Out of the box

Maddie Bricker learned an important sales lesson recently: Nothing beats the cuteness of a 5-year-old girl when the item for sale is a Girl Scout cookie.

“It's definitely more challenging to sell cookies when you get older,” says Bricker, a 16-year-old Sarasota Military Academy junior. “A cute little girl is like a little kitten or a puppy.”

Bricker has sold Girl Scout cookies for a decade. She long ago graduated from her cute little girl days, but she's had her share of success: A member of Troop 3 and Troop 254, Bricker has sold more than 1,000 boxes of cookies a year three times, including this past year, when she sold 1,111. Surpassing 1,000 boxes in a year is a milestone that lands a scout on the Extreme Team.