booksbenji
02-02-05, 04:44 AM
:marine:
on our hands. A tiny MARINE at that:
In this mission, every Thin Mint counts
Girl Scout sells 1,869 boxes of cookies to fill troops' tummies
09:36 PM CST on Monday, January 24, 2005
By KATIE MENZER / The Dallas Morning News
At 9 years old, Katie Williams does not know about reinforced Humvees or body armor or other things U.S. soldiers in Iraq need, but she has a good idea of what they might want.
on our hands. A tiny MARINE at that:
In this mission, every Thin Mint counts
Girl Scout sells 1,869 boxes of cookies to fill troops' tummies
09:36 PM CST on Monday, January 24, 2005
By KATIE MENZER / The Dallas Morning News
At 9 years old, Katie Williams does not know about reinforced Humvees or body armor or other things U.S. soldiers in Iraq need, but she has a good idea of what they might want.
Give her a minute, she'll sell you a case: Elisabeth Williams couldn't say no to Katie Williams, 9. "If I was sitting in a hole in the desert," said the third-grade Girl Scout, "I would want a cookie."
That's why Katie has spent the last 2 ½ weeks pounding the pavement, trying to persuade people to buy Girl Scout cookies and donate the boxes to soldiers from Fort Hood.
When the ordering period came to an end Sunday night, the 4-foot-tall, no-nonsense saleswoman from North Dallas had sold 1,869 boxes of cookies, smashing the unofficial area cookie sales record by more than 200 boxes.
Katie's success story is based on an age-old tenet of salesmanship, said her father, Don Williams. She doesn't take no for an answer.
"She just marches right up to them with her little sheet, makes her spiel and, once she gets hold of them, she never lets go," he said.
Her targets are usually small businesses and mom-and-pop shops. Dressed in her Brownie uniform and wearing an irresistible grin on her apple-shaped face, Katie walks into a store and asks to speak to the manager or owner. She then launches – with remarkable eloquence for her years – into her speech and waits for the cash to roll in.
Unlike most Girl Scouts, Katie Williams sells her cookies by the case, each of which contains 12 boxes. She decided to stop her sales after box 1,869, her Girl Scout troop number. It usually does.
"You are so special to do this," said Dianna Rogers, co-owner of Unmistakably Molly in Snider Plaza, tearing up a little after enthusiastically handing over a check for the cookies to Katie on Friday. "You are going to make me cry. You're incredible."
Unlike most Girl Scouts who sell the boxes individually, Katie sold the cookies by the case. There are 12 boxes in a $36 case.
"She was so genuine and so serious," said Ken Helfman of Ken's Man's Shop in Preston Royal Shopping Center. "How could I have possibly said no? I am now just a statistic, but it was the happiest statistic I've ever become because of who she was and what it's for."
Mr. Helfman is also one of several shop owners who, after hearing Katie's pitch, offered her a job.
"I told her, 'I want you to come back when you are 16 and sign up to work the summertime,' " he said. "I don't throw job offers to many [9-year-olds], but I did to her."
Cookie patron Johnita McCorkle hugs Girl Scout Katie Williams, whose ambitious plan to reach troops' hearts through their stomachs has elicited tears, embraces and a job offer. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban got a flash of Katie's charisma, as well. She was one of three second-graders who appeared last year on his ill-fated reality show, The Benefactor.
Katie and two other students from her school, Good Shepherd Episcopal in Dallas, were chosen to interview contestants on the show.
Katie is unusually goal-oriented, her father said. When she began selling cookies this year, she had originally wanted to sell more cookies than she sold last year. That was about 210 boxes.
"She did that on the first day," Mr. Williams said.
She later set her sights on the unofficial regional record of 1,640 boxes. The Girl Scouts of Tejas Council doesn't keep exact records on the number of boxes each girl sells because the cookie program is noncompetitive, officials said.
Katie was a top seller last year, too, with about 210 boxes of cookies sold. Katie decided to stop her sales after box 1,869, which is her Girl Scout troop number. She spent the last couple of days of the sales period helping a friend reach her cookie goal.
Lt. Col. Jim Davis of Fort Hood said Katie's cookies will be appreciated by the soldiers, but not as much as her sentiment.
"It's not the cookie itself. The cookie is a symbol. It makes you feel special that someone took time to send something to you, " Col. Davis said.
