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I was a "professional Girl Scout" for a year and a half back in the early 90s. I started out recruiting adult volunteers (like your self) then went on to do Training. Here's my advise to you:
1. Don't try to do everything your self. Quickest way to burn out and pickest way for your council to be looking for another leader next year. See if you can recuit some parents to do 1 or 2 small things for you, just to get them involved. Things like calling to remind the girls of their meetings, filling out paperwork, getting CPR certified so they can join you on trips, etc. Every little bit helps. As an icebreaker, find out who has a hobby or job that they can share with the girls; instant meeting!
2. Get ideas from the girls on the kinds of things they want to do. Even at that age if they are first time Scouts they have ideas. Besides doing nothing, the quickest way to loose girls is to do the wrong thing. If you have a bunch of outdoorsy type girls, spending every meeting on crafts is not going to cut it.
3. Take advantage of your council sponsored meetings and trainings. I know you probably have a million and one other things to do, but go to your Service Unit Meetings (I guess that's what they still call them). You'll get to meet other experienced leaders that can give you fabulous ideas. Council sponsored training is great too. We had a fall training round up every year at our camp and leaders could walk away with a CPR certification, some basic camping skills, and other programing ideas.
4. Make sure the girls are involved in EVERYTHING. Remember, Girl Scouting is not just about having fun, but also about building leadership skills. Get the girls to collect their dues, keep a record of it, manage their budgets, take attendance, come up with meeting rules, etc. All the stuff they need to know to prepare them for the future.
5. And last but not least, make sure you get a trustworthly Cookie Mom (another thing: don't forget the Dads. We always had Dad in various leadership rolls!). Every year there is a story about some one running off with a troup's cookie money.
Most of all.....have fun and relax! Don't feel like every meeting has to be scripted. I had to fill in for a leader once on VERY short notice and I wrote down phrases on pieces of paper, broke the girls up into small groups, and had them act out the phrases while the rest of the troup guessed. They had a ball!
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