Ten Years Gone

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.

Last summer, GSUSA announced that it was bringing back a special interest troop format that was part of the Senior Girl Scout program in the 50s through the 70s called Trailblazers.  Along with Mariners and a whole host of other types, Senior Girl Scout troops during that time could choose a particular concentration.  A Trailblazers troop is one whose main concentration is in the outdoors.  You can read more about the program in this write-up by the fabulous Ann Robertson.

The upper level of my troop moved up to Seniors this past fall, and with it brought a whole new set of challenges.  Grappling with high school schedules, most of all.  The girls decided they didn’t want to do any badge work and instead just meet for events and activities.  Which we were fine with, but it left my co-leader Cheryl and I in a challenging position, because they weren’t giving us much feedback nor were they bringing much to the table.  We felt like things were starting to drift apart, and as leaders, we were just floating around in a nebulous void.  So I mentioned the Trailblazers format to Cheryl and asked her what she thought.  She said it sounded interesting.  We tossed the idea out to our girls who are pretty much outdoor-oriented anyway, and they approved in their quiet and subdued way:

Throw in a shrug, and you’ll get the picture.  We asked how they felt about us opening it up to all girls in the council 8th grade and up, and again, they seemed to approve:

We decided we’d also still stay together as a primary troop and do things with just us when we wanted since the Trailblazers troop will serve a dual role for most girls who want to supplement their current troop experience.  I took the idea to our council and said we were thinking about creating a council-wide Trailblazers troop.  They enthusiastically approved, so after the holidays, we got to work getting it organized including pulling in additional leaders from other areas of the council.  I also rode up to Camp WaBak and inventoried what the council has in storage, and a long-time volunteer and trainer donated all of her camping gear – which was a LOT.  It rode around in the back of my car for about two or three weeks until we made a space in our attic for it.  I’m not sure how my husband feels about a big chunk of our attic housing camping gear, but it’s for a good purpose, right?  Sometimes I feel like I need another wing added on to the house just for storing Girl Scout “stuff.”

During this time, I picked up one of the original Trailblazers Senior interest patches off of ebay:

The pandemic hit, but this didn’t slow down our Trailblazers troop organization.  We’ve held two great planning meetings via Zoom so far with one more scheduled before our Zoom informational meeting for the council coming up on May 17th.  Our council has been very supportive of us, and we are all very excited about its potential.  I am looking forward to starting another chapter of my volunteer years, and I plan on sharing its adventures in future blog posts.   I’m not sure where it or the lower level of my troop, who is bridging up to Cadettes, will lead, but I’ll keep walking.

Holding on, ten years gone
Ten years gone, holding on, ten years gone.

Want to hear more about the program?  Here’s the OFFICIAL GSUSA publication:  Girl Scout Trailblazer 21st Century Guidelines