« lor Christine Green, there is noth- ing better in life than seeing the smile on a young girl's face as she ties her first knot. Or the gleam in the youngster's eyes when she puts a tent up and it stays up, cooks over an open fire and then eats what she cooked or even survives her first overnight camping trip. "As a kid, I got to do these things and I'm doing my best to make sure other girls have the same opportunity," said the 42-year-old Frankford Road resident. "I want them to have the same good memories of Guiding when they grow up like I still have now." Green is beginning her third year as commissioner of the Moira Division of Girl Guides of Canada. She also continues to lead the 2nd Sidney Girl Guide company. Green is con- vinced Guiding should be a part of every girl's life. "Guiding is there to give girls the opportunities to try7 different things that they might other- wise never have...it's their opportunity to experience new adventures, develop skills and make last- ing friendships." The Moira divi- sion, which takes in almost all the Quinte area as well as Bon Echo, has more than 860 girls and leaders. This month has been extremely busy for the division as all the units have been reg- istering participants for the 2001-02 season. Even though registrations have ended, "we will always accept another girl into our program at any time of the year," said Green. When it comes to defining Guiding, the mottos say it best, she said. For Girl Guides, the motto is "Be Prepared." For Brownies, it's "Lend a Hand." And for Sparks, it's "Share and Be a Friend." Green said she's indebted to Guiding for giving her the confidence and skills to set goals and achieve them. "I set goals in my personal life and I strive for them. I reached all my goals, pretty well," she said with a smile. It was her dad, Murray Atkinson, who got Green involved in Guiding. "My dad was a Scoutmaster and at that time, Scouting didn't take girls. My dad got tired of me bugging him to go camping and so he put me in Guiding," she recalled. "GUIDING IS THERE TO GIVE GIRLS THE OPPORTUNITIES TO TRY DIFFERENT THINGS THAT THEY MIGHT OTHERWISE NEVER HAVE." -- GUIDE LEADER CHRISTINE GREEN The Belleville youngster was six when she started out in Brownies. She remained in Guiding until she was 15 and earned her Canada Cord. Green said she would have stayed longer in Guiding except that she had to lielp run their family business, Murray's Food Market, on Front Street. She has fond memories of her Guiding experience. "Camping sticks out in my mind, that's for sure. I love the outdoors. I also enjoyed learning new crafts and skills, completing badges and making new friends. For a girl at that time, there really was nothing better than being involved in Guiding," Green said. She graduated from Moira Secondary School in 1978 and was intending to enter nursing. But instead she accepted a full- time job offer as cashier and office clerk from Safeway Groceries wrhen the new store opened on North Front Street. "The wage and benefits they were offering w7ere too good to pass up," said Green, adding she still regrets her decision not to get into nursing. She was with Safeway for seven years until the store closed in 1985. She then went to Foxboro IGA and stayed there for another seven years. Green came to Split Second Printing on Dundas Street East in 1992 and cur- rently does, everything from typeset- ting to overseeing production. The new line of work also allowed her to return to Guiding, both as a leader and administrator. "Being in the grocery7 business and working evenings and weekends didn't give me the time to get into Guiding. But that all changed with my new job," she said. Green started off as a Girl Guide leader a decade ago. A season later, she also accepted the position of dis- trict commissioner. She was named division commis- sioner two years ago. Green's daughter, Sarah, played an important role in her decision to return to Guiding as an adult. "I wanted my daughter to experi- ence what I had when I was younger," she said. Her daughter went on to earn sever- al awards in Guiding, including the Commonwealth and Chief Commissioner's Awards. Now 19, she . - n to)