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Girl Scouts are out selling cookies, but for one Hamblen County cookie ambassador, the stakes are high as she reps both a cookie and her hometown.

Katherine Strate Smith, a partner at Main Street Insurance Group, was chosen as one of the nine cookie competitors for the 2026 Great Cookie Competition, a flavorful showdown organized by the Girl Scouts of Southern Appalachians that will crown “East Tennessee’s Favorite Cookie.”

“Our collective goal is $20,000, and my individual goal is $2,500,” Smith said. “The Girl Scouts of Southern Appalachians provided $2,302 in financial assistance, supporting 82 girls, 10 adults, and eight troops across Hamblen County in 2025. (Money raised) goes toward memberships, uniforms, camp experiences, leadership programs and more. I attended Girl Scout camp as a junior Girl Scout. I went to camp Juliette Low and had a wonderful experience as a camper. And you never want to have to turn someone away because they can’t afford it.”

The nine local celebrity and business leaders each represent one of the beloved cookie flavors, including the new Exploremores cookie, and will earn votes by raising money, with donations counting as “votes”, to fund financial assistance for Girl Scouts across the region.

The competition launched on Monday, and competitors only have about a month to secure donations in an effort to crown their cookie East Tennessee’s favorite.

“The Great Cookie Competition is a fun fundraising experience for a good cause,” said Lynne Fugate, CEO of the Girl Scout Council of Southern Appalachians (GSCSA). “We really appreciate these competitors for taking up the charge and we hope you’ll support their efforts by voting with your dollars to help invest in tomorrow’s leaders. For example, every female U.S. Secretary of State in history has been a Girl Scout.”

Donations can be made by going to favoritecookie.org and visitors will be redirected to the contest’s voting page.

Smith’s assigned cookies happen to be the ever-popular Samoas, crisp cookies with caramel, coconut and chocolaty stripes.

The campaign will end Tuesday, March 24 with an event at Yee-Haw Brewing Company in Knoxville from 6 to 8 p.m.

It’s been named the Great Cookie Tasting and is an adults-only evening of food, fun, and celebration, serving as the grand finale of the 2026 Girl Scout Great Cookie Competition.

This special event will bring community supporters together to enjoy a selection of Girl Scout Cookies paired with locally brewed beers from Yee-Haw Brewing Company.

Overall the Girls Scouts of Southern Appalachians serves 46 counties from southwestern Virginia, through East Tennessee and into northern Georgia, and provides approximately $120,000 every year in financial assistance to ensure that girls can participate in Girl Scouting regardless of family circumstances.

Smith said she’s excited to support the Girl Scout’s mission to girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.

She said her experience as a scout under the guidance of Troop Leader Sandy Storms, helped mold her into the person she is today.

“We were a very active troop and it was really because of her planning and preparation,” Smith said. “The great thing about Girl Scouts is you don’t have to audition. You just come as you are and you want, you show that you’re willing to make an effort and that you want to learn. And that can teach you a lot of valuable life skills.”