March 25 2021

A Skills-Based Program Reset Button

National Operations, Opinions    9 Comments    , , , ,

“Stepping onto a brand-new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation, which is not nurturing to the whole woman.” — Maya Angelou

Unless you’ve been under a rock lately – a really big rock – we’re currently looking for a National CEO. Considering we’ve gone through three National CEOs in the past ten years, it goes without saying that we need to get this next hire right.  The incoming CEO will have a big job on her hands dealing with the fallout from a pandemic and the upheaval it’s brought.  But while it’s certainly an intimidating situation, it’s also a good opportunity to hit the reset button and get back on the right track.  Continue reading

February 10 2021

Here and There and Everywhere

Random Things That Don't Fit Anywhere Else Kinda Like Me    3 Comments    , , , , , , , , ,

Here comes a hodge podge of updates regarding previous posts and random observations and such that I wanted to share.  I’ll jump right into it!

Lifetime Membership Card Update

Even after almost 7 years of writing, I still cannot correctly predict which posts here on GSWAC (Not a Council) will go viral and which ones won’t.  The one I wrote almost flippantly about membership cards back in December completely blew up much to my surprise.  I guess membership cards are a hot topic!

Speaking of that, after I accidentally requested a new Lifetime Membership card, I received a notification from GSUSA Customer Care about a month after the fact stating that I’d get my new card in 6 to 8 weeks.  A friend of mine in another council requested a new LTM card the same way, but instead of receiving a message from GSUSA, her request was forwarded to her council who instructed her to print one out.  Hmm.  Continue reading

February 1 2021

Friends of Camp WaBak Launches!

Ideas    1 Comment    , , , ,

Back in November, I wrote a warning regarding what I foresee on the horizon when it comes to the future of camps.  In it, I mentioned that we were in the process of starting a Friends group here in my council (GSSC-MM).  Well, that time has come!

I am very excited to announce that the Friends of Camp WaBak group has OFFICIALLY launched!  FOCW is a volunteer organized and led association of camp alumni, volunteers, girls, parents, and supporters who seek to support and promote Camp WaBak.  Continue reading

January 21 2021

2021 Cookie Memes

Cookie Memes    No Comments    ,

Cookie memes are by far the most popular subject on GSWAC (Not a Council).  I can always tell when it’s cookie season because hits to my blog skyrocket on a consistent basis due to visits from web searches for “cookie memes” or links on Pinterest.  When it comes to creating new ones, it’s either feast or famine on a year to year basis.  This year, I downloaded a handful of pictures that I thought would make good memes, but I was only inspired by two.  So here is the very small 2021 Cookie Meme Show.  If I come up with more, I’ll post them here.

And here is my favorite which I think is one of my favorites of all time.  I was inspired by the vintage Valentine’s Day cards that we used to get in our hand-decorated shoeboxes at school.   Plus I love bears.  Except when they dump big packages around camp.

You can see ALL of the cookie memes here on GSWAC (Not a Council) here.

January 2 2021

Stop Being Hypocritical, GSUSA

National Governance, Opinions    8 Comments    , , , , ,

Well, the Farthest North case continues.  Yes, really.  I realize I said at one point that it was over – for real this time – but apparently not.  GSUSA doesn’t want to concede the Alaskan Supreme Court’s decision to rule in favor of Farthest North.  Originally I told myself I wasn’t going to cover anything with this case outside of who had what authority before the 2020 National Council Session, but when I heard about GSUSA not letting go, I had to comment.

Here’s what has gone on in a nutshell:

  1. Farthest North filed the lawsuit in Feb of 2017.
  2. An Alaskan Superior court ruled in favor of GSUSA in 2018.
  3. Farthest North appealed to the Alaskan Supreme Court and won in Sept 2019.
  4. GSUSA requested a rehearing and lost in Jan 2020.
  5. The case was pushed back down to the lower Superior court to address who gets how much in damages, etc.

Continue reading

December 16 2020

GSUSA Executive Turnover

National Operations    5 Comments    ,

In a little over a year, these people left the GSUSA Executive Team (in no particular order):

Sylvia Acevedo
National CEO

Andrea Bastiani Archibald
Chief Girl and Family Engagement Officer

Amy Berkowitz
Chief Information Officer

Anthony Doye
Chief Operating/Strategy Officer

Lynn Godfrey
Chief Marketing and Communications Officer

Lynelle McKay
Chief Customer Officer

Annette Freytag
Chief of Staff

Perhaps this might shed some light on why there are issues.  Needless to say, we can’t afford to screw up yet another National CEO hire.  Continue reading