Scout contacts TV star
MERIDIAN — Breona Conerty, 10, found a surprising telephone message Monday when she came home from school. Meredith Vieira, host of the NBC daytime program “The Meredith Vieira Show,” called to order Girl Scout cookies.
“Breona was jumping up and down,” said her mother, Melissa Conerty, “I was shocked.”
Breona called right back to finalize the sale but her sales pitch started much earlier.
A few weeks ago, Breona, a fourth-grader at Meridian Elementary School, wrote to Vieira, as well as hosts of “Live with Kelly and Michael,” “Today” and “The Queen Latifah Show.” So far, only Vieira has called.
“I love her show,” Breona said, “She does such a good job, and she's really funny.”
And famous.
Vieira also is known for her previous hosting and moderator roles on “Today,” “The View,” “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” and the Olympics. She is a 14-time Emmy Award winner.
“(Breona) was off from school, and we were watching her. She asked me, 'Can I write to her?'” Conerty said.
That wasn't a problem, but finding an address was a challenge.
“You had to really search,” Breona said.
Along with the letter, Breona sent a drawing of herself with her friends selling the cookies at a booth.
“She said I did a really nice job with my letter and it was colorful,” Breona said. “She said she doesn't get very many letters from kids.”
Reached through e-mail, Vieira said, “I fell in love with Breona when I received her letter. She needed help selling her girl scout cookies, and a resourceful scout knows how to complete her task.”
The show's staff told Breona they were surprised by her letter and to keep up the good work.Breona is a member of Troop 26388 which meets at Connoquenessing Elementary School. This is her fifth year as a Girl Scout and her fifth year working in cookie sales.“She's been doing them since she was five. She's pretty good now,” Conerty said.Last year Breona sold more than 200 boxes of cookies.“We usually go door to door,” Conerty said. “This winter she was trying to think of other ways to get some sales.”The strategy was a good one. Vieira bought 35 boxes, five boxes of each kind.“Now my staff is looking forward to a boatload of delicious cookies,” Vieira said. “I can't wait to get my hands on the Thin Mints and Trefoils.”“We're keeping our fingers crossed that we may get another response. You never know,” Conerty said.Next year Breona plans to add “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and “Good Morning America” to her mailing list.“It made me think about things I haven't tried,” Conerty said.“It's worth doing something,” Breona said. “You never really know what will happen.”“It makes me feel like I can do anything,” she said.
