Troop 423 Public Speaking
Troop 423 Cadette Girl Scouts recently celebrated Juneteenth at the Darlington County Institute of Technology by sharing with others the leadership skills shown by the women of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. Earlier during the year, Aurelia Burgess, troop leader for Troop 423 was contacted by Mr. Lloyd Gill who wanted to reward a troop with a $500 scholarship created on behalf of his mother and father. The troop would be responsible for researching and providing a 30 minute presentation on the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, a majority African American female unit who was the only African-American female unit to be deployed to the European theater during World War II.Troop 423 Cadettes accepted the challenge to learn about this historic group of women while also completing the requirements to earn their Public Speaking badge. The Girls who earned their badge were Aaliyah C., Kaydence D., Marisa E., Samira E., Jada J., and Jaya J. The presentations emphasized how the women of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion portrayed many characteristics reflected in the Girl Scout Law. One such characteristic was the courage and strength they exhibited as they fought to overcome racism, sexism, and deplorable conditions including long hours, cold weather and rats to serve their country. The presentations also emphasized how the battalion made the world a better place as they developed a system which enabled them to distribute over 17 million pieces of mail that had been backlogged for 2-3 years allowing our soldiers and civilians who were overseas to receive correspondence and gifts from home.
Through the experience, the girls were able to learn about these
strong role models and were able to hone their research, technology,
organizational, and verbal presentation skills. Additionally, they
realized that these women possessed many of the same attributes that
we emphasize at each troop meeting. The girls were really excited
about all they learned, but equally as excited to receive a
certificate and Public Speaking Badge at the end of their
presentations and to have the troop presented with a donation of $500
in recognition of the information they shared with the
community.
~ By Guest Author, Aurelia Burgess
