Former Girl Scout leader honored for service

The way Jean McArthy visits with former members of her Girl Scout troop from the 1970s, one easily gets the impression the women have remained close over the decades.

McArthy, who says her involvement and love for Girl Scouts must be in her blood, initially got involved because she enjoyed working with children.

After helping with Cub Scouts first, McArthy became the leader for Girl Scout Troop 161 in Cy-Fair. She started out with 32 members and watched the girls move from Matzke Elementary to Cy-Fair High School, all while taking them camping and canoeing around Houston and Texas through the years.

"I could always trust them," McArthy said of the girls. "They were fun and funny and adventurous, but never wild."

McArthy took the troop to Huntsville State Park, floated the river in San Marcos, canoed down Spring Creek in northern Harris County and even took a trip around Texas one year.

"There weren't a whole lot of activities at the time we moved here," said McArthy, who came to Cy-Fair in 1970. "Most moms didn't work then, so everyone was up for doing new things."

Former troop members Debbie Taylor and Charla Reese remember McArthy as someone who instilled independence in them from a young age, whether from learning how to cook food over a campfire or just learning to love nature.

"She was such a great role model for us about the true principles of Girl Scouts," Reese said. "It wasn't about the regulations or the rules or the badges; it was more about going camping and having fun in the outdoors."

In honor of McArthy—and in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts this year—the former troop members took McArthy on a camp-out in early November at Camp Agnes Arnold—Conroe's Girl Scout campground.

The women planned a badge ceremony, gathered items together for a troop memory trunk and had a quilt made for McArthy. Former troop members were asked to write something to McArthy, and then all of the notes were transferred to swatches on the quilt.

"Everyone took a piece of the puzzle in making it happen," Taylor said.

Ultimately, the former troop members wanted to recognize McArthy for the impact she had on their lives. The Girl Scout mission statement—"Building girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place"—describes McArthy's leadership well, the women said.

"In junior high and high school, everyone wants to be part of the group, and [McArthy] really made each of us see how each person had value," Taylor said.