Member feature written by Connie Eugenio
It starts with a match. Not just the one that lights the campfire, but the one that connects the right volunteer with the right moment.
For Annette Logan, that moment came when she was nine years old. Today, she’s the kind of leader who helps girls find their voice, build resilience, and walk away from Girl Guides knowing exactly who they are.
Annette first joined Girl Guides Queensland in 1992, alongside her sister, after their mum spotted an ad in the local newspaper. “She just wanted something that wasn’t sport. I already did sport,” Annette laughs. “She signed us both up at the same time.”
“It became my thing,” she says. “The place I always wanted to be.”
By the time she was 18, Annette had stepped up as an assistant leader. She volunteered for over a decade before taking what she calls a “nine-year break”.
In 2012, while attending a local variety performance, that long-burning spark was reignited. “My district manager was there,” she recalls. “She said, ‘We’re looking for someone to come run a Guides unit if you ever want to come back.’”
Annette said yes. She’s been there ever since.
Today, she leads a group of Guides aged 14 to 18. Their weekly meetings involve everything from outdoor cooking and fire-building to community service and leadership planning. While the topics shift from term to term, the aim stays the same: to give girls the space, support, and structure to develop into confident, capable young people.
“It’s a really fun place that’s safe for girls of all types to just come along and be with other people,” she says. “They learn lots of interesting things they might not learn in their everyday life.”
Some of those lessons are practical. Others are emotional. For many of her girls, even lighting a fire is a first.
“Watching girls light a fire for the first time, it’s next level,” she says. “The joy, the excitement. They’re just so proud of themselves.”
But the real transformation happens over time. Annette has watched dozens of girls change completely over the years. Some come in quiet, anxious, or unsure of themselves. By the time they move on at 18, they’re leading groups, mentoring others, and speaking in front of crowds.
“I’ve known girls who were particularly shy, timid, didn’t really like speaking in front of groups,” she says. “And by the time they leave, they’ve found confidence. They’re leading, they’re speaking, they’re showing others who they are. The change in them is enormous.”
As a mentor for girls working toward the Queen’s Guide Award, Annette sees that growth up close. The award is the highest youth recognition in the organisation. It involves months of self-directed challenges, service, and leadership tasks. Her job isn’t to direct them, but to guide them, gently making sure they’re not just checking boxes but choosing real challenges.
“I have to know the girls well enough to know what is and isn’t a challenge for them,” she explains. “It’s about making sure they’re not doing something just because it’s easy, but because it stretches them.”
She’s seen the ripple effect, too. Some of her fellow leaders were once girls in her unit. Others are parents who signed their daughters up and decided to stay. The community is intergenerational, with every story connecting to another.
“There’s always something new to try,” she says. “And everyone I know in Guiding has a thousand stories about the things they’ve done, the adventures they’ve had, and the places it’s taken them.”
Girl Guides has become more than a weekly meeting. It’s a shared space where growth happens through action, where young people learn who they are by trying, failing, succeeding, and showing up for others.
“Just knowing that you’ve helped them get there, to do that, by being their leader,” Annette says, “that’s everything.”
If you ask her what Girl Guides offers young people, she won’t hesitate.
“It gives them opportunity. A platform to gain leadership skills, gain self-confidence, and to be able to show other people all the talents they already have.”
The fires lit here don’t just warm a moment, they keep burning long after the tents are packed away.
Girl Guides QLD is looking for passionate volunteers over the age of 18 to join their mission. Complete the online form here to join Girl Guides today!
To learn more about Girl Guides Queensland, visit https://www.guidesqld.org/ or email membership@guidesqld.org for more information about volunteering.
About Connie
Connie Eugenio is currently studying towards a Bachelor of Business Marketing at QUT.
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