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Helen Tolman Murray

Helen served as the frst Executive Director of the Cleveland
Council, later known as the Lake Erie Council from 1950-1970.
She was an extraordinary woman who was known for her wisdom,
vision, courage, compassion, fairness and respect for individual
differences. An exceptional leader and a great mentor, Helen
enjoyed tackling the problems that came with the job. “If there
were no problems, I would not have been needed as a staff
member,” she said. Helen’s main focus was on the importance of
the Girl Scout troop and the leader. She felt all the other adults
in the organization were there to help the leader provide the best
possible experience for all the girls. “You, the leaders, are the
people who make the Girl Scout program a living demonstration
that free youngsters in a free society can create new ways
of working together - and have fun doing it.” She encouraged
leadership, self-reliance, critical thinking and forthrightness for all
girls to be used with grace and respect at a time when attributes of
‘women’s lib’ where questioned by some.

Helen piloted the council through the 1950s and the tumultuous
1960s with vision, determination and compassion. She led by
example, with grace and southern charm, bolstered by good
business and fnancial knowledge. She was always approachable;
no person or problem was too insignifcant for her attention. She
welcomed members of the community into the offce and sent
Girl Scouts into the community to tell the Girl Scout story. Under
her leadership the Girl Scout Song Fest, the largest gathering
ever of Girl Scouts in the area, was held at the Cleveland Stadium
under the direction of Dr. Zelma George. Girl Scout membership
reached an all time high in this Legacy Council.

Under Helen’s guidance the council broadened its reach from one
county to three, changed its name, added camping properties,
implemented sweeping changes in program that included boys,
became more family oriented and sought new ways to fund
programs. Increased interaction with the community was a
priority. Special effort was made to bolster services in the heart
of the city and to pitch in to help other community agencies. The
council’s organizational delivery structure was changed to refect
viewpoints of people from various social, economic, racial, ethnic
and cultural backgrounds in its leadership and membership.
Prominent community leaders shared their expertise in real
estate and long-range fnancial planning as members of the
Men’s Advisory Committee and the Public Relations Advisory
Committee. International visitors were employed as part of the
resident camp staff.
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