"Most little girls aren't out there collecting cookies to send to people halfway around the world she doesn't know."
The cookies – along with other boxes sold and donated to military personnel by Girl Scout troops across the region – will arrive at Fort Hood in mid-February. Katie is already planning a trip to the military base with her father to hand cookies to troops as they arrive home from Iraq.
"I'm a go-getter," she said.
Give her a minute, she'll sell you a case: Elisabeth Williams couldn't say no to Katie Williams, 9. "If I was sitting in a hole in the desert," said the third-grade Girl Scout, "I would want a cookie."
That's why Katie has spent the last 2 ½ weeks pounding the pavement, trying to persuade people to buy Girl Scout cookies and donate the boxes to soldiers from Fort Hood.
When the ordering period came to an end Sunday night, the 4-foot-tall, no-nonsense saleswoman from North Dallas had sold 1,869 boxes of cookies, smashing the unofficial area cookie sales record by more than 200 boxes.
Katie's success story is based on an age-old tenet of salesmanship, said her father, Don Williams. She doesn't take no for an answer.
"She just marches right up to them with her little sheet, makes her spiel and, once she gets hold of them, she never lets go," he said.
Her targets are usually small businesses and mom-and-pop shops. Dressed in her Brownie uniform and wearing an irresistible grin on her apple-shaped face, Katie walks into a store and asks to speak to the manager or owner. She then launches – with remarkable eloquence for her years – into her speech and waits for the cash to roll in.
Unlike most Girl Scouts, Katie Williams sells her cookies by the case, each of which contains 12 boxes. She decided to stop her sales after box 1,869, her Girl Scout troop number. It usually does.
"You are so special to do this," said Dianna Rogers, co-owner of Unmistakably Molly in Snider Plaza, tearing up a little after enthusiastically handing over a check for the cookies to Katie on Friday. "You are going to make me cry. You're incredible."
Unlike most Girl Scouts who sell the boxes individually, Katie sold the cookies by the case. There are 12 boxes in a $36 case.
"She was so genuine and so serious," said Ken Helfman of Ken's Man's Shop in Preston Royal Shopping Center. "How could I have possibly said no? I am now just a statistic, but it was the happiest statistic I've ever become because of who she was and what it's for."
Mr. Helfman is also one of several shop owners who, after hearing Katie's pitch, offered her a job.
"I told her, 'I want you to come back when you are 16 and sign up to work the summertime,' " he said. "I don't throw job offers to many [9-year-olds], but I did to her."
Cookie patron Johnita McCorkle hugs Girl Scout Katie Williams, whose ambitious plan to reach troops' hearts through their stomachs has elicited tears, embraces and a job offer. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban got a flash of Katie's charisma, as well. She was one of three second-graders who appeared last year on his ill-fated reality show, The Benefactor.
Katie and two other students from her school, Good Shepherd Episcopal in Dallas, were chosen to interview contestants on the show.
Katie is unusually goal-oriented, her father said. When she began selling cookies this year, she had originally wanted to sell more cookies than she sold last year. That was about 210 boxes.
"She did that on the first day," Mr. Williams said.
She later set her sights on the unofficial regional record of 1,640 boxes. The Girl Scouts of Tejas Council doesn't keep exact records on the number of boxes each girl sells because the cookie program is noncompetitive, officials said.
Katie was a top seller last year, too, with about 210 boxes of cookies sold. Katie decided to stop her sales after box 1,869, which is her Girl Scout troop number. She spent the last couple of days of the sales period helping a friend reach her cookie goal.
Lt. Col. Jim Davis of Fort Hood said Katie's cookies will be appreciated by the soldiers, but not as much as her sentiment.
"It's not the cookie itself. The cookie is a symbol. It makes you feel special that someone took time to send something to you, " Col. Davis said.
"Most little girls aren't out there collecting cookies to send to people halfway around the world she doesn't know."
The cookies – along with other boxes sold and donated to military personnel by Girl Scout troops across the region – will arrive at Fort Hood in mid-February. Katie is already planning a trip to the military base with her father to hand cookies to troops as they arrive home from Iraq.
