By Taryn Plumb | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT
DECEMBER 29, 2013
Debbie Walz is playfully called the “Cookie Queen of Melrose,” but she’s much more than that.
Sure, she’s in charge of the roughly 24,000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies sold in the city every year, but the 46-year-old mother of two teenagers also organizes Melrose’s free weekly community dinner; its twice-yearly veterans breakfast; has volunteered in many facets in Melrose schools (from running book drives to chaperoning field trips); helped raise money to install special needs equipment at Lincoln Elementary School; and has been instrumental in setting up Melrose Grad Night, a post-graduation party intended to keep kids safe and substance-free.
“Any time there’s any type of committee, event, issue, situation that needs to be addressed, she’s the go-to person,” said fellow resident Christine Zarzour.
“I like to be involved in the community,” Walz said. “I’ve met some pretty incredible people, and have had many people touch my life.”
She’s so well regarded in town, in fact, that on Dec. 16, she received a formal recognition and proclamation from Mayor Rob Dolan, the Board of Aldermen, the city’s veterans advisers, and a joint proclamtion from the state Legislature presented by state Representative Paul Brodeur, for being a “stellar citizen.”
“Debra Walz has been one of the unsung heroes in the Melrose community for probably as long as she’s lived here,” said Carrie Kourkoumelis, a harpist instructor/player and member of the Melrose School Committee. She “can reliably be found behind the scenes throughout the community giving generously and without personal fanfare.”
Beyond her community work, Walz rounds out her busy schedule working as a parent-child educator at Hallmark Health, doing alterations and sewing (anything from costumes for Melrose Youth Ballet to wedding gowns) and also cares for several local special needs children while their parents are at work. They tag along with her on errands, and she tries to provide them with different experiences and sensory challenges, such as picking things out at the grocery store, or feeling materials at the fabric store.
Girl Scouts has long has been one of her passions. Although she wasn’t a Scout herself as a kid, she began organizing a troop 13 years ago, when her daughter was 5. Now, she’s in charge of a younger “Cadet” troop of 10 girls, and an older “Ambassador” group of 13. All of the latter are working toward earning their Gold Award – the highest award in Scouting, equivalent to an Eagle Scout – which requires designing and completing a sustainable community project.
And then there’s her role as the “cookie queen”: The beloved boxes of confections are typically sold for just a short period every year, so she trains all cookie advisers (of which there are about 30 in the city, working with more than 400 Scouts), and organizes booth sales at various locations. On one weekend, she keeps thousands of cookies at her home for Scouts to pick up and sell, door-to-door.
That experience is invaluable: It helps the girls not only to make money for their troops and councils but enforces self-confidence, teamwork, leadership, and business skills, Walz said.
“I don’t do what I do to be recognized,” she said. “I don’t get up in the morning and say ‘I’m going to go out and do some wonderful community service so people will think of me.’ It’s not about me at all.”
The girls also learn important lessons set by her example.
“She’s a tremendous role model,” said Zarzour, whose two daughters are in her troop. “She has a big heart, open arms. She is selfless. The thing about Deb is she just quietly goes along and does things.”
Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe
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© 2014 BOSTON GLOBE MEDIA PARTNERS, LLC
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