Rancho Santa Fe’s Sue and John Major to be honored by Girl Scouts San Diego

By Karen Billing

Rancho Santa Fe residents Sue and John Major will be honored by Girl Scouts San Diego at the organization’s annual Promise Circle and Legacy Circle recognition event on March 14.

“The Majors are longtime supporters and great role models for the girls,” said Jo Dee Jacob, CEO of the Girl Scouts San Diego. “They’ve been very, very faithful with donating their time, talent and treasure.”

At the ceremony, Sue will receive a pin designed by Arlene Fisch, an internationally-acclaimed jewelry artist from San Diego. The pin is a gold and silver girl, standing on a rainbow with her arms lifted to the sky. John will receive a replica tie tac.

“I was totally surprised,” Sue Major said. “There are so many wonderful volunteers, so many others who deserve this award. I’m very excited, honored and certainly humbled by it because there are so many people who give their time to the Girl Scouts.”

As a child, Major saw the effects of Girl Scouts on her mother, who after she aged out of the organization started her own club with her former Girl Scout friends.

“I grew up knowing my mom’s best friends were all Girl Scouts,” Major said.

Major was a Girl Scout until she was 15 years old and her mom was her troop leader for three of those years. She loved going on camping trips and learned a lot from the annual cookie sale.

“I think the skills learned from selling cookies are very important, having the self confidence to knock on a door,” Major said. “I was pretty competitive and always wanted to sell the most. It also teaches you responsibility, having to collect all of the money.”

Major encouraged her own daughter Barbie to join and Barbie was a Girl Scout through high school, becoming a Senior Girl Scout.

When Barbie was a young Brownie, Major was introduced to Jacob and eventually was asked to join the board of directors.

Board members can only serve two three-year terms and she fulfilled her term limits.

“I loved every minute. It’s a great board to be on and you really feel like you’re giving back,” Major said. “I got as much in return as I gave.”

She now serves on a non-member committee to attract new board members and she thinks she’s obtained some pretty good results. San Diego is the ninth largest council in the country and Major said membership is actually going up despite all of the numerous activities children get pulled toward these days.

She believes families are drawn to an organization that helps build confidence, character and courage, in addition to exposing girls to so many different programs, from filmmaking to rock climbing.

Jacob said Sue succeeds in bringing the Girl Scout values of her childhood to the volunteer level. Those Girl Scout values — which include a pledge to do your best to be friendly, helpful, considerate, caring and to make the world a better place — turn 100 years old this year.

“It’s wonderful to recognize a family that practices those values,” Jacob said. “Congratulations from 43,000 girl and adult members of Girl Scouts San Diego. On behalf of all of us, thank you Sue and John Major for your sustained, superior support.”