Five Years of GSWAC (Not a Council)!

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. 

If you had told me in 2014 what the next five years would bring due to GSWAC, there’s no way I would have believed you.  Some of it has happened behind the scenes.  And I’ve met a wonderful cast of characters through this blog’s reach.  As much as people like to denigrate the internet and the social problems it causes, it also pulls people together.

The first time GSWAC really got any sort of exposure was due to a post from 2015 in which I summarized a white paper written by the CEO of the Farthest North council.  I ran into Samona at church one evening who said, “Hey, your post about the white paper was posted on GSUSA Are You Listening? and you’re getting a lot of comments about it.” Sure enough, the stats had jumped way up and I gained a few subscribers.

How do I know what to write about?  They say write what you know, so a lot is about experiences as I mentioned earlier.  The other topics like Opinion pieces just come to me.  I feel compelled to write about a certain issue, and out it comes!  Where this comes from, I have no idea.  A friend of mine says I’m plugged into the Girl Scout Collective.  I’m not sure if that’s a cool or disturbing thought.

But anyway, here are some random facts and figures about GSWAC!

As a nod to David Letterman, here are the top 15 most viewed posts.  Actually Letterman only featured ten, but I felt inclined to bump it to fifteen.

1. They’re here! 2016 Cookie Memes
2. Twelve Page Pet Peeve
3. The Lifetime Membership Dues Amendment Contradiction
4. Multi-Level Troop Stress
5. Back to the Future: About 2008 and Membership Dues
6. Survey Results: What’s the #1 Stressor for Troop Leaders/Volunteers?
7. Junior Think Like a Citizen Scientist My Way
8. Restructuring and Membership Numbers
9. Lifetime vs. Annual Membership Dues Rebuttal
10. Camping, the Outdoors, and Defending Leaders Again
11. Death Spiral: Governance Edition
12. GSUSA Claims To See Russia From Alaska
13. White Paper Hub Bub
14. Leader Survival Kit
15. Who Does Proposal 2 Work For?

The top searches that people use to get here through Google and other search engines are related to cookie memes, membership numbers, Camp WaBak, and Girl Scout scarves.  I’m not making up that last one.

Here are the top ten post tags:

• gsusa (55)
• leader issues (42)
• councils (34)
• delegate (30)
• camp wabak (30)
• troop 20 (28)
• volunteers (27)
• patches (26)
• outdoors (24)
• cookies (24)
• OFFICIAL scarf (24)

Looking at that list, there’s one on there that’s interesting – which is delegate.  If you had told me back in 2014 that I’d be writing a lot of posts about governance and how it relates to Girl Scouting, I would have looked at you very strangely.  I would have also wondered if you were a visitor from the future, and I’d have asked who was president of the United States.  After you answered me, I would have written you off as some kind of kook.

An additional category that I didn’t anticipate writing about back in 2014 concerns the history of our council’s camps, especially Camp WaBak.  I guess I’m a history buff because I find how we get from one place to another fascinating.  I really enjoyed researching Camp WaBak and Camp Mary Elizabeth‘s histories.  Recently I completed a project detailing the history of our council from Lone Troops and Councils and their consolidation to where we are today.  While doing so, I found out a lot about the development of GSUSA and how our organization has progressed as a whole through the years.  Maybe that might be a future blog post.

One thing that evolved as the years passed were series about particular topics that I really delved into.  My curiosity overtakes me and I’m off taking some path that leads me down rabbit holes!  These series that span over a couple of blog posts include Camp WaBak’s history, CME’s history, VTK & You (nerd alert), the 2004 Overhaul about the Core Business Strategy, the controversy about Membership Dues, and Cookie Memes.

What will the next five years bring?  My oldest daughter will have graduated from high school by then (wow!).  If my youngest daughter runs the table with GS, she’ll be a first year Senior.

And what will Girl Scouting look like in 2024?  I have a few predictions, but other than that, I have no idea.  Two National Conventions will have happened by then (2020 & 2023).  I might be plugged into the GS subconscious, but that doesn’t include precognition.

But the real question is… how many OFFICIAL scarves will have debuted by then?

I sincerely thank all of you supporters and readers of GSWAC (not a council).  Thanks for your encouragement, and I hope you continue reading wherever this blog takes us in the future!