By KINSEY COTE

Special to the Herald

Thin Mints, Samoas and Tagalongs make their annual return starting Friday, as the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia begin selling the 2025 batch of cookies in Statesboro. 

Residents will see Girl Scout-staffed booths set up around Statesboro for the next three weeks with the three classic cookies mentioned above along with Do-si-dos, Adventurefuls, Trefoils, Lemon-Ups, Toffee-tastic, and S'mores, which will be discontinued following the 2025 cookie season. 

Keena Cone, who leads Troop #30036 in Statesboro, said her Scouts have been practice selling in preparation for the sales that begin at 4 p.m. Friday outside the Little Caesars, next to Books-A-Million in the Statesboro Crossing shopping area.

Cone has been the troop leader for Troop #30036 for three years and she is carrying on the tradition of the Girl Scouts from her childhood with her daughter, Taylor. 

Cone said that she remembers going camping and selling cookies with her teacher, who was her troop leader in the 1980s.

Cone said the most important lessons she learned from being a Girl Scout were how to "navigate friendships of different cultures and backgrounds, and being open to new experiences."

As a troop leader, Cone said the most rewarding part for her is helping her Scouts establish a sisterhood with each other. Cone said she follows the mission of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts: "To empower young girls and let them know that they can lead in Technology, they can lead in sportsmanship. Things that men usually dominate. You don't have to be a certain gender to accomplish things."

Also, Cone said she uses the sales of cookies to help teach math skills, money management, entrepreneurship and goal setting. 

Lynnsey Mercer and Railyn, Scouts in Cone's troop, mentioned similar skills such as money management, with Scout Chloe Turner highlighting how Girl Scouts has taught her about helping others and treating others with respect. 

"Being a Girl Scout means I get to help people a lot," Turner, a sixth-grader, said. "I get to help the community and talk to others… And, of course, they enjoy the snacks." 

Through the task of selling cookies, Turner said she's learned how to treat others with respect and some marketing skills, such as knowing what to say to people when buying cookies.  

Proceeds from cookie sales will go to a local non-profit organization or a family in need. At this time, Cone said they are unsure who they will help in the community. In the past, she said, local Scout troops have donated to Open Hearts Community Mission and a boys' home, where they provided resources for the children to go see a movie. 

Cone said that they plan to work with a non-profit organization that they haven't worked with before. 

"We give back to the community, and then the girls have fun," Cone said. 

Following cookie sales, Cone said they usually take the troop to do something fun for them. This year, Cone said she hopes to arrange a trip to Disney World in Orlando after they complete their community service. 

The Girl Scouts were founded in 1912 in Savannah by Juliette Gordon Low, widely known by her nickname "Daisy." Low started the organization with 17 other girls that shared the belief that they were capable of anything they set their minds to.