Dessert Before Dinner: A Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada Gala Event
In today's episode of The Best Dam Podcast, Jill chats with Lily and Donna, who are representing the Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada. Donna is a dedicated representative from Girl Scouts, and Lily is a young Girl Scout with big dreams and a heart for service. Together, they dive into what makes the Girl Scouts such a vital part of the Boulder City community—everything from life-changing leadership experiences for girls, to the upcoming "Dessert Before Dinner" fundraising gala, and the incredible opportunities at Frias Frontier camp.
DISCUSSION
- What makes the annual “Dessert Before Dinner” gala unique, and how does it support the mission of the Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada?
- Lily spoke about the importance of being a role model for younger Girl Scouts. How does mentorship impact youth development within organizations like the Girl Scouts?
- Donna mentioned the significant donation that led to the acquisition of Frias Frontier Camp. How do contributions like this shape programming and opportunities for the organization?
- Lily is working on her Gold Award related to suicide prevention. Why is it important for youth-led projects to address mental health, and what impact can these have on the community?
- The episode highlighted both council-level and troop-level activities. How does this girl-driven approach to programming benefit individual participants?
- The Girl Scouts partner with local organizations and community leaders to broaden their service opportunities and educational reach. In what ways does community engagement enhance the Girl Scout experience?
- Donna explained the process of becoming a Girl Scout troop leader, including background checks and required training. Why are these safeguards and supports important for youth organizations?
- How do awards like the Bronze, Silver, and Gold help shape the aspirations and leadership skills of Girl Scouts?
- Boulder City’s “Scout House” offers a unique community resource. What role do local facilities play in fostering consistent participation and community among Girl Scouts?
- Lily shared her dream of becoming a psychologist to help kids with anxiety. How do experiences in organizations like the Girl Scouts help young people discover and pursue their passions?
LEARN MORE
Click here to learn more about the Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada - https://www.girlscoutsnv.org/.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/girlscoutsnv
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/girlscoutsnv
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/girlscoutsnv
Click here to learn about, dontate, or purchase tickets to attend the 2025 Dessert Before Dinner Gala, Sep 13 at 6:00 PM PDT at Wynn Las Vegas.
KEYWORDS
Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada, Dessert Before Dinner Gala, Frias Frontier Camp, Jill Lagan, Boulder City Chamber, The Best Dam Podcast, Podcast Interview
#GirlScoutsofSouthernNevada #DessertBeforeDinnerGala #FriasFrontierCamp #BoulderCityChamber #TheBestDamPodcast #PodcastInterview
Podcast Transcript
Jill: I am grateful to have a beautiful young lady with us here today and a beautiful other young lady. So we have Miss Lily. She is one of our local Girl Scouts here in Southern Nevada. So Lily, thank you for being with us.
Lily: Thank you for having me
Jill: And Miss Donna, we're so grateful to have you back. So this is another a day of having a repeat guest because we love you so much and you do so much for the community. So thank you for being here again, Donna.
Donna: Thank you so much for having me.
Jill: So in the arena of the Girl Scout program, so much education, so much ability to teach social skills, all of the different skills that we all need as we're growing up, I am always so impressed, but there is also an element that we have to remember and that. Fundraising.
And so we are here today to talk a little bit more about the Girl Scout program that you guys have coming up. You've got a great fundraiser happening in September. Donna, will you tell us a little bit more about that?
Donna: Certainly. So it's our, big gala event. We call it dessert before dinner, which is a lot of fun, and it, plays into the theme of the evening, and that's getting to sample some fantastic desserts before you go in for dinner.
Jill: Awesome.
Donna: And it's happening on September 13th.
Jill: I love it. And where's this at this time?
Donna: It's held at the beautiful wind casino or casino and resort, one of, their beautiful, ballrooms. One of the special things about this ballroom that I love, the best that is, it already has, girl Scout themed chandelier and it has these beautiful chandelier with big green crystals hanging down from.
Jill: Really?. Oh my gosh. You did.
Donna: I did that. I mean, the whole, the whole property is spectacular, but I personally love the chandelier.
Jill: They did it just for you.
Donna: Of course.
