Honoring Nellie Hayse
Girl Scouts are saddened to bid a final farewell to lifetime Girl Scout and former Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast Chief Executive Officer Nellie Hayse who passed away on December 14, 2024. Nellie became a Girl Scout in Kentucky, starting as a Girl Scout Brownie and advancing through the ranks until graduating high school. Girl Scouts ignited many of Nellie’s lifetime interests, including her love for birding that began when she was 10. The birding diary she started as a Girl Scout would eventually contain more than 500 species logged throughout her lifetime.
As a Girl Scout, Nellie participated on several Wider Opportunities that included traveling on the RMS Queen Mary to England. Nellie attended Wellesley College where she studied history and theology. It was not long after graduating from Wellesley that she began her professional career in Girl Scouts.
Nellie served as a staff member in six Girl Scout councils from 1957 to 1981, including as executive director in the former Illinois’ Shagbark Girl Scout Council. Nellie became the executive director of the newly formed Colonial Coast Girl Scout Council in 1981, a council formed by the consolidation of Heritage Girl Scout Council and Greater Tidewater Girl Scout Council.
Nellie always found ways to engage and mentor girls. Whether it was as a program director in her early career and directing camp, or as an executive director of Colonial Coast where she helped lead girls on outdoor adventures, she introduced countless girls to backpacking, leading groups who were new to the outdoors on day and weekend trips to False Cape State Park or making week-long, backpack trips with more seasoned campers on the Appalachian Trail.
During Nellie’s tenure as CEO, Colonial Coast experienced a steady increase in membership. Many innovative projects were initiated and realized under her direction, including the formation of community partnerships, the construction of the Virginia Enmeier Program Center at Camp Skimino, and the realization and opening of A Place for Girls, the council’s headquarters and program center, in 1996. Her vision of offering outdoor education at A Place for Girls resulted in the addition of a nature area, now known as The Outback. Her desire for a pool where Girl Scouts could learn to swim led to the purchase of the property now known as The Lodge. A pool was added there soon after her retirement, as well as a bridge leading to The Lodge which was dedicated in her honor. Nellie was also presented a special gift from the council to honor her lifelong dedication and commitment to the outdoors when the birding trail located in The Outback was dedicated and named the Nellie Hayse Virginia Birding and Wildlife Site.
Nellie was always a Girl Scout advocate in the community, connecting individuals and groups to Girl Scouting. She helped launch Friends of Women Studies at Old Dominion University and served as their first board chair. She was a proud Wellesley Alum and part of the alumnae group in Hampton Roads. Many of those members became Girl Scout supporters and donors. She was one of the founding members of the Great Bridge Rotary and served in several board capacities. Nellie’s lifelong love for sailing, which started in Girl Scouting as a Mariner Girl Scout, continued in her adult years, and she became the first female member of the Elizabeth River Squadron in Hampton Roads.
As a girl, Nellie received the highest award one could earn in Girl Scouts at the time, the Curved Bar, and she received the highest national Girl Scout award as an adult, the Thanks Badge. In addition, she was presented the highest Council award for an adult, the Dorothy Barber Lifetime Achievement Award.
Nellie’s work as a professional was also recognized by the community, earning the Virginia Volunteer Administrator Award in 2001 and the Hampton Roads Woman of the Year award in 2002.
Nellie believed strongly in paying it forward and in helping girls and women become empowered. There were many lives Nellie touched, including countless staff and volunteers she mentored.
“This is a great loss to Girl Scouts and the Hampton Roads community,” said Colonial Coast CEO Tracy Keller, who was mentored by Nellie and took her place when Nellie retired. “Nellie found her passion early in life, helping others and making a difference in the lives of girls and women. That legacy will continue through the work of all she touched.”
Services for Nellie will be held on January 19 at 12:30 p.m. at Eastern Shore Chapel, 2020 Laskin Road in Virginia Beach. Her family requests donations be made to the Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast in support of the outdoor properties at A Place for Girls.
Read Nellie's obituary at pilotonline.com.
