Maple Valley Girl Scout Troop Leader Toni Neely took two groups — Brownies and Junior Scouts – to Olympia during the legislative session and the trip stuck with her and the girls.

“The overall purpose of the trip was to expose the girls to female role models in government,” Neely said. “Troop 313 had already spent some time in a past meeting with the Mayor of Maple Valley, (Laure) Iddings. The girls had a packet of information with games in it about how a bill becomes a law and how our government works and they completed this packet as part of this fun day.”

While in Olympia the girl scouts took a tour of the House and Senate galleries where Neely said the girls asked a number of questions about how the legislators vote, how many women were currently serving as well as what ways could they use to contact legislators to offer their opinions on bills.

In addition, Neely said, the girls learned about being a legislative page and they all seemed interested in doing that when they turn 14.

“The interior dome of the Legislative building seemed to be the biggest visual draw for our entire group – in addition to the gold state seal on the floor which was subjected to several pictures from our cameras,” Neely said. “At the end of our tour, we were taken to the Temple of Justice and several girls had roles in a mock hearing – right there in the Supreme Court room and that was another highlight as well.”

Another highlight of the day for the Scouts was the opportunity to meet state Sen. Cheryl Pflug, a Republican who represents the 5th Legislative district which includes Maple Valley.

“The biggest comment I did hear from the girls was how nice it was to meet Senator Pflug and be able to ask her questions and hear what bills she was currently dealing with that directly affected education,” Neely said. “She also emphasized that the girls can always send letters, emails and make calls when they feel strongly about something their senators and representatives were considering.”

Neely added that the day ended with visits “to all the beautiful memorials and other artwork around the grounds and every girl earned” the Model Citizen badge to wear on their uniforms.