Girl Scout Troup 5108 hosted national speaker Dan Veldman Thursday night at the Brookhaven High School Library.

Celeste Carty, troop leader, said Emily Mezzanares, troop member, first heard Veldman speak at the Mississippi HOBY program over Memorial Day weekend. While still at the conference, she called Carty to ask if they could bring him to Brookhaven to speak to their troop.

Mezzanares contacted Veldman, and he volunteered to come down for no cost.

Veldman addressed the group about representing Mississippi to other parts of the country. He also discussed the power women possess.

Looking around the room, he said each young woman present had the potential to achieve great things and with the ever-expanding opportunities for women, nothing would stand in their way.

“Each of you look happy, proud and content to be ladies,” he said.

He gave the few males in the audience advice for being around women. He said every man should ask women questions, listen, and remember what she said. He also advised women to demand those things from the men in their life, or move on.

“Because you have to make men better, and it takes women to do that,” he said.

Veldman also said everyone should emulate lobsters and not crabs. He said when crabs try to climb out of their tanks, other crabs pull them back down. Whereas lobsters cheer on other lobsters trying to escape.

“Look at everybody and say ‘Just go,'” he said.