Buckle Up – It’s Gonna Be a Bumpy Ride

Somewhere in the original timeline at this moment, I’m down in Orlando passing out 1500 GirlScoutGovernance.com SWAPs to passers-by and National Delegates.  I’m wearing my navy and OFFICIAL scarf.  I’m not sure which one though.   I also have my famous OFFICIAL Scarf SWAPs close at hand.

But instead, I’ve gotten stuck in the dystopian alternate timeline.  I must have unknowingly entered some wormhole at the end of 2019 and ended up here.

And here we are, days before a virtual National Council Session that back in February of this year the National Board said (per the opinions of not one, but TWO parliamentarians) was not possible.  But then in April, the National Board decided why yes, we WOULD have it virtually, by hook or by crook, and all references to the previous National Board statement and parliamentarian opinions were erased from the interwebs. Except on this blog. 

I’ve questioned the decision to have it virtually this whole time, and I’m still skeptical.  Now granted, I haven’t been a part of the tech sessions so maybe I’m speaking out of turn, but there are some things I’ve heard that make me a little uneasy as to how this will all play out because there are a lot of moving parts that have to go just right.  All that said, I’ll be the first to give kudos if they somehow pull this thing off.

When everything shut down back in March, I had nothing to do, so I wrote the two novels The 2020 NCS: Proposals 2 through 4 – I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do) and A Rabbit Hole, a NCS Workbook, and a Membership Dues Timeline Rebuttal.  I don’t know how many times I edited them because, well, there was nothing else to do.  I sat on them for two months waiting until it got closer to the NCS.  Finally I couldn’t stand it anymore and published them in late May.

I can’t say that I’m not disappointed as to how this all played out, but I have had fun in a weird way these past few months.  Here’s what went on:

• I wrote a LOT more about the NCS than I had anticipated.  How many is crazy now that I see it.  Here are just a few (ha ha).
• I found a new appreciation for Darryl Hall & John Oates.
• I even recorded a goofy webinar kind of parodying GSUSA’s proposal webinars with my friend Amy just for the sheer heck of it, and it was fun.
• I expanded my parliamentary procedure knowledge.
• I enjoyed co-hosting the GSG Town Halls and I feel like they filled a void.  The turnout and positive feedback we received exceeded our expectations.

It’s ironic.  Even though some of the proposals are very divisive, there has been pretty much NO discussion publicly outside of this blog and our GSG Town Halls, at least that I’ve seen.  The hits on my NCS-related blog posts have been half of what they were in 2017.  I think there’s a combination of things going on to explain this disengagement.  From what I can tell, delegates were buried in information this time around (on purpose?).  There were tons of webinars and meetings at a time when people are already burned out on everything being online.  The decision to hold it virtually was disappointing.  I hate to say it, but there are probably some delegates who only applied due to it being in Orlando and they associated it with a trip to Disney, and since the fun is gone, there’s little motivation.  And probably most of all, people are overwhelmed with the stress and chaos that the response to this pandemic has put on them in their daily lives.  It wouldn’t surprise me if between various tech related issues and delegate disengagement that some vote count totals are under 1000.

I am really not sure at all how this will play out.  When you look at the big picture, a lot is riding on these proposals which is concerning due to how disengaged many seem to be.  Will the National Council make a statement to assert its authority?  Or will it meekly give away its last bit of relevancy?

These membership dues proposals are a hot mess to try to untangle due to so many if/then scenarios.  I also think they were intentionally written this way to be confusing and to find every backdoor possible to give the National Board and GSUSA what they want, which is power and money.  The National Board declaring that it was taking over membership dues in 2008 was a power grab, pure and simple, and it was also extremely disrespectful to the National Council and the membership.  Since then, it’s morphed into a “the leadership knows best” attitude.  I don’t like saying this anymore than the next person, but after giving them every benefit of the doubt these past few years, it’s obvious they’ve dug their heels in and aren’t budging – unless it looks like they won’t get what they want, and then they’ll concede a little bit like flipping on supporting Proposals 4 & 6.  But first impressions mean everything, and the fact they didn’t support them initially spoke volumes.

Here is my last warning:  if the National Council gives away power to the National Board, then the National Council will be just a figurehead at that point.  The National Board will no longer bring any sort of substantial decision-making to the National Council Session.  Ever. Again.  Don’t kid yourself.  The ONLY reason these membership dues proposals are here is because GSUSA was FORCED to due to the Farthest North lawsuit decision and their fear of future lawsuits.  But it seems like lawsuits are the only thing that will make them stop.  And even then, they’ll keep pushing the envelope to see how far they can go.  The ONLY thing that will stop them is if Proposal 2 is amended to state that ONLY the National Council can set membership dues.

I realize that the nominees for the National Board have reached out with a commitment statement and the composition make-up seems to be more Girl Scout-oriented.   And they say now that they’ll be more willing to work with the membership for this triennium (just like the 2017-2020 ones said too).  But who will they be influenced by?  The GSUSA general counsel has been on staff since 2013.  Who is the National Board going to believe more?  GSUSA staff and its attorneys or the membership?

So delegates, please do not vote for Proposal 2 as written for the reasons I’ve already given.  Do vote for a National Council-only Proposal 2.  Do not vote in favor of Proposal 4 in order to compromise.  If you give them an inch, GSUSA will take a mile.  Maybe not right now, but don’t leave that door open for the future.

All that said, if the National Council believes that giving away its power is the right thing to do for Girl Scouting, then I have to accept that.  As big of an advocate as I am about the democratic process, it would be hypocritical of me not to.  I just hope the current circumstances we find ourselves in hasn’t compromised things.

Unless something goes horribly wrong during the NCS, then my three year journey writing about membership dues will be at an end.  It’s been a crazy ride, and I’ve learned so much from it on many levels. Although I’m ready to wrap it up, I will miss it in a way.  But at least there will always be OFFICIAL scarves to write about.  I’ll do a follow-up post about a week or so after the NCS ends to let the dust settle.

Well, here goes nothing.  I’ll be sitting in front of my laptop Friday through Sunday checking out the action.  Even though I won’t be there in person nor will I be on camera, I’ll still be wearing my navy & OFFICIAL scarf (the polka dotted one).  I’ll be doing some Facebook Live videos before and after on my FB page.  Excuse the mess in my house.

Here’s some closing music dedicated to the membership dues proposals.  This is a REALLY good cover.