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This July, Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital welcomed Girl Scouts from around the world to Washington, D.C. Thousands of youth, caregivers, volunteers, and others gathered to celebrate the future of the Girl Scouts Movement.
Keep reading for lots of awesome photos from the week's festivities and snippets of our staff's experiences.
| The week kicked off with the flag ceremony held at the convention center. | | Girl Scouts posed in line for the Hall of Experiences. | | The Girl Scout Festival Block Party was held in Franklin Park on Thursday. | | Girl Scouts posing with the GSCNC letters in Franklin Park. | Friday's Girl Scout Singalong was held in Franklin Park. | | The Singalong welcomed friends new and old to sing classic Girl Scout songs. | | The giant inflatable trefoil on Franklin Park was a big hit for photos. | | Kim R. Ford posed for photos with attendees in her Girl Scout uniform. | | Sleepaway Camp Staff from Winona, Potomac Woods, and May Flather came all the way to Franklin Park to lead activities for Girl Scout Festival attendees. | Kim R. Ford and her daughter Kenzie had fun on the field during Girl Scouts Night at the Washington Spirit game. | | Ellen Winking reunited with her former coworkers from the Central Indiana Council and showed them around Sisterhood Central. | | Annette Rollins (Membership Team 6) | | |
The National Convention, the Girl Scout Festival at Franklin Park, Sisterhood Central, and GS Unite were truly unforgettable. I had the pleasure of serving as a Teen Chaperone, and each girl brought joy to my weeklong experience.
Some of the Teen Delegates wanted to take a trip up to Sisterhood Central, so we took the Metro, designed buttons, chatted with staff, and ended the afternoon with a photo under the Girl Scout Way street sign.
I was excited to join a few of our Teen Delegates on the final day of GS Unite. We secured front-row seats for Olympic gold-medal gymnast Jordan Chiles. She shared insights on her advocacy for body positivity and mental health, and how she led with confidence while helping Team USA secure medals at both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics and making history in collegiate gymnastics at UCLA.
| Mary Strauss (Adult Volunteer Development) | | Camp staff taking turns taking photos with GSCNC volunteer Martha Moore at the Sisterhood Singalong July 24, 2026. | |
There were so many special moments that happened during the convention! I want to share two small snapshots that were special to me. Franklin Park was full of people as the Sisterhood Singalong began on Friday night and a volunteer tapped my shoulder to say a little girl needed the lost and found. I turned to find a girl about ten years old who was sobbing because she lost her bag of SWAPS that she had been collecting all week. I was grateful to see our colleague, Rebecca Montague, nearby and asked her for help. Rebecca rushed into the tent where the “Lost and Found” had been moved, and miraculously found the girl’s bag of SWAPS! When Rebecca returned the beloved ziplock bag to its owner, the girl hugged it tight to her chest and solemnly walked away in a daze of emotional exhaustion. Her mother, who was overcome by relief, hugged Rebecca so tight in gratitude, you would have thought Rebecca had saved her child’s life.
Soon after that, one of our GSCNC “seasoned” volunteers, Martha Moore, led the crowd in singing a song she wrote in 1970, “Magic”, accompanied by her adult daughter and two young granddaughters - along with the rest of our Sisterhood Singalong singers. When she finished the song and left the stage, an enthusiastic group of sleepaway camp staff ran to find Martha and take photos with her, totally overjoyed to meet the songwriter of one of their favorite camp songs! Martha’s granddaughters were watching - wide-eyed to realize that their grandmother is a Girl Scout “celebrity”, and Martha was surprised and delighted to meet these wonderful camp staffers who love and continue to sing her song.
| | Sarah Cornner (Council Operations) | | |
The first pic is me and my son, Alex, at the Hall of Experiences Selfie station. We had an amazing time exploring together, and this convention really brought out Alex’s love for Girl Scouts again. I am so happy about that.
The second picture is the GSCNC National Delegation on Day 1, before our long walk together to the Hall from our hotel.
| Cheryl Osborne (Membership Team 5) | On our way to Franklin Park, Team 5 and Leah took a little detour. | | Anna Bradford (Product Program) | | Two photos from the Convention. One of Heather and me from before the National Bridging Ceremony—we worked for months with GSUSA on this one and were very proud of the results! The second is of Kim and me with the amazing LBB team in Franklin Park (they admitted we are their #1 favorite council!) | |
Caroline Sachdeva (Membership Team 6) | | Some photos from the convention with lovely friends and coworkers and a little bit of chalk art at Sisterhood Central. | | Joy was in action during convention week, and our staff had lots of moments to share! | | Joy Dixon (left) and Joy Byrne (right) were the epitome of joy in action during convention week. | |
Joy Dixon is our Financial Operations Specialist and is here to answer all of your financial administrative needs. Joy Dixon is a lifetime member of the Girl Scouts and has been with GSCNC for almost 2 years. She can be reached at jdixon@gscnc.org.
Joy Byrne is the DEIA Specialist and, as of May 2026, finished her first year with GSCNC. She is available to answer any questions or concerns you may have regarding DEIA topics. She can be reached at jbyrne@gscnc.org.
| | Ran into some of my former troop members at the 58th NCS in July. After college, I became the co-leader of a troop in Harpers Ferry, WV, with Leanne Cobb and her daughters. Jillian was 7 when we started and is now a leader herself in Leesburg, VA, with her own daughter. | | Kira Kerr (Membership Team 5) | |
On the Sunday before convention, we were metroing home from DC after seeing Beetlejuice on Girl Scout night. At Metro Center, we saw a crowd of Girl Scouts stream off the train wearing GSCNC t-shirts. It made me jittery with excitement because it really felt like we were painting the town green!
Also, my cat, Dash, got really into hat decoration!
| | Naila Hassan (Membership Team 4) | | |
The Franklin Park Activation for Period Power was one of the most rewarding experiences for me. It was incredible to see the project come to life, bringing volunteers and community members together around a shared mission to help address period poverty. Watching the event's impact unfold and seeing so many Girl Scouts engage with the cause made it a meaningful reminder of how powerful community-driven service can be.
One of my favorite moments with the council was meeting Rima, an 82-year-old Girl Scout volunteer, while we were volunteering in the service project rooms at Convention. Her wisdom, stories, and lifelong dedication to Girl Scouting were truly inspiring. The meaningful connection we shared made me smile and reminded me of the incredible people who make this organization so incredibly special.
| Amy Robinson (People & Culture) | | Denise Viau, Manager, Program and Camping Services, and Maisie, Brownie, welcoming volunteers for the 2026 National Council Session Flag Ceremony! | | Jessica Hadsell (Program & Camping) | | At the GSCNC booth in the Hall of Experiences at the convention, we had postcards that other members could leave messages. These were just some that I felt brought me enough joy that I wanted to take pictures of them to share. | | Due to the volume of submissions, this issue was dedicated entirely to convention. If you submitted something non-convention-related and didn't see your submission, don't worry as it will be featured in next month's issue as usual! | | | | |