Jill: I love that. How sweet is that?. And what did we expect to happen at the gala?. Sh share a little bit more. I know obviously tasting and sampling of desserts before the main event, but what also happens with the programming? I'm sure there's a lot of conversations with donors.
Donna: Absolutely there are a lot of, conversations with donors, but there's also some amazing mission moments with the girls themselves. We have, girls from different levels of girl Scouts present at the event and interacting in different activities at the event. But, the fun part with the desserts also is that we engage local, female. From, different businesses, different casinos, and they compete in a competition to make a special dessert using the signature cookie, that we've chosen. It changes from year to year.
Jill: Oh, great.
Donna: This year, with it being our 15th anniversary, we've, chosen our iconic thin mint cookie, so all of the desserts will use a thin mint cookie as part of the ingredients.
Jill: I love it. I think I should come and sample all of those because anything with a thin mint is right up my alley. So Lily, as we're preparing for this, what do you think is gonna be your favorite part about that night?
Lilly: My favorite part is always trying the desserts, but, other than that, I think seeing the little girls just work the dessert before dinner is such an amazing experience. 'cause they look like, they're ready to grow up and it's always so sweet to just watch them work.
Jill: And to see tiny girls in a ballroom is
Lilly: yes,
Jill: they're just. The size, you're just like, you don't expect that. It's supposed to be for adults and ball gowns. And you've got these young ladies that are emerging as, beautiful young women and what a great skill set you're teaching them. What level are you at in Girl Scouts?
Lilly: I'm a cadet, but I'm going into senior year.
Jill: Okay, very good. And so how long have you been in the Girl Scout program?
Lilly: About nine years.
Jill: Wow. Wow. And was your mom a girl scout?
Lilly: No.
Jill: No.
Lilly: I actually got into Girl Scouts 'cause my best friend. In kindergarten, she really wanted to join and I just joined at first to just be with my best friend more. But as I got older, I started to love it even more.
Jill: Oh, that's awesome. So what is an aspect of the Girl Scout program that is so important to your heart? I would imagine there's many, but can you share maybe just one.
Lilly: I think being a leader to younger girls, just seeing my image reflect on them. And it's always so sweet when I do something and they just gimme a big hug.
Jill: Oh,
Lilly: I just feel so, it's so heartwarming. Just seeing little girls look up to you,
Jill: that's quite an aha moment for you
Lilly: definitely
Jill: being so young and having that kind of, a mindset and it's just, it's impressive that your mind goes there, that you want to be a leader and that your heart is warmed by seeing other girls be want to be just like you.
Lilly: Thank you.
Jill: That is amazing. you're awesome. I just get to know you and I'm already can tell you're one of those that. It's like a magnet to your personality. People are gonna be drawn to you.
Lilly: Thank you.
Jill: That is amazing. I cannot wait to see what you accomplish in your life. That is awesome. So Miss Donna, I know that there are so many programs that the Girl Scout programs have and here in Vegas, I would imagine in order to operate those programs, those donors become central to what it is your mission is to accomplish. Can you share a little bit more about how people can get involved?
Donna: Yes, absolutely. Our donors obviously are critical. everything from scholarships to the financial aid we provide for, girls who need help with, membership fees or attending camp. All of these come from our very generous, wonderful donors and dessert before dinner is an opportunity for the donors to.
Participate at a different level and engaged with the girls. One of the really special, roles that we have for the girls during dessert before dinner is called a mini me, where we have a girl who gets to interact with one of our amazing honorees.
Jill: Oh.
Donna: And we have badges that are associated with each of these honorees. And Lily actually got to be a mini me with one of our honorees last year.
Jill: That is amazing. Do you wanna share a little bit about that?
Lilly: Of course. It was honestly so amazing and. My honoree was Rita Vaswani, and she was so inspiring and she was so personable and she taught me a lot.
Jill: And what does she do?
Lilly: She was a, I'll forget, but I know she worked at the US Bank.
Jill: Oh, very good.
Lilly: Yes.
Jill: So obviously a community leader, a leader in the corporate world, and I bet she just. Being able, she probably felt like you do with the younger girls. She probably got that heartwarming sensation from being able to help you to be like an example to you.
Lilly: Yes. My dream one day is to be an honoree at dessert before dinner. Just to be like that leader to a little girl.
