosting a cookie sale video contest. Girls are being asked to produce a video that we can place on the Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma YouTube channel."

"The video selected as the best entry will win a new Flip video camera, so we are looking forward to what our Girl Scouts create this year and to see how they use the Internet and social networking to promote the sale. It should be very interesting," she said.

For more information on this year's cookie sale, contact Girl Scouts-Western Oklahoma at (800) 698-0022 or 528-3535 or visit www.gswestok.org.

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