2 minute read
A Sweet Treat
from Nfocus October 2022
Laura Merritt, Karolyn Perry, Juliana Lamar, Rachel Tom-Quinn
Laura Turner, Leigh Ann Jones,
Brittany Haugh, Jan Cagle Adrienne Battle, Priscilla Cole Agenia Clark, Sarah Trahern
Girl Scout Luncheon welcomes Kelsea Ballerini
The Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee’s annual luncheon returned for the first time since 2019 and welcomed an excited crowd to the Music City Center’s Davidson Ballroom. The program opened with a color guard leading the room in a flag ceremony and the Girl Scout Promise. In her welcome, GSMTN President and CEO Agenia Clark reminded everyone that being a Girl Scout instills confidence in its members and encourages them to achieve their dreams to become the leaders of tomorrow. Both speakers proved exactly that.
Past Girl Scout Gold Award recipient Kourtney Souza’s story was a shining example of everything one gains through scouting. When she joined her troop, the cookie sale was winding down, and she sold a mere four boxes. That didn’t lessen her enthusiasm for the sale or Girl Scouts. Every year, she sold more and more boxes while acquiring the valuable skills — such as marketing, math and manners — that enabled her to open Kourtney’s Kakes, her successful bakery in downtown Dickson. It was an upbeat lead-in to the keynote interview.
Special guest Kelsea Ballerini, the multiplatinum award-winning singer, songwriter and producer, recently added another accomplishment to her list: bestselling author. She took the stage for an intimate and inspiring chat with Sarah Trahern, CEO of the Country Music Association, to talk about that and more. Feel Your Way Through: A Book of Poetry is her deeply personal collection written during the pandemic. There were no performances at the time, and she told the room, “I realized that some feelings can’t be turned into a song, so I started writing poems.” One of the poems, which she read aloud, was inspired by her own Girl Scout bridging ceremony.
The afternoon ended with Kelsea performing her first hit, “Love Me Like You Mean It,” and “What I Have” from her latest album. It was a wonderful way to wrap up this year’s Girl Scout Luncheon.
BY HOLLY HOFFMAN PHOTOGRAPHS BY ERIC ENGLAND
Heather Bailey, Misty Fahr, Jennifer Baugh
Sheneirka Edwards Michelle Brown, TK Fayne Kelsea Ballerini
