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Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Scout's Honor: Joyce Klepacki leads 90 Girl Scout troops in Campbell.
Public Citizen
More Than Cookies
Joyce Klepacki has been scouting for 25 years
By Susan Wiedmann
Lifetime Girl Scout Joyce Klepacki recently showed her mettle when she joined much younger Scouts in a 'zip line' slide on a cable 300 feet above a rocky creek in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Individual harnesses secured the participants to the overhead cable during the trust-building event, but Klepacki nearly changed her mind before finding the courage to jump off a small platform and slide a half-mile in the air to the opposite side of the canyon.
"It scared the daylights out of me," she said, "But I did it and was so proud of myself when I did it."
Klepacki, who became a Girl Scout 25 years ago, is a volunteer leader support manager of 90 Girl Scout troops in Campbell, West San Jose and downtown San Jose. She oversees the activities of the troop leaders who work with approximately 1,000 Scouts. They are all part of Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County that serves more than 18,000 girls from kindergarten through high school age.
Today's Girl Scouts of all ages accomplish far more than their predecessors did. Their new motto is "Girl Scouts, where girls grow strong," and Klepacki said that girls today need to learn how to be strong mentally and physically, since there is so much happening in the world around them
Klepacki is an official lifetime Girl Scout, having paid certain dues in advance to show her commitment to the organization. After attending Santa Clara University in the '80s, she moved to New Jersey and became a troop leader there, even before she had a daughter. Klepacki still leads the troop she formed, when she came back to the Campbell area in 1991, when her daughter, Lauren, now 14, was in kindergarten. She's the third generation of Girls Scouts in the Klepacki family and her brother, B.J., 12, is now a Boy Scout.
Klepacki said she is lucky to have great organizational skills since she has to juggle a lot in her life. She has the responsibilities of her two kids, a 30-hour-per-week job, her own troop and the work as leader support manager that includes writing a monthly newsletter and preparing a yearly calendar for the busy parents who volunteer their time with the troops.
"It's something I just can do," she said. "I work well under pressure and I prepare things well in advance."
Her troop of cadets, including Lauren, is now working on their Silver Award project involving community service and leadership, and, in the process, they are developing communication and research skills. Klepacki said she is proud that she has been able to keep them enthusiastic about being Girl Scouts, even though they are now in high school and also busy with other activities.
She tells other troop leaders that they should occasionally give seventh- and eighth-grade girls, in particular, some time off from projects and use the time for more pressing matters.
"The girls need to have an outlet to talk, and I think that's part of what I've been able to give them, a place where they feel comfortable enough to talk about things," Klepacki said. "And we certainly have talked about everything."
The Girl Scouts organization requires members to pay minimal dues and some out-of-pocket expenses, but financial assistance is available, if necessary. For further information on the Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County visit http://www.girlscoutsofscc.org/.
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Campbell, California