"I'm a go-getter," she said.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/v3/01-25-2005.n1a_25cookie.G5R1HKB24.1.jpg
in case of red x:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/v3/01-25-2005.n1a_25cookie.G5R1HKB24.1.jpg
:marine:
on our hands. A tiny MARINE at that:
In this mission, every Thin Mint counts
Girl Scout sells 1,869 boxes of cookies to fill troops' tummies
09:36 PM CST on Monday, January 24, 2005
By KATIE MENZER / The Dallas Morning News
At 9 years old, Katie Williams does not know about reinforced Humvees or body armor or other things U.S. soldiers in Iraq need, but she has a good idea of what they might want.
on our hands. A tiny MARINE at that:
In this mission, every Thin Mint counts
Girl Scout sells 1,869 boxes of cookies to fill troops' tummies
09:36 PM CST on Monday, January 24, 2005
By KATIE MENZER / The Dallas Morning News
At 9 years old, Katie Williams does not know about reinforced Humvees or body armor or other things U.S. soldiers in Iraq need, but she has a good idea of what they might want.
Give her a minute, she'll sell you a case: Elisabeth Williams couldn't say no to Katie Williams, 9. "If I was sitting in a hole in the desert," said the third-grade Girl Scout, "I would want a cookie."
That's why Katie has spent the last 2 ½ weeks pounding the pavement, trying to persuade people to buy Girl Scout cookies and donate the boxes to soldiers from Fort Hood.
When the ordering period came to an end Sunday night, the 4-foot-tall, no-nonsense saleswoman from North Dallas had sold 1,869 boxes of cookies, smashing the unofficial area cookie sales record by more than 200 boxes.
Katie's success story is based on an age-old tenet of salesmanship, said her father, Don Williams. She doesn't take no for an answer.
"She just marches right up to them with her little sheet, makes her spiel and, once she gets hold of them, she never lets go," he said.
Her targets are usually small businesses and mom-and-pop shops. Dressed in her Brownie uniform and wearing an irresistible grin on her apple-shaped face, Katie walks into a store and asks to speak to the manager or owner. She then launches – with remarkable eloquence for her years – into her speech and waits for the cash to roll in.
Unlike most Girl Scouts, Katie Williams sells her cookies by the case, each of which contains 12 boxes. She decided to stop her sales after box 1,869, her Girl Scout troop number. It usually does.
"You are so special to do this," said Dianna Rogers, co-owner of Unmistakably Molly in Snider Plaza, tearing up a little after enthusiastically handing over a check for the cookies to Katie on Friday. "You are going to make me cry. You're incredible."
Unlike most Girl Scouts who sell the boxes individually, Katie sold the cookies by the case. There are 12 boxes in a $36 case.
"She was so genuine and so serious," said Ken Helfman of Ken's Man's Shop in Preston Royal Shopping Center. "How could I have possibly said no? I am now just a statistic, but it was the happiest statistic I've ever become because of who she was and what it's for."
Mr. Helfman is also one of several shop owners who, after hearing Katie's pitch, offered her a job.
"I told her, 'I want you to come back when you are 16 and sign up to work the summertime,' " he said. "I don't throw job offers to many [9-year-olds], but I did to her."
Cookie patron Johnita McCorkle hugs Girl Scout Katie Williams, whose ambitious plan to reach troops' hearts through their stomachs has elicited tears, embraces and a job offer. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban got a flash of Katie's charisma, as well. She was one of three second-graders who appeared last year on his ill-fated reality show, The Benefactor.
Katie and two other students from her school, Good Shepherd Episcopal in Dallas, were chosen to interview contestants on the show.
Katie is unusually goal-oriented, her father said. When she began selling cookies this year, she had originally wanted to sell more cookies than she sold last year. That was about 210 boxes.
"She did that on the first day," Mr. Williams said.
She later set her sights on the unofficial regional record of 1,640 boxes. The Girl Scouts of Tejas Council doesn't keep exact records on the number of boxes each girl sells because the cookie program is noncompetitive, officials said.
Katie was a top seller last year, too, with about 210 boxes of cookies sold. Katie decided to stop her sales after box 1,869, which is her Girl Scout troop number. She spent the last couple of days of the sales period helping a friend reach her cookie goal.
Lt. Col. Jim Davis of Fort Hood said Katie's cookies will be appreciated by the soldiers, but not as much as her sentiment.
"It's not the cookie itself. The cookie is a symbol. It makes you feel special that someone took time to send something to you, " Col. Davis said.
