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Dorothy Frank

“Dorothy is an amazing woman who has always given of
herself and has worked tirelessly to keep Girl Scouting
alive and available for all girls. For so many years she has
been the heart of Girl Scouting in Geauga County. She is
knowledgeable and caring, a strong yet soft spoken woman
who always thinks of others. I am honored to call her friend.”
These are Ginny Toth’s thoughts and words, but many
others share them.

Dorothy has been an outstanding and devoted volunteer
since 1949. She has dedicated her life to serving girls and
adults as a troop leader, organizer, troop services director,
trainer, day camp director, community association
chairman and Lake Erie Girl Scout Council delegate
for 30 years as well as a member of numerous council
committees.

In 1980, Dorothy responded to her area’s pleas for more
training, more convenient training locations and more
volunteer participation. She became the frst community
association training coordinator by creating a new important
link between troop services directors, trainers and staff. She
identifed training needs, scheduled courses, recruited and
welcomed new trainers. This concept worked so well in her
association that training coordinators were later appointed
for all eight community associations.

As a trainer, Dorothy strived to help people grow and become
more valuable to themselves and the organization. Her
artistic and creative talents, love of the outdoors and ability
to effectively communicate her experience and expertise
to other adult volunteers made her an outstanding trainer.
She recognized the infuence a trainer can have and the fact
that one never knows where that infuence will stop. She was
inspired by the people she worked with and hoped they would
be similarly inspired. When her daughter Barbara, a teacher,
expressed frustration with the response she sometimes
observed from her students, Dorothy shared that despite
her own careful preparations for training sessions she was
often uncertain that they would be successful. She would
say a little prayer before each session asking “that I may
inspire at least one person today and if I do, my efforts will be
worthwhile.”

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