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Mom qualifies for Girl Scouts prize Sells enough cookies to attend horse camp by Kristin Hillery, Managing Editor
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 | Wal-Mart systematically intimidates union
organizers by punishing dissent. |
HARTFORD, CT — Thirty-eight-year-old mother Betsy Willingsworth sold her 500th box of Girl Scout cookies early this week, qualifying her for the Scouts' top prize: a free week at Wilderness Brook Horse Camp.
"My hard work really paid off," explained Willingsworth. "Camp is just going to be so neat!"
Willingsworth spent evenings after work selling cookies in front of a local Wal-Mart last month. Her daughter, Janey — who actually is a Girl Scout — provided an insignificant amount of help.
"Janey's job was to stand at the door and nonchalantly ask people if they wanted to buy some Girl Scout cookies as they walked out," stated Willingsworth. "I didn't want her getting in the way of setting up the table, keeping track of how many boxes were sold, making change and putting everything away at night, so I took care of all that. It ended up being a recipe for success."
In order to maximize sales, Willingsworth also sold cookies door-to-door while Janey was at school.
"You have to know the big selling points in order to win the trip to horse camp," explained Willingsworth. "I told the neighbors that Janey was having trouble selling as much as the other kids, and they felt so bad that they had no choice but to buy some."
 Willingsworth continued: "It also helped to tell them something specific about the cookies, like the Caramel deLites, for example. I would just drop 'delicate, vanilla cookies drenched in caramel and sprinkled with toasted coconut that really hit the spot when washed down with a glass of milk' — and that my daughter possibly faced failure that would rob her of all dignity and the confidence to be a strong, independent woman in a man's world."
Willingsworth said that selling Girl Scout cookies helped her learn about cash handling, setting goals and personal responsibility — skills that will no doubt help her with future business endeavors.
"Once I get back from horse camp, I'm going to start preparing for baseball season," added Willingsworth. "My son's popcorn tins aren't going to sell themselves." |
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