Also, I would like to state for the record that I DO NOT represent my council’s views or delegation. I am not a National Delegate. I am speaking only for myself and expressing my own personal views.
Before I begin, I would like to state for the record that I DO NOT represent my council’s views or delegation. I am not a National Delegate. I am speaking only for myself and expressing my own personal views. And even if you’re not a National Delegate, you might find this blog post informative as this membership dues issue hits everybody in the wallet!
Also, this debate is NOT about the current amount of membership dues. I, too, believe $25 is a great deal. But this is about WHO has authority over membership dues in the future.
The 2020 National Council Session (NCS) is coming up later this year, and as expected, authority over membership dues is at the forefront with a total of not one, not two, but THREE proposals about it! And there’s a fourth proposal about lifetime dues as the cherry on top. This drama has been playing out since 2008, and finally (hopefully!) – it’s being settled where it should have been heard in the first place – and that’s the National Council Session. When it comes to all of this, I believe it’s especially important to know the background to what’s gone on the past 12 years because there’s more than meets the eye at first glance. There’s another blog post that goes hand in hand with this one called A Rabbit Hole, a NCS Workbook, and a Membership Dues Timeline Rebuttal, and it’s a response to the timeline GSUSA and the National Board present in the NCS Early Alert (EA) and the NCS Delegate Workbook (WB). I don’t think it matters which one you read first as long as you read both of them at some point. Continue reading
This is just a quick hit (plus further commentary, of course) to let you know there are now two new tutorials on the GirlScoutGovernance.com (GSG) website: the National Delegate and Council Delegate primers.
The National Delegate Primer features articles that cover the basics when it comes to the National Council Session and what you need to know as a National Delegate. Some councils offer very little in the way of National Delegate orientation, so perhaps this will fill in those gaps. And even if your council offers superb training, you’ll still benefit from reading the articles. They were written by volunteers who have served as National Delegates at some point or another, so they’re going to have a unique perspective that you’re not going to get in a council orientation.
The Council Delegate Primer covers more of an overview of general concepts since governance systems vary by council. It includes information about topics such as governance documents, how to read council finances, and council governance players, just to name a few. Unfortunately, some councils’ leadership do not view their delegates as an integral part of the council and orientation is lacking – if there’s any at all. So like with the National Delegate primer, perhaps this will help those out there who really need it and serve as an additional resource for everyone. Originally I started a section on this blog called Delegate Duties that I had planned on building up as the years went on, but it’s found a home on GSG and does a much more thorough job there than I could have done here. I will eventually add a link to the corresponding GSG article at the top of those blog posts indicating where readers can find a better version. Continue reading
Recently I was recognized by my council for my 10th year as a volunteer. It’s been a crazy ride and one that I couldn’t have anticipated in a million years when I began back in the Fall of 2010. To be honest with you, for the past year or so, I have been wondering what the future was going to look like because things started to look pretty hazy for a variety of reasons. I wasn’t sure where my path was going to take me.
Then, as it was, then again it will be
And though the course may change sometimes
Rivers always reach the sea.