Jill Bader, Nashville
native and communications director for the Republican State Leadership
Committee in Washington, D.C., was recently the keynote speaker at the Girl Scouts of Middle
Tennessee’s Salute to Outstanding Leadership Award ceremony. She is also a former aide to U.S. Sen. Lamar
Alexander, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Girl Scouts of the USA, the Mitt Romney
campaign and leads the Republican State Leadership Committee's Right Women, Right Now initiative to recruit more
Republican women to run for state level office. She received her Girl Scout Gold Award in 2000.
“Today
is a great day to be a girl”, writes Bader in a column for The Tennessean. “While
there is still a long way to go to achieve total equality, there has been no
better time to be a girl than in today’s America. Now, we teach our young women
— just like their brothers — that they can become anything they desire to be
and do anything they set their minds to do.”
Jill
was on hand to honor 43 local young women receiving Girl Scouting’s highest honor,
the Gold Award, as well as 576 girls earning their Silver and Bronze Awards.
“I
make the following plea to girls everywhere: Appreciate all the opportunities we
have today as women,” she continues. “When barriers arise, ask for help. Thank
the community for welcoming you to the leadership table. Don’t just ask to sit
down; pull up a chair and join us! Say yes — to going to college, to traveling
abroad, to running for governor, to open a medical practice, to falling in love
and raising a family.” Make sure to read the entire column here.
Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee currently serves 39 counties that include 7,130
volunteers and 14,031 Girl Scouts.