Jill: Oh my gosh. What a dream. I want to do that when I grow up too. That'd be awesome. I love that. Donna, will you tell us a little bit more too about the girls camp? I know that in our last show we talked a lot about the ranch. That was an amazing donation to Yes, our Southern Nevada Girl Scouts program, but it also was one of the largest. In the national program. And so Girl Scouts of the United States of America. Is that how we say it?
Donna: Yes.
Jill: Yes. Okay. I wanna make sure I'm doing it right. And so can you tell us a little bit about that? And, I would imagine that doesn't happen every day. All right. So I would love to know a little bit more about the ranch itself. I would like to know how you guys acquired it. We've talked about it before, but let's talk a little bit more about that, what happens at the ranch, and then maybe a little bit more about some of the other, donations that have come from that particular foundation.
Donna: Okay. Our Camp Freest Frontier, as the girls affectionately named it in honor of the foundation that donated the property to us, was a gift in 2018. And you are correct. At that time, it was the largest one-time donation that any girl Scout council in the United States had received. It was,
Jill: wow.
Donna: It was an amazing gift. And it was, received shortly after we had to, rest a camp, up on Mount Charleston. So The girls at that time did not have a camp to go to. We have since, done some land swaps and expanded it to have 33 contiguous acres at that ranch. The property included a large lodge that had previously been called a Cowboys dream.
It was a five star bed and breakfast. It's absolutely beautiful. Completely. I've been there. Western theme. Oh, you have been there that, so that's awesome. unique and special. That property is, we have kept that. Particular building largely intact. Okay. And the girls still, because it has a large, like catering kitchen, the girls primarily take their meals.
In that building as well. Open space. we've added cabins to the property, that we can have bunk beds in. And we've added covered wagons that the girls can also sleep in. They have bunk beds as well.
Jill: How cool.
Donna: As well as, additional restroom facilities and things. We've also added horses. To the property so the girls can go up and engage in equine programming. We have, a lovely little flock of very friendly chickens and ducks this year, which was new, and we have rehabbed one of the outbuildings to what we now call the zenden for girls to do yoga, mindful meditation, things of that nature. So it's just an additional program space. It's climate controlled, thankfully. 'cause it gets pretty hot. The property is in Alamo. It's 90, 90 miles north of Las Vegas. So it's a little cooler than Las Vegas, but not as cool as we wished it would get.
Jill: But such a special property,
Donna: very special.
Jill: And that tells you the mindset of some of these donors. They understand the value of providing these girls these experiences. And my hat goes off to that foundation.
Donna: Yeah.
Jill: It's foundation's.
Donna: It's really amazing. A lot of the girls that go out to camp have never left the Las Vegas Valley before. They've never gone to a, an overnight camp before. They've never engaged with horses or any other livestock. We have a climbing wall, which is new this year that specific edition was entirely funded by donations from the dessert before dinner. gala event a couple years ago that was a fund and need, topic, two years ago, I think it was.
And we finally got that on property. That's a portable rock wall that we'll be able to use both at camp and at our council headquarters during big events now,
Jill: Special events. That's awesome. What a great way to use that as a fundraising tool independently.
Donna: Yes.
Jill: That's awesome. And so I also know the Frees Foundation. I know it has a longer name. We wanna make sure we get that correct in the show notes, but, they've also done other scholarship programs for you as well.
Donna: Yes. Not just for us, but for the entire Southern Nevada area. they, this year, I believe they had nine $100,000 scholarships.
Jill: Wow.
Donna: That were open to all, Southern Nevada, high school students. Two of those are, have additional eligibility requirements. One is earmarked for, girl Scout membership and one is earmark for Boy Scout membership.
Jill: Okay.
Donna: So this is the third year that they've, offered that scholarship. So Our Senior Girl Scouts have the opportunity to apply for that scholarship. That's not open to just any, high school student in the area. So the odds of actually getting it are much greater.
Jill: I love that, and I can imagine that it's a great reward for those girls that have put in the effort for, because Girl Scouts is an educational side and there are some efforts that need to be there, challenges that they've got to meet as well. And Lily, can you maybe talk about some of those challenges?
Lilly: Some of those challenges are the highest awards such as the Bronze Award, silver Award, and Gold Award. I have accomplished my bronze and silver. I'm working on my gold right now.