"Most little girls aren't out there collecting cookies to send to people halfway around the world she doesn't know."
The cookies – along with other boxes sold and donated to military personnel by Girl Scout troops across the region – will arrive at Fort Hood in mid-February. Katie is already planning a trip to the military base with her father to hand cookies to troops as they arrive home from Iraq.
"I'm a go-getter," she said.
Give her a minute, she'll sell you a case: Elisabeth Williams couldn't say no to Katie Williams, 9. "If I was sitting in a hole in the desert," said the third-grade Girl Scout, "I would want a cookie."
That's why Katie has spent the last 2 ½ weeks pounding the pavement, trying to persuade people to buy Girl Scout cookies and donate the boxes to soldiers from Fort Hood.
When the ordering period came to an end Sunday night, the 4-foot-tall, no-nonsense saleswoman from North Dallas had sold 1,869 boxes of cookies, smashing the unofficial area cookie sales record by more than 200 boxes.
Katie's success story is based on an age-old tenet of salesmanship, said her father, Don Williams. She doesn't take no for an answer.
"She just marches right up to them with her little sheet, makes her spiel and, once she gets hold of them, she never lets go," he said.
Her targets are usually small businesses and mom-and-pop shops. Dressed in her Brownie uniform and wearing an irresistible grin on her apple-shaped face, Katie walks into a store and asks to speak to the manager or owner. She then launches – with remarkable eloquence for her years – into her speech and waits for the cash to roll in.
Unlike most Girl Scouts, Katie Williams sells her cookies by the case, each of which contains 12 boxes. She decided to stop her sales after box 1,869, her Girl Scout troop number. It usually does.
"You are so special to do this," said Dianna Rogers, co-owner of Unmistakably Molly in Snider Plaza, tearing up a little after enthusiastically handing over a check for the cookies to Katie on Friday. "You are going to make me cry. You're incredible."
Unlike most Girl Scouts who sell the boxes individually, Katie sold the cookies by the case. There are 12 boxes in a $36 case.
"She was so genuine and so serious," said Ken Helfman of Ken's Man's Shop in Preston Royal Shopping Center. "How could I have possibly said no? I am now just a statistic, but it was the happiest statistic I've ever become because of who she was and what it's for."
Mr. Helfman is also one of several shop owners who, after hearing Katie's pitch, offered her a job.
"I told her, 'I want you to come back when you are 16 and sign up to work the summertime,' " he said. "I don't throw job offers to many [9-year-olds], but I did to her."
Cookie patron Johnita McCorkle hugs Girl Scout Katie Williams, whose ambitious plan to reach troops' hearts through their stomachs has elicited tears, embraces and a job offer. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban got a flash of Katie's charisma, as well. She was one of three second-graders who appeared last year on his ill-fated reality show, The Benefactor.
Katie and two other students from her school, Good Shepherd Episcopal in Dallas, were chosen to interview contestants on the show.
Katie is unusually goal-oriented, her father said. When she began selling cookies this year, she had originally wanted to sell more cookies than she sold last year. That was about 210 boxes.
"She did that on the first day," Mr. Williams said.
She later set her sights on the unofficial regional record of 1,640 boxes. The Girl Scouts of Tejas Council doesn't keep exact records on the number of boxes each girl sells because the cookie program is noncompetitive, officials said.
Katie was a top seller last year, too, with about 210 boxes of cookies sold. Katie decided to stop her sales after box 1,869, which is her Girl Scout troop number. She spent the last couple of days of the sales period helping a friend reach her cookie goal.
Lt. Col. Jim Davis of Fort Hood said Katie's cookies will be appreciated by the soldiers, but not as much as her sentiment.
"It's not the cookie itself. The cookie is a symbol. It makes you feel special that someone took time to send something to you, " Col. Davis said.
"Most little girls aren't out there collecting cookies to send to people halfway around the world she doesn't know."
The cookies – along with other boxes sold and donated to military personnel by Girl Scout troops across the region – will arrive at Fort Hood in mid-February. Katie is already planning a trip to the military base with her father to hand cookies to troops as they arrive home from Iraq.
"I'm a go-getter," she said.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/v3/01-25-2005.n1a_25cookie.G5R1HKB24.1.jpg
in case of red x:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/v3/01-25-2005.n1a_25cookie.G5R1HKB24.1.jpg
:marine: