November 17 2020

Now is the Time to Take Action on Camps

Opinions    9 Comments    , , , , ,

Well, I mighta sorta lied (again) about not writing about topics on the national level.  But I felt moved after I posted something on The (UNOFFICIAL) Outdoor Journey Idea Facebook Page regarding how covid-19 has created a crisis in Girl Scouting and what this possibly means for camps.

Advantage Emblem patch

I’ll basically rehash what I said but go into a little more detail.  Covid-19 has created a catastrophic membership crisis in Girl Scouting in case you’re not aware of this fact.  Many troops are on life support due to being Zoomed out.  Some councils still do not allow in-person meetings, and after spending all day in virtual school, the last thing girls want to do is sit in front of yet another virtual meeting for another hour.  Leaders by and large do not like hosting meetings on Zoom.  Like I said in my last blog post, a few troops in my service unit folded because the leaders didn’t want to deal with the hassle on top of trying to manage the stressors of life in this day and age.  And for the troops that are allowed to meet in-person, some parents don’t feel comfortable with this arrangement, so they’ve pulled their girls.  Continue reading

November 15 2020

Before There Were Virtual Troops…

Traditional Stuff    2 Comments    ,

Since the pandemic started, many troops have met via Zoom or some other conference software.  Over the summer, I served as the admin for one of our council-wide virtual troops.  Additionally, I led a few meetings in the spring with our own troop.  With our new council-wide Trailblazer troop this year, we have one meeting via Zoom and one in-person activity a month.  I have to be honest – virtual meetings are