Jill: Oh, that's awesome. Tell me what it is you do. To get to gold.
Lilly: To gold. For gold, you have to have, I believe, a hundred hours, 80 or a hundred hours of service and working on your project, and it has to be a sustainable project that can keep going even when you're not there. And it has to do something. It has to be something to help the community.
Jill: I think people need to realize that much like that Eagle Scout award that we know in the Scouts, we have also something very much, just the same, that's comparable and with the girls. And that would be that gold award.
Lilly: Yes.
Jill: And so do you have an idea what you wanna do for your service?
Lilly: Yes, I'm gonna be working with suicide prevention.
Jill: Oh my gosh. So I was a suicide prevention counselor, hotline counselor For a short amount of time. It impacted me and so I can imagine the need is there. That is amazing. Especially at the level that you're at now. we've seen. Such a huge impact on the emotional side of the youth right now, especially after COVID. I can imagine they need you and you're gonna learn a lot from that.
Lilly: I really hope I do. And I think people don't see how big of a problem suicide is. Until you lose someone to it. That's right. Unfortunately.
Jill: That's right. And how do you educate yourself and prepare yourself to do that?
Lilly: so I have struggled with suicidal thoughts before.
Jill: Okay.
Lilly: So I know what it's like and I just hope to help people overcome it.
And although that you never really get past it. It's always something that lingers with you. I hope to help people be stronger than the thoughts
Jill: and talk about mental illness.
Lilly: Yes.
Jill: Not allow it to be something that we keep in the shadows.
Lilly: Yes.
Jill: I don't think people talk about it enough, and so you and that service opportunity will be phenomenal.
Lilly: I really hope so.
Jill: I'm so great. I'm so proud of you. Okay, so let's go back to the event in September. How do people get tickets? Yeah. Swing What? Swing that mic around there.
Donna: to get tickets. People can go to our website at, dessert before dinner.org.
Jill: Okay.
Donna: Dessert being spelled with two S's. I always have to remember the difference between desert dessert, dessert
Jill: desert before dinner, not as yummy dessert before dinner. And you guys also have another website if they want to get more information about just the Girl Scout program in general. How do they reach out to you?
Donna: Oh, yes, absolutely. We have a, each council has its own website and so ours is a Girl scout. nv.org and that has all sorts of information on the program, how to volunteer, how to register our events, calendar, and of course our phone number if you want further information and you don't find it easily on the website.
Jill: So how do the girls find some of these service opportunities? Do you have people that reach out to you and say, Hey, we've got a service project. The National Day of Service is coming up on September 6th. I know the city of Henderson and Boulder City are working jointly on putting together some programming for that. But is it that the Girl Scouts, are, do they reach out to you or do you reach out and look for those service opportunities?
Donna: Actually, it's both. Our girls are amazingly resourceful about finding needs to fill in their own communities.
Jill: Okay.
Donna: So a lot of them have personal. Attachments to different causes. And their troop leaders are as well, are very good at seeking out and or just observing a need in their community and getting involved to, to help with that need. But also we partner with a lot of organizations that are reaching out to us constantly, letting us know about different opportunities.
And sometimes we take the initiative as well. So if we know that we have a girl who's particularly interested in, say, food insecurity. We'll make a connection with three Square or with serving our kids in Henderson, Nevada has been an amazing, a partner with us throughout the years as well.
Jill: Yes. They are pretty wonderful.
Donna: They are.
Jill: So you mentioned your leaders. And how instrumental they are. Can you share a little bit about some of your leaders? How do, I would imagine people volunteer for that. They've got their girls involved, they want to be a part, but how do you vet that? How do you choose who's going to be a leader?
Donna: Anyone who is interested in being a Girl Scout leader is welcome to apply to be a troop leader. We provide all of the training, so it's not required that you have any prior knowledge, okay. Or experience with Girl Scouts. You do not have to be female. You do have to pass a background check, right? You have to agree to promise the promise and law of the Girl Scouts mission, right? And you have to complete a certain level of training, which includes CPR and first aid training.
Jill: Great. The background training,
Donna: or excuse me, the background. Check and the and the training is all pro provided free of charge. Okay? So anyone has the opportunity to become a Girl Scout leader, but the most important thing is you do, of course, have to be able to pass the background check for the safety of the girls.
