Council History

The Girl Scouts would not exist at all if it had not been for our founder, Juliette Gordon Low. "Daisy," as she was called, began the first Girl Scout troop in her hometown of Savannah, GA, March 12, 1912. By the time she died in January 1927, the Girl Scout movement had already become an important part of American culture. Currently, the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace is undergoing a major renovation to restore and update the house to better serve the public. If you are interested in contributing to the restoration fund, you can join the Juliette Low Birthplace Circle of Friends.

Girl Scouts of the USA was chartered by the US Congress on March 16, 1950. The National Organization headquarters is in New York. Today there are over 300 councils in the United States and many overseas troops on military installations or in international schools. Girl Scouts are part of a world-wide organization called the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.

Girl Scouts of Northeast Georgia as we are today came about when two councils, Otaki and Mount Yonah merged in 1968.

The Otaki Girl Scout Council was named for a heroic and courageous Indian woman. Legend has it that Otaki (pronounced Oh-tah-kee) became the first woman in her tribe to ever receive a warrior's name. You can read the legend here.

The Otaki Council started on January 18, 1942 in Athens when a group of women decided to introduce the girls of the area to Girl Scouting. The first troop (some of whom are shown at left) was founded on January 24 of the same year. On April 23, 1942, the new council became officially chartered by GSUSA.

Five months later, the council had grown to nearly 200 girls in ten troops. At this point, recognizing the need for a council office, headquarters were set up in a little brick house on the grounds of Mr. & Mrs. Billups Phinizy on South Millege.

In 1944 with WWII raging overseas, Girl Scouts in the fledgling council got together to make bandages and surgical dressings for the Red Cross (right). Senior Girl Scouts from Troop 1 spent large amounts of time volunteering at General Hospital to relieve nurses and help defray some of the lighter duties.

Summer of 1944 brought the first day camp to the council. It was split into two one-week sessions - 44 girls participated in the first session and 33 girls in the second. The camp was held at the University of Georgia's Camp Wilkins located on AG Drive. Girls had a great time being outdoors with activities such as fire building and hiking. Summer camp in 1948 was even larger, with 106 total girl and adult participants.

In 1950 the Otaki Council leased its first official campground - "Noketchee," which was located on the property of O.J. Tolmas. The site was leased for a whopping $1.00 per year!

By 1957 the council was outgrowing its office space so plans began to be made toward finding a larger space to better accomodate the girls' needs. The Elks Club of Athens offered the council an apartment on South Milledge in Five Points with free rent for the first year.

The council continued to grow and continued to investigate new and innovative means of reaching all girls within their jurisdiction.

The Mount Yonah council (later shortened to Yonah) became incorporated in 1958. This council served what is now the western half of the Northeast Georgia council, but the majority in the Hall county area. The main office was located in the Girl Scout Cabin on Pryor Street which is just behind what is now the Gainesville Civic Center.

In 1968, GSUSA reviewed the Yonah and Otaki councils and recommended that they be combined to better serve the northeast Georgia region. Thus the Northeast Georgia Girl Scout Council was born.

By the late 1980's, the council headquarters had been moved to Athens with regional offices in Gainesville, Toccoa, Winder and Young Harris. These offices served their immediate communities through Field Directors. In 1995 the council re-structured to fine-tune the service offered. Three of the four outbased offices were closed and their staff moved into the Gainesville office (located on Jesse Jewell Parkway). A new era in local Girl Scouting began when the old system of Field Directors was replaced with a Membership/Marketing strategy. Membership Specialists began working from their appointed office (Athens or Gainesville) which created a better system of communication and service to the girls and adults the council was striving to serve.

The Otaki and Mount Yonah councils merged in 1968 to form the Northeast Georgia Girl Scout Council until the annual meeting in 2000 when the council name officially changed to Girl Scouts of Northeast Georgia. The office in Athens became the council headquarters and the one in Gainesville was retained as a second council office. In 2001 a satellite office was added in Cumming to serve a growing community in Forsyth County.

In 2003, the Athens office was renovated after a generous donation from Clementi Holder. On July 28, 2003 the office was officially renamed the Clementi L-B Holder Center in honor of the dedication Mrs. Holder has demonstrated to our girls.

GSNEG currently serves 25-counties from all the way up to the Georgia/Tennessee line down to the outskirts of Metro Atlanta, over to the Georgia/South Carolina border. We have grown to over 7,000 girl and adult members and more girls and adults are continuing to become a part of the world's preeminent organization for girls each year.

On May 1, 2008, GSNEG entered a new and exciting phase of our existence when we become a part of the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia council. Our name and our service area might be different, but the heart of our council stays the same as it's always been. All about girls! Click here to read a special "birthday" letter to all volunteers and girls.

To get involved, or to become a Girl Scout member, click here.