Thursday, April 24, 2025
The Girl Scouts took over in Malverne Village Hall on March 1. On this day, local Girl Scouts were in charge, taking on the roles of village officials and administrators. Briella Bjelland sat in for Mayor Tim Sullivan, Camryn Ramsaroop took Police Reserve Chief Robert Olivia’s place, Lucy Sheridan substituted for Trustee Lori Lang and Andrea Frulio did the same for Village Historian David Weinstein.
“It all started here in Malverne,” State Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, a former Girl Scout, told the girls, referring to her political career, which began when she was a Malverne village trustee. “Any one of you today could be the president, a governor, a senator, or even a village trustee, and have an impact on your community.”
Girl Scout Government Day is a tradition in the village. It began in 1976, with a proclamation by then Mayor Stewart R. Morrow, and has continued since then. Last weekend’s event was led by Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, who offered the scouts some advice.
“Always believe in yourself, and always believe that anything is possible,” she told them. “Because all of these wonderful people that represent us in government started off in some small way.”
“Realize your ideas are extremely important,” Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick added. “Never be afraid to speak out, and to say something if you see that something is going on that you don’t think is right, or that you think could be done better, because your voice is extremely important.”
Leading up to the event, each of the scouts was assigned a Village Hall job, and interviewed the person who holds it to learn about what it entails. The girls then held a mock village board meeting at which they took on their respective roles in the village government and presented what they do for the community.
“It’s an amazing opportunity for the girls to see who’s running the government in our town,” Allison Sheridan, co-leader of Cadette Troop 2026, said. “It really shows them the opportunities that they have — that they, too, can be a part of the government when they get older.”
After their presentations, Sullivan presented each of the girls with certificates for their participation, and scouts, parents, troop leaders and village officials all gathered at Malverne Fire Department headquarters for lunch.
