By Christian Potts
About the only thing better than finding out your Girl Scout cookie order has arrived is getting to enjoy the cookies without a wait.
That's what Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. found out during the first year of a new program it began in 2009, Cookies on Demand. It allows troops to order boxes of cookies in advance so they immediately can have them available for customers when the sale began Saturday.
"Our Cookies on Demand program was so successful we were No. 2 in the nation for sales increase, over 30 percent, when much of the country experienced a decrease," said Barbara Mitchell, director of customer relations and product sales for Girl Scouts-Western Oklahoma.
While it gives the customer their goodies right away without a wait, it's also helpful for the scouts themselves.
"Parents love it because they don't have to make two trips per customer, once to order, once to deliver, if they're lucky to catch the customer home on the first attempt," Mitchell said.
After increasing in price last year, the cookies will remain at $3.50 a box in 2010. Scouts have all the traditional favorite cookies and also revamped a new cookie from last year, "Dulce de Leche," a caramel chip cookie inspired by the flavors of Latin America.
Also added this year is a totally new cookie, "Thank U Berry Much."
"It's my new favorite," said Faith Cooper, 10, a member of Troop 794 in Norman. "It's like cranberries inside of a cookie. It's really good."
She said her troop sold "about 300" boxes of cookies last year. And no doubt a big number of them were the popular Thin Mints, which far and away topped a statewide poll of favorite Girl Scout cookie in Oklahoma for 2009.
"It wins in just about anybody's poll," said Deborah Gooding, director of marketing and communications for the western Oklahoma division. "It's by far the most popular."
That poll again will be available through the Oklahoma state treasurer's office, as will contests for the top individual seller -- a $1,529 award toward an Oklahoma College Savings Plan -- and a $529 award to the troop that gets the most votes through the promotion, which is available online at www.ok4saving.org.
While the sale helps fill a few hungry stomachs, its main goal is giving girls the chance to entrepreneurial and speaking skills while also raising money to take part in activities throughout the year.
"Most of the girls will use the money they earn through the cookie sale to attend summer camp and other Girl Scout opportunities," Mitchell said. "Many of them would not be able to participate in these programs all year long if not for the cookie sale."
Sales in Norman began with cookie rallies the first two Saturdays of the sale at Monroe Elementary School, and booth sales for the cookies will begin Feb. 7 throughout the 39-county service area of Girl Scouts-Western Oklahoma.
Of course, there still will be the traditional circulated list of cookies, buyers and no doubt even some door-to-door selling as well.
A change made by Girl Scouts this year is allowing scouts to use social media and other online methods to promote the sales. While actual online sales are not allowed, the girls are able to use the Internet as another means of promotion.
"It's just the next step in the process," Gooding said. "Many girls were doing it anyway, and now we have an Internet safety pledge that they sign to be safe online and have adult supervision of what they're doing.
"It's a lot different from when I used to do it as a Girl Scout, where you went door-to-door and then brought cookies back six weeks later. It has changed so much."
For more information on the sale, call (800) 698-0022 or 528-3535 or see the group's Web site, www.gswestok.org.
Christian Potts 366-3544 cpotts@normantranscript.com
