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Jane Doyle of Lisle inducted into Girl Scouts' Hall of Fame

When Lisle resident Jane Doyle was growing up, Girl Scouts taught her to love the outdoors and gave her the chance to do things she wouldn't have otherwise done.

The opportunity to continue to develop and use her leadership skills has kept her involved as an adult volunteer for Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana for 28 years.

Doyle's dedication to Girl Scouts recently was recognized with her induction in the organization's Hall of Fame, an honor given to 10 adults a year who have spent at least 25 years delivering extraordinary service that has had a lasting impact on Girl Scouts or the community.

"It was quite an honor," said Doyle, who said she didn't know about the nomination until she received a letter from Girl Scouts.

Doyle first became involved when she joined a Brownie troop in second grade in Rock Island. She remembers a trip to Niagara Falls as one of the highlights of her experience.

"It was fun to have a group of friends that was not part of anything else I did," she said. "That's how I learned to love the outdoors. It gave me a chance to do things that I would not have had the opportunity to do had I not been part of the organization."

Doyle remained in Girl Scouts through eighth grade and earned the Curved Bar, the equivalent of today's Gold Award.

She became a troop leader herself when her daughter joined Brownies. Doyle remained a troop leader for 16 years and received the Outstanding Leader Award, among other honors. She led her troop from Brownies to the senior level, and proudly relates that all the members who finished high school earned the Gold Award, Girl Scouts' highest honor.

Favorite memories of those years include trips the girls took to Disney World, Washington, D.C., Boston and Hilton Head, South Carolina, where they rented a condo on the beach. The troop members earned the money for the trips themselves with activities such as gift-wrapping at Borders Bookstore.

"It was a good learning experience for everybody,' Doyle said.

In addition to leading a troop, she also served on the Girl Scouts board and numerous committees, organized troops and found leaders, and served as a liaison between those organizing programs and those implementing them.

"I had an opportunity as an adult to apply my leadership skills," she said.

Founded in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low, Girl Scouts of U.S.A. has always been about helping young women become all they could be, Doyle said. At a time when most girls didn't participate in sports, Low's Girl Scouts gave girls an opportunity to play basketball and go on camping trips. Girl Scouts now offers members programs in science and computers, among a host of other topics.

"The Girl Scouts have changed a lot over the years. That's important," Doyle said. "The program has always been there to help Girl Scouts do their best."

Doyle became involved with preserving and presenting the history of Girl Scouts when Camp Greenwood in Woodridge celebrated its 40th anniversary. For the past 15 years, she has worked one day a week in the Girl Scout office in Lisle, where she processes donations, collects Girl Scout artifacts and helps develop programs that teach Girl Scout history.

Fellow volunteer Rosemary Courtney of Darien has known Doyle for 25 years and works with her in the office.

"What impresses me is her doing all this so the girls can enjoy. She doesn't do it for herself," Courtney said. "No matter what she does, Jane is very thoughtful and considers all aspects of the program. She is very unbiased."

Doyle, who is employed part-time fundraising for the Benedictine Sisters, also has volunteered in schools and at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle. But it's obvious that Girl Scouts occupy a special place in her heart.

"I believe in the Girl Scout program," Doyle said. "I believe it's the best thing out there for girls and young women and I'm very proud to be part of it."

  Some of the donated, archive items from former Girl Scouts include pocket toothbrushes, flashlights, whistles, uniforms, knives, old handbooks, and even old Girl Scout books of fiction. Scott Sanders/ssanders@dailyherald.com
  Jane Doyle, left, of Lisle and fellow volunteer Rosemarie Courtney sort and catalog items of Girl Scout memorabilia donated to the organization for safe keeping. Scott Sanders/ssanders@dailyherald.com
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