Jill: Absolutely. And the safety of the other leaders. Oh, absolutely. I think that is brilliant. Glad to know that those, that process is in place. That is smart.
Donna: Oh, I was just gonna add that each troop, is required to have two leaders. So for safety, another safety guideline is that each troop has two unrelated, leaders. And one of, one of them has to be female for the safety of the girls. But we do welcome, we have several male troop leaders as well.
Jill: And then they have, a training program that when I helped with the scouts Here locally, we had to go through a little training program so that we knew how to interact with the youth. Youth protection, I think is what it was called, or something like that.
Donna: Yes. That's additional training that, not only, all of our staff and all of our troop leaders go through as well.
Jill: That's awesome. I am so encouraged by this program. So can we talk a little bit about some of the educational side? Some of the, options, the things that you offer is there a set program that you guys do on a curriculum basis every year, or does it just happen organically?
Donna: It's all girl driven, so a lot of the programming happens at the troop level and is driven by the girls' interests, So each troop might look a little different. One troop might be very interested in outdoor activities. Another troop might be very interested in STEM activities. So there's activities that the girls do at the troop level, and then there's also activities that we offer at the council level that girls can either participate in with their troop or come and participate in individually.
So some of some of our really popular STEM activities right now is we have 3D printers in house at our council building, so that has been a very popular program for girls to sign up for recently. Another, opportunity is just activities and access, so we have access to a lot of amazing community leaders who love to engage with the girls and, come in and talk to the girls or serve in some sort of mentoring capacity for the girls.
And then, activities like attending family events with local sporting groups. we have, Vegas Golden Nights Girl Scout Nights. We have, nights at the activities at with the, Las Vegas. ACEs, ACEs. Trying to think. So many of them. What's that? Biggest thrill. Biggest thrill.
Jill: Oh yeah. So yeah. Biggest thrill's. That's one of, Boulder City thinks of them as our team,
Donna: but just,
Jill: we know they're not. But
Donna: Yeah. Tons of, things for girls and families to just pick and choose, based on what their, where their interests lies.
Jill: I love that. And so you had mentioned when we were talking maybe earlier in regards to the scholarship program. That the Public Education Foundation has, a wonderful mentor that kind of helps those, recipients. Those award recipients. Take those next steps because not every girl has a family that has, experience in going to college. And what does that look like? How do you ready them? How do you prepare them? And so you have a mentor that helps them take that next step?
Donna: Yes. Dr. Beverly Mathis, who works with the Public Education Foundation is part of the, scholarship from the Charles and Phyllis Frees charitable foundation.
Jill: Okay.
Donna: So it's not just money that's provided to the students who earn this scholarship, but the mentoring by Dr. Mathis herself. And like one of the things, they do is go through a financial literacy course before they're sent off to college.
Jill: I love it.
Donna: And Dr. Mathis checks in with them regularly and make sure that they are on track if they need any sort of mentoring that's provided. She's basically set up to help guarantee their success.
Jill: I love that and I would imagine that in other aspects of the other educational program that you guys have, there's probably something very similar to that, a mentoring type capacity.
Donna: Yes. we bring as many experts as we can to. Not only, help mentor the girls in the moment, but also for the girls to see what they can achieve that, to see, adults who look like them Maybe have similar stories that they can share about challenges throughout their younger years that they had to overcome.
Jill: And help lift them up.
Donna: Yeah. It's very inspiring.
Jill: I can only imagine. we want these girls to reach for the stars and not to just. Be right here. We want to see them be better, be bigger, and, know that they can, and that they've got really amazing female leaders that are there and male leaders that are there to lift them up
Donna: to build courage, confidence, and character. That's the mission.
Jill: I love it. Lily, I know you probably have big plans for your future. What does your future look like?
Lilly: I want to be a psychologist.
Jill: Ooh.
Lilly: And help younger kids with anxiety.
Jill: I love that. So that actually was my original major. It changed three times. So just FYI. but, I was fascinated by the mind and how we can help not only other people think through problems, find solutions, know that they are okay. I was a rape crisis counselor for 11 years as well. I find it fascinating in helping people go from the worst of the worst. To understanding that they are not alone. I would imagine that not alone statement means a lot to you.
