HOWLAND - Girl Scouts locally and across the nation will be marking scouting's 100th anniversary on March 12.
The year 2012 has been proclaimed ''The Year of the Girl'' with the histories of scouting being compiled over the year as part of ''herstory.''
One scouting group, Service Unit 807 in Howland, has been planning its events.
Mary Pipino and Judi LaPolla, troop leaders with Service Unit 807 and co-chairs, said a Promise Circle event will be held at the Howland gazebo at 7:12 p.m. March 12.
''We are looking for all present and past scout members and leaders to take part in the anniversary,'' Pipino said.
Local scouts and leaders attended the 52nd national convention in Houston in November, where they participated in Girl Scout Leadership Institute workshops.
''The scouts also took part in the kickoff for the 100th anniversary,'' Pipino said.
Scouts have been conducting interviews with area residents.
Pipino said Anna Weltman of Shepherd of the Valley in Howland will celebrate her 100th birthday on March 7, and has shared her scouting memories with local scouts. Weltman's daughter, Judy Kay, was in scouts.
Maura Dixon, a high school freshman who has been in scouting since second-grade, said she is looking forward to hearing from other scouts about their experiences.
Anna McCue, a freshman with nine years in scouting, said she remembers Katie Couric speaking at the national convention about leadership and how Girl Scouts of today will be the leaders of tomorrow.
"I feel that as scouts we can make a really big difference," McCue said.
Pipino said the Chicago scout council created the Promise Circle as a way for scouts to renew the Girl Scout promise. The idea for the local Promise Circle came from the convention.