Newton Citizen

Staff Photo: Sue Ann Kuhn-Smith The Girl Scouts are ready to take your cookie orders for the year. Pictured are scouts from Troop #29578, Rory Stowe, Deasia Denhan, Vasheta Turman, Samantha Rojas, Katie Jones, Lara Morris, Jordyn Caines, Joanna Fisher and Caroline Chiappetta.

CONYERS -- It's time to make room for your favorite Girl Scout cookies.

Area Girl Scouts are busy taking cookie orders and soon they will be outside of local stores selling Thin Mints and Samoas.

This is a special year for the Girl Scouts -- they celebrate 100 years of scouting.

To help celebrate, the Scouts introduced a new cookie, Savannah Smiles, which is a crisp, zesty, lemon cookie in honor of Savannah, where the Girl Scouts started.

Other favorites for sale this year are the usual Thin Mints, Samoas, Trefoils, Tagalongs and Do-Si-Dos.

Girl Scouts currently are taking orders, and from Feb. 11 through 17, cookies will be delivered. Beginning on Feb. 17, booths will open up across the greater Atlanta region.

"I like to sell Girl Scout cookies -- it's really fun," said Samantha Rojas, a third-grader at Lorraine Elementary School from Troop No. 29578. "I like to talk to people, and I like to get prizes after selling them."

Girl Scouts can earn prizes like purses and electronics for selling lots of cookies.

Once they get older, they also are allowed to take special trips and attend destination camps. The Scouts also participate in special activities throughout the year like ice skating, bowling and crafts.

By selling cookies, Scouts also learn skills like leadership, entrepreneurship, goal-setting, self confidence and early business experience.

Cookie sale funds benefit the Scouts by paying for camps, scholarships, travel programs and local service projects.

As in the past, cookies are $3.50 per box.