Photos by Jeanna Duerscherl | The Roanoke Times

(Left to right) Nakyah Christian, Destinee Rowe and Maya Salzano sell Girl Scout cookies outside of Sam’s club with the help of volunteer Suzanne Salzano.

Destinee Rowe laughs as volunteer Suzanne Salzano tickles her outside of Sam's Club. Rowe's mom, Deidre Rowe, started the Brownie Troop to help teach girls about friendship.

Want to join Girl Scouts?

Here’s what you need to know.

• Any girl between the ages of 5 and 17 is welcome. There are also opportunities for adults to join as volunteers or mentors.
• All members of Girl Scouts share the Girl Scout Promise and Law, follow certain rules and regulations and pay annual membership dues of $10. However, many councils, including the Skyline Council, offer scholarships to girls who wish to join but cannot afford the dues.
• To join a troop in the Skyline Council, visit www.gsvsc.org or call 777-5100. To find a troop outside the Skyline Council and get more information on Girl Scouting, visit www.girlscouts.org.

"Girl Scout cookies!"

Stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp.

"Girl Scout cookies!"

Stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp.

That's how 6-year-old girls sell cookies -- they make up a song. Not that the sale of Girl Scout cookies generally takes a whole lot of persuasion, but don't try telling Brownie Girl Scouts Destinee Rowe, Nakyah Christian, Tiarra Johnson and Maya Salzano that their sweet treats won't fit into this year's diet.

Even though they're not yet sure what they learn from selling cookies, their leader, Diedre Rowe, knows: They're learning financial skills and how to be more polite with people -- even when they don't buy any cookies.

Rowe, who is Destinee's mom, became a leader in September for her current Brownie troop of 11 girls. At that time, she was also co-leading a Junior Girl Scout troop, but that troop is now under new leadership.

It all started when Rowe, 38, and her daughter went to a recruitment activity at the Williamson Road Library, where Rowe met a few of the other Girl Scout moms. They thought she would make a good troop leader, so she decided to start a new troop in Northwest Roanoke.

On top of working 30 to 35 hours per week at Bodatious Salon and Day Spa, Rowe said she thinks leading a Scout troop is a part-time job. But she said she enjoys it and continues to work hard because of how important she knows Girls Scouts are to girls.

"A lot of girls don't know anything about friendship, and a lot of them don't get to go a lot of places," she said. "I think with Girl Scouts, you really get to grow."

Rowe joined the Girl Scouts for the first time as a girl living in Roanoke. She participated in Junior and Cadette Girl Scouts until the 10th grade, when being a Girl Scout seemed uncool to her high school buddies.

Girl Scouting has changed since Rowe last participated, but the core values are the same. A good Girl Scout must be honest and willing to have fun, said Rowe and her fellow moms.

And then of course, there are the cookies, which have maintained popularity but climbed in price over the years. Rowe remembers when they were just $2 per box. Now they cost $3.50.

Girl Scouts do more than sell cookies. From September to October, the Scouts have a nut and candy sale. The Girl Scouts are also affiliated with the United Way and raise money for that organization in late autumn.

The Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Council, which includes Roanoke troops, is also part of a pilot program selling fluorescent light bulbs to help educate the public about climate change, thanks to a $100,000 grant from State Farm Insurance. They'll begin selling bulbs April 22 for about the same price as a box of cookies.

The girls learn self-confidence and make new friends while they earn Try-Its, badges for completing activities that teach such things as staying fit, sign language, manners and hiking.

"I think the manners one is the one you want everyone to get," Rowe said with a laugh.

As a new troop leader, Rowe said she has been focusing on fun patches to get the girls more excited. So far, they've seen "Scrooge," taken a trip to Maggie Moo's Ice Cream and Treatery, toured the studios at WDBJ (Channel 7) and visited the Harrison Museum of African American Culture. The girls also get patches for taking part in National Girl Scout activities such as World Thinking Day and selling cookies.

Rowe, too, has gotten the benefit of friendship from Girl Scouts. She only knew one of her Scouts' mothers before September, but is friends with many others now. And she isn't the only parent benefiting from Scouting.

"When you put your kid in, you join too," said Suzanne Salzano, Maya's mother and one of Rowe's new friends.

Rowe said she tries to make her troop a very family-oriented one. Maya's 10-year-old brother, Sam, takes part in many Girl Scout activities, and Rowe said her 3-year-old son Desmond thinks he's a Girl Scout, too.

Dads -- including Rowe's husband Gregory -- even help chaperone sometimes, especially when there's ice cream involved.

"It's about me having fun with them and growing with them and teaching them how to be respectful and how to be young ladies," Rowe explained.

But it's fun for her, too. "I get to be a little girl again!"