SEQUIM — After selling more than 3,000 Girl Scout cookies last year, 11-year-old Paige Krzyworz knew she could go even higher.
And she did.
The Sequim fifth grader sold the second most cookies in Western Washington in 2017 and said she was about 400 boxes away from being on top.
“I told myself, ‘watch out Sequim, I’m going for number one,’ ” Paige said.
She was surprised to learn in her teacher Gail Kite’s classroom at Helen Haller Elementary – that she was No. 1 in Western Washington.
“I feel ecstatic,” Paige said after breaking the news to Girl Scouts in Troop 45181 at their meeting inside Faith Lutheran Preschool.
For two years, Paige said she’s set a goal to sell 4,000 boxes and came close this year, selling 3,921 boxes.
“It helps living in a small town,” she said. “People are so nice. They support you in what you do but you can also run out of people to sell to here.”
However, that didn’t seem to stop some regulars.
“They’d ask where I’m going to be next so they could buy more later,” Paige said.
During booth sales, selling in front of grocers and pharmacies for two-hour blocks, Paige got to sell in tandem with a fellow Girl Scout and split sales totals.
“I think it’s good for other people to get sales too,” Paige said. “And it’s a lot more fun to be with people. We’d sing songs and tell jokes and do weird things that kids do.”
Troop mate Nattruell Jasso was a big seller too, handing out 700 boxes in Sequim.
Paige said girls around her age usually sell between 100-300 boxes each year.
She’s always pushed herself to selling at least 1,000 boxes since 2014, and she’s been No. 1 on the Olympic Peninsula four years in a row. Fellow Girl Scouts in her troop encouraged her, too.
“They knew I was going for No. 1 and they boosted me up and encouraged me to keep on going,” Paige said.
“That’s the Girl Scouts’ bond.”
Her parents, Brian and Heidi Krzyworz, took her to more than 10 booth sale sessions and some restaurants helped too, such as the Oasis Bar and Grill’s workers who all bought some cookies.
Paige also reached out to people she knew early on with a pre-order form for the first time, which brought in about 150 boxes in sales.
For her efforts, Paige continues to save for a Girl Scout-sanctioned trip with her mom to Paris, France, in spring 2019. She and other girls can also use their sales’ percentages to pay for Girl Scout items and/or camp fees.
Her troop also will receive a portion of cookie sales, which they plan to use to help the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society pay for new pet beds and food.
Last year, Paige and members of Troop 43870 helped redesign a room for children to play, read and watch movies in the Sequim Police Department.
Paige joined Girl Scouts as a Daisy at age 6, and said she’ll likely stick with scouting until she’s 18 to continue meeting new people and seek college scholarships, she said.
For more information on Girl Scouts of Western Washington, visit www.girlscouts ww.org.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at mnash@sequimgazette.com.
Last Friday, Paige Krzyworz was surprised by her mom Heidi and fifth-grade teacher Gail Kite, pictured, to learn she sold the most Girl Scout cookies in Western Washington. Girl Scouts of Western Washington sent a bouquet to Helen Haller Elementary to celebrate. (Heidi Krzyworz)
