Albany Herald

Photo by Casey Dixon

ALBANY -- The wait is nearly over as Girl Scout cookie delivery is about to begin.

A five-day process kicked off Tuesday afternoon in which representatives from service units in each of Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia Inc.'s 38-county area surrounding the Good Life City descended on the organization's Albany office to collect boxes of the popular treats.

According to Girl Scouts Product Sales Manager Tiffany Stewart, those cookies will be transferred to various service units within the region.

"Then they'll be dispersed to the troops," she said.

The region's 1,400 Scouts will subsequently deliver the cookies that Southwest Georgians pre-ordered in January.

"The little girls will be walking around with wagons full of cookies by the first of next week," Stewart said.

They have a lot to distribute, too.

"We're looking at about 20,000 cases," Stewart said. "There are 12 boxes in a case."

The Girl Scouts' cookie drive is an annual fundraiser for the nonprofit organization that provides character-building programs for girls ages 5-17, teaching leadership and other skills.

"All the money goes back to the girls," Stewart said.

The cookie drive itself is actually a learning experience for Scouts, who anticipate selling a certain amount each year.

"They learn to set business goals and to communicate with the public," Stewart said.

That communication goes both ways, as Southwest Georgians make it clear which of the eight cookie flavors is their favorite.

"Trefoils," Stewart said of the classic shortbread concoction. "We've got 406 cases of them in our office."

For those who missed out on ordering cookies, there's still hope.

"Booth sales will start this weekend," Stewart said, explaining that various Scout troops will set up shop in front of Southwest Georgia businesses. "That will run for the next couple of weeks."