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People on the Move: Gerry Viggiani
06/27/2008 - By Beth Burke
Dedicated scout leader
When Gerry Viggiani moved to town 13 years ago, service unit manager for the Colts Neck Service Unit of the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore was probably not a job she thought she would ever have – she didn’t even know it existed. Yet today that is exactly the position she holds within the organization, and she doesn’t take it lightly. After returning to her husband Mark’s hometown, Gerry thought that scouting would be a great opportunity for both her and her two young girls, Jessica and Lauren, to forge friendships of their own. Gerry first became a Brownie troop leader for Jessica; later, she took over Lauren’s troop as well. She felt it was a wonderfully rewarding way to be part of her daughters’ lives, and now she’s extended that to the 243 girls and 62 adult volunteers who make up the 22 troops of the Colts Neck Girl Scouts.
Gerry had volunteered for many PTO and church activities, but wanted to become more involved with the Girl Scouts. After years of being a troop leader and helping with various activities and committees, she took on several positions within her service unit team. When the service unit manager position came up, she decided to take the plunge. “I saw some things that needed change…and I am not one to just sit back and let someone else do it.”
At that point Gerry gave up all her other volunteer work because she knew how much time was involved and “wanted to do this one thing really well.” She is now in charge of five different levels of Girl Scout troops, grouped by age from kindergarten through high school. Scouting exposes girls to things they might not otherwise try; various badges and interest projects include frogging, water conservation, martial arts, science, and government.
Gerry encourages her troops to plan outings where they can interact with strong women holding respected positions to demonstrate that they can strive to be anything they want.
She also urges leaders to incorporate lots of community service. Troops have held a blood drive for the American Red Cross, cooked for and decorated a Ronald McDonald House, and made blankets for Project Linus. Gerry believes that the combination of all these experiences help girls to become strong young women, ready to contribute to and change the world.
One of her main goals is to instill cohesiveness among the troop leaders. To encourage this, Gerry holds monthly business meetings to disseminate council information and plan activities; she also organizes social gatherings for the leaders, and feels strongly that happy leaders create the best experiences for the girls. To that end, she makes herself available to answer questions any time. Her ideas seem to be working, as leader meetings with low turnout are a thing of the past (the average attendance is now 70%).
Gerry’s biggest challenge is keeping older girls in scouting, so she holds several service unit-wide events each year where older girls with developing leadership skills serve as positive role models for younger girls. High school scouts can also earn a Silver or Gold Award – an impressive achievement to include on college applications.
Gerry also keeps busy with a part-time job, and enjoys reading, crossword puzzles, and cooking in her leisure time. Both her daughters are still active scouts, and with their dedicated mom guiding them they are sure to continue making great strides as part of the Colts Neck Girl Scouts! -by Beth Burke
Look for a flyer announcing the Colts Neck Girl Scouts registration event this fall. For more information contact Gerry at gviggian@optonline.net, registrar Laura Tucker at njtuckers@yahoo.com, or Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore at www.girlscoutsjs.org.
STATS
Favorite restaurant
my mother-in-law’s kitchen
Favorite musicians
rock – Bon Jovi,
Springsteen, Black Crowes
Favorite Movie
I don’t really watch a lot of movies;
I prefer reading Jodi Picoult novels
Pet peeve
people who complain but
don’t work productively to
bring about positive change
Three people you would like to have dinner with: my father (deceased – I have so
much to tell him); my family; and the late Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scout movement
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