Girl Scouts attend media training at the Girl Scout Service Center in Jacksonville, Fla. The media training group comprised Girl Scout Juniors, Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors for an interactive session where the girls learned from reporters, social media professionals and public speakers

Fifteen Girl Scouts from across Gateway Council participated in a media training segment exclusively for Girl Scout members on July 25.

The program took place at the Girl Scouts of Gateway Council (GSGC) Service Center in Jacksonville and included media professionals from the Gateway Council staff, Clockwork Marketing Services and guest speaker Mary Kelli Palka of The Florida Times-Union. Girl Scout participants included girls from all over Northeast and North Central Florida that were interested in becoming part of the Girl Media Team.

“We were very pleased to offer this program exclusively for our Gateway Council Girl Scouts,” said Mary Anne Jacobs, Gateway Council CEO. “Media training was a wonderful opportunity for the girls to actively learn from local media professionals and to develop their abilities. We are excited to have Girl Scouts that joined the training become our spokeswomen for future media opportunities.”

Girls participated in breakout sessions with the facilitators to learn from experts about public speaking, utilizing social media for brand awareness, messaging, and interview techniques. Guest speaker Mary Kelli Palka, editor of The Florida Times-Union, attended the training and spoke about her career as a reporter. Palka, a 2018 Gateway Council Women of Distinction honoree, offered advice on best practices during a media interview and how to answer a question clearly and eloquently.

“Media training helped me with my confidence,” said Jordan McAlister, a Girl Scout Senior from Jacksonville, Fla. “I learned to be confident in myself and my message and I am looking forward to growing my skills with my media teammates at Girl Scouts.”

Many in attendance echoed McAlister. One participant was inspired to take her training even further by creating a video for girls and volunteers showing all of the opportunities available to Girl Scouts.

“I want others to understand what Girl Scouts is about,” said Kadance Schmidt-Alpers, a Girl Scout Cadette from Palm Coast, Fla. “It’s not just about badges and summer camp. We bring together girls from different areas and backgrounds where we build relationships and confidence and we develop new interests through experiences like media training.”

Media Team members will play an active role in sharing the Girl Scout story through media interviews, blogs, social media posts, video content creation and more. Girl Scouts will be able to continually develop their talents through monthly assignments and content creation for the Girl Scouts of Gateway Council website and email newsletter sent to board members, donors and partners. Media team members will also have the opportunity to pitch ideas to council leadership about programs and projects they would like to cover.

“We are looking for ways to involve Girl Scouts more than ever before,” said Jacobs. “Gateway Council is committed to seeking out unique experiences and opportunities where Girl Scouts can develop themselves in a safe all-girl space and we are thrilled that, through media training, we can now have our members share their Girl Scout experience first-hand.”

To learn more about Girl Scouts of Gateway Council, to join, or to donate, visit www.girlscouts-gateway.org. To learn more about media training, contact TriciaRae Stancato at [email protected] or (904) 421-3484.