Lilly: Yes. I also wanna be a psychologist because from a young age I have had anxiety. I used to have panic attacks when I would go to kindergarten 'cause I didn't wanna leave my mom.
Jill: Yeah.
Lilly: It was like my separation anxiety and I just wanna help kids cope with it.
Jill: I love it
Lilly: because I didn't know how to cope with it at such a young age. So I had to teach myself. And my mom didn't know a lot about anxiety. So she had to go along that journey with me.
Jill: Yeah. So you, but you guys have both learned through that.
Lilly: Definitely.
Jill: I love that. And so equine therapy, has that been of help when you get up to the camp? Have you done any equine therapy for mental?
Lilly: I don't think so.
Jill: There's some opportunities there. We have a phenomenal Equine Pro program here, right here in Boulder City at our corral. And it helps people with special needs and it also helps people with a lot of anxiety. And I think animals, I'm sure that you, animal therapy is a big deal, and I'm sure you'll get into that as you study that. But just having that emotional support animal of whatever sort really does mean something. We kind of joke about it, somebody taking their iguana on an airplane, right?
Lilly: Yeah.
Jill: But there's something very, in touch with that animal and your mindset. And so I can't wait for you to learn that because that's a big deal. And you'll learn a lot from that. So tell me a little bit more about what you hope to see with your Girl Scout career now. How do you see that impacting you and your life? Do you plan on being a counselor in the future?
Lilly: I do. I want to try the camp counseling. I think next year is when I'll be old enough to be a camp counselor. 'cause I wanna help girls. I want to, I wanna show them exciting things at camp and like help them roast s'mores.
Jill: Oh yeah. Your smile is so engaging. I can only imagine. They wanna be just like you when they grow up.
Lilly: I hope they do.
Jill: Oh, that's super sweet. Thank you for being here. I know you probably don't know too much about a Chamber of Commerce. Or about the best damn podcast, but we're really glad that you're here. So the Chamber of Commerce is meant to help businesses and nonprofits and create a quality of life here in Boulder City.
And so we wanna make sure that we're sharing your mission from the Girl Scouts perspective and a little bit about your example so that our girls here locally can, participate in programming such as this. And understand that we have resources here in Boulder that reach out to the council office there in Las Vegas. Yes. And thank you for being here.
Lilly: Thank you so much for having me.
Jill: Thank you for being a part of this.
Lilly: And Donna, I know that we've had a lot of engagement over the years and we are very grateful for what you guys do there. at your main office, you offer events and you, I would imagine bring a lot of the Boulder City girls into do things on the 30 printers or whatever it is you guys offer. Can you share a little bit more about the Boulder City, the girls here. Their participation with the Southern Nevada Girl Scouts?
Donna: Oh, certainly. So we actually have a scout house in Boulder City that is available to, any of the troops who are formed in Boulder City. If they don't have a, somewhere else they'd like to meet, or, if they just prefer the Boulder City Scout house, they're welcome to meet there. We have a schedule, a calendar that we keep, for use of that property. But of course, they're also always invited to all of the events that we have at the council headquarters in, more in the downtown Las Vegas area as well.
Jill: That is amazing. We are very grateful for this resource. we've known about it since we were little. And how many years has the Girl Scouts been going on?
Donna: Oh gosh. This, girl Scouts, the United States of America was founded in 1912.
Jill: Wow.
Donna: And I am thinking that the council here was founded, I believe, I wanna say 20 years after that. So 1939. 1939.
Jill: 1939.
Donna: Good job Lilly.
Jill: Leave it to the young brain.
Donna: For the podcast.
Jill: Oh. Oh, I'm so glad you're, thank you for being prepared.
Donna: Yeah. Very long time history with Southern Nevada.
Jill: Isn't that amazing? Thank you for everything that you do.
Donna: Oh, thank you. Thank you so much for having us. And Lily, thank you for being here today. I can't wait to see you in the CIT program, our counselors in training next summer.
Jill: Yes. That's gonna be amazing. We'll have to have you come back and tell us about your experience. You're beautiful. You're gonna do great things in this life, and I cannot wait to watch and see what you accomplish. Thank you for being a part of the girls' lives and making their lives better.
Lily: Thank you so much.
