Girl Scouts invite adults to camp

They’re four sisters who meet every year at Girl Scouts Women’s Weekend to relive the good old times and catch up on each others’ lives.

“Most of all we have fun,” says Rathdrum resident Tracy Obermayer.

Girl Scout Women’s Weekend is a fundraising event for Girls Scouts of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. The seventh annual event will be held Sept. 10-12 at Camp Four Echoes, near Worley, Idaho, on Lake Coeur d’Alene.

At Camp Four Echoes, women may stay in cabins, chalets, teepees, gazebos or treehouses. Each shelter houses three to six women. The deadline for applications is Thursday. The cost is $135 for the weekend, from 1 p.m. Friday to 11 a.m. Sunday.

“We welcome all women to initiate a little girl power of their own by joining us,” says Bobbie Domonouski, Girl Scouts director of fund development, who grew up in Spokane and attended Camp Four Echoes as a girl.

Obermayer’s siblings – Pam Brunsfeld and Holly Abbott, who are from Moscow, Idaho, and Nancy Anno, who is from Medford, Ore. – don’t necessarily have a favorite activity.

“We love it all,” says Obermayer.

They enjoy canoeing, kayaking, swimming and hiking. Obermayer is past president of the Coeur d’Alene Kayak Club, so it doesn’t take much coaxing to get her on the water.

The sisters are crafty, so activities like ceramics painting and wine-cork crafts are appealing. Other activities offered are stretching and relaxation, Zumba, massage, beauty and make-up and a self-defense class.

Evening activities include martini sampling, Bunco tournaments and singing around the campfire. Appetizers will be prepared by executive chef Tony Usher of Spokane’s Twig’s South Hill.

“The weekend is filled with good food and wine,” says Carolyn Kruger, the GSEWNI board of directors’ secretary. “Enjoying the lake from a canoe is my favorite, but it is also wonderful to see old friends and meet new ones.”

Although some attendees have a history with the Girl Scouts, many women who attend do not. Headquartered in Spokane, GSEWNI’s service area covers 62,839 square miles and 30 counties in North Idaho and Eastern Washington. Last year the council served more than 8,000 girls and had 2,600 adult volunteers.

“Girls are guided by committed, caring adults who make learning fun,” says Domonouski. “No other activity helps each girl achieve her personal leadership pathway like Girl Scouting.”

Funds raised from the event are used to subsidize memberships, program event fees, uniforms and camp fees for Girl Scouts within GSEWNI’s service area. Last year more than $50,000 in scholarships was awarded.

“Girl Scouts is committed to building girls of courage, confidence, character, and instilling them with the knowledge that they have the power to change the world,” says Domonouski.