The Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas hosted its annual Women of Distinction Luncheon on Wednesday, Oct. 14, in Dallas. Prominent community leaders including Former First Lady Laura Bush and Coppell Mayor Karen Hunt attended the event, which was sponsored by AT&T.

Over the years, the Women of Distinction Luncheon has evolved into the community wide event it is today. Gerri Gordon, Girl Scout senior/ambassador program coordinator, explains that the program “first started off as a breakfast and was more about the story of Girl Scouts.” Now, the luncheon is focused on attracting community leaders to help provide girls with more opportunities for the future.

This year’s event featured a keynote address from Reshma Saujani, CEO of Girls Who Code,  which focused on the importance of encouraging girls to pursue careers in the STEM field through increased opportunities—one of the Girl Scout’s new goals. At the event, Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas CEO Jennifer Bartkowski announced a Center of Excellence for STEM to be opened in 2016 for girls in the DFW area to explore their interests in STEM.

Gordon brought several senior and ambassador Girl Scouts to the luncheon to share their experience with girl scouts and learn important networking skills for the future. Gordon remarks that “[women] love seeing the girls and getting to learn about what they’ve gained from Girl Scouts.”

While Gordon has been bringing Girl Scouts to the event for a few years, she said this was the first year to host a networking event. Prior to the luncheon, each girl had the opportunity to learn the basics of networking in a session with successful women in finance, technology and management.

Girl Scouts offers many opportunities like this to girls of all ages. Visit gsnetx.org for more information about upcoming events.