Girl Scouts honor Sue Krick as Sussex County woman of distinction

Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay honored Rehoboth businesswoman Sue Krick May 8 with their award for Women of Distinction in Sussex County.

Honored for her active involvement as a leader in the community of Rehoboth Beach and her dedication to the Girl Scouts organization, Krick is a former Girl Scout and was an owner of the Summer House Restaurant and Saloon for 23 years.

The award for Women of Distinction honors those women who have made contributions to the community as leaders in medicine, law and business, with active engagement in philanthropy and community service.

As owner of the Summer House, Krick became a familiar face in downtown Rehoboth. Since the early '80s she has been active in the community, known for making appearances as Minnie Mouse during the annual Sea Witch celebration.

At one time serving as a board member, then president of the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce, Krick has also been active in the governance of the Delaware and Rehoboth Beach Restaurant associations, where she was named Restauranteur of the Yea' in 1994.

As a long-time volunteer and former Girl Scout herself, she has alternately served as a troop leader, cookie mom, public relations representative and also achieved the Gold Award, which is the highest award in Girl Scouts.

"Words cannot express how delighted, humbled and honored I am to receive this award," Krick said. "When Deb [Grubbe] called to tell me I won this award, I was speechless."

Even in retirement, Krick continues to volunteer with Rehoboth Beach Main Street and remains active in other civic organizations, crediting the Girl Scouts with instilling a strong sense of self and responsibility to others.

“Just remember, Girl Scouts is a lot more than selling cookies,” Krick said. “It matters not what you say you believe, but what you model and encourage and make happen.”

Speaker of the House, Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, opened the luncheon helf at the Rehoboth Beach Country Club, with a tribute from the House of Representatives and reminisced about the impact Krick made on his own daughter.

"Sue has meant a lot to members of my family, not just members of this community," Schwartzkopf said. "As many of you know my daughter Brandi worked for Sue and Rick for a number of years. As a young girl, you took her under your wing."

Judge William Swain Lee was unable to attend, but sent congratulations to the Girl Scout honoree as well.

"No one has that absolute power to make me smile like Sue Krick," Lee wrote in his statement. "But Sue's secret of success is more than a smile; she has the intelligence, passion and drive to accomplish everything she undertakes."

Krick said she couldn't remember a time in her life when she wasn't a Girl Scout, and went on to read a passage from the framed definition of "success" that her father presented her upon her 16th birthday.

"To know that even one life has breathed easier because I have lived," she read. "That is success."

For more information about the Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay, go to www.gscb.org.