April 21 2019

Cadette Think Like an Engineer Journey Reformat

Experiences as a Leader, Troop Leader Resources    No Comments    , , , , ,

I won’t bore you with a lengthy exposition BEFORE I provide a link to the download of the Cadette Think Like an Engineer reformat, but keep scrolling below the links if you WANT the lengthy exposition!  You’ll have to read this disclaimer first though:

This is a reformat of the Cadette Think Like an Engineer Journey that’s found in the Volunteer Toolkit.  Compared to the six PDFs from VTK totaling 135 pages, the reformat is 56 pages.  So it’s still lengthy, but at least this will save you some paper.  Nothing has been modified, except that the word “SAY” has been replaced with “Suggested conversation,” and I took out some extra spacing that I didn’t think was necessary.  This reformat includes all of the handouts with the exception of the Cadette Take Action PDF, which I’ve also linked directly from the GSUSA website.  Please note that I do not claim this as my own invention.  Basically all I did was reformat this Journey to make it easier to read and also to keep your printer from melting down if you need to print it out (like I do).  Continue reading

April 18 2019

Farthest North vs. GSUSA: The Sequel

National Governance    No Comments    , , , , , ,

They say that usually sequels aren’t as good as the original, but I guess it depends on which side of the membership dues issue you fall and what the ruling is for Part II of the Farthest North vs. GSUSA lawsuit that will determine your opinion!

In case you’re not up to speed and have no idea what I’m talking about, about two years ago, the Farthest North council out of Fairbanks, Alaska, sued GSUSA due to its decision to raise membership dues from $15 to $25 for the 2017-2018 membership year.  I was confused at the time because I had always heard that the National Council had voted to give the National Board that authority.  My curiosity got the best of me, and plus, I needed a good excuse to not clean the house.  So over the next couple of months, I delved into this issue and found that the National Council had NEVER given this authority over to the National Board.  Additionally,  I read through the Blue Book of Basic Documents to see if I personally thought the National Board had authority in the first place as they claimed.  This was a long drawn out saga that’s still going on today with my recent post about a Membership Dues proposal that’s out there for the taking for the 2020 National Council Session.  Recently, the Chicago council released a proposal that’s sort of a compromise where the National Board can raise dues, but no more than 15% over the triennium without approval from the National Council.  Continue reading

April 13 2019

Five Years of GSWAC (Not a Council)!

Random Things That Don't Fit Anywhere Else Kinda Like Me    1 Comment    , , ,

A snapshot from 2015 and right after the White Paper summary was published.

On April 13th, 2014, the GSWAC (Not a Council) blog debuted on the interwebs.  I had been rolling the idea around in my head for a couple of months at that point but finally set the site up and published something.  My intention was to document random Girl Scout related topics which were mostly related to my memories from GS growing up and current leader experiences.  I really had no long term goals or plans for it other than to share my thoughts with whomever was unlucky enough to come across it.  And here we are five years later!

I’ve pretty much gone through all of my major memories of Troop 20, so at this point I’m attempting to document major trips and events from my current leader experience and whatever else may come my way.  I’m way behind, in case you were wondering.  Continue reading