(This is the second in a series of stories highlighting recipients of this year’s Inspiring: Women Awards luncheon. Read more here. This story updates a previous Augusta Good News article from January 2026.)
Charlee Adams gets odd looks when she tells people she’s a Girl Scout.
“People say ‘Isn’t that a little kid thing?’” said Adams, who is an Evans High School sophomore and received the Inspiring: Future Award at the Sept. 24 awards luncheon.at Flowing Wells Theatre. “A lot of people think it’s crazy to have a high schooler be in Girl Scouts. Scouts is for everyone; it’s not just for little kids- or just selling cookies.”
Adams joined Girl Scouts when she was in first grade. Despite the fact that her mom works for the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia, Adams stays involved with the organization because of the opportunities it’s given to her.
Yes, she sells cookies, and it is currently cookie season. But for Adams, it’s so much more.
“It’s so much fun. I’ve never thought about quitting,” she said.
When she was in second grade, she spent part of a summer at Camp Tanglewood and got a taste of outdoor life.
Since then, she’s worked on multiple badges – among her favorites are the ones related to outdoor activities. Working on the outdoor cooking badge was a lot of fun because of the different ways she learned to cook, she said. She also liked the canoeing badge and “any of the outdoor skills ones.”
In second grade, she decided she wanted to be a camp counselor, and she was a counselor in training in 2025.
“We only had three Brownies (girls who are 7-9 years old), but we had the best time ever,” she said.
Also, in 2025, she took part in a Girl Scout Destinations’ trip to Minnesota where she canoed on the lake. In 2026, her Girl Scout Destinations’ trip took her to London, England, which she said was an amazing experience where she met scouts from all other nations.
Charlee is often called on as a sort of scout ambassador. She has attended events such as the Girl Scout cookie kickoff at Camp Tanglewood and a volunteer day with Rotary Club members from across the state in June. When she’s in attendance, she’s not there to stand around, but to answer questions or to support the event.
As she’s gotten older, finding a troop of older girls did get harder because of that misconception that scouts is just for little kids. She started pushing to get her own troop at school last year. It took several months, but this year, there are 11 scouts at Evans High School.
Charlee said the life skills Girl Scouts has taught her are invaluable.
She’s learned about topics from finance related to cookie sales to leadership learned when being the oldest in the troop, working with younger scouts at summer camp or assisting with council activities. Some life skills are even more basic than that, she said.
“Being flexible is a good Girl Scout skill. You have to be able to adapt.” The most well-planned events can and often do go wrong, she said.
Achieving the Gold Award, the Girl Scouts’ highest award, is something she’s working toward. In May, she was recognized for earning the Silver Award, which is one of the steps along the way.
Since Girl Scouts have played such a huge role in her life, Charlee has thought about making it her career.
“A job I really want to do is one of the Girl Experience people who are in charge of Girl Scout Destinations. That sounds so good,” she said.
She doesn’t rule out working at the Girl Scout council’s local levels or the national level working with the cookie sales or in fundraising or working directly with scouts or even being CEO one day, she said.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards, is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award and was named best local writer by readers of Augusta Magazine in 2024 and 2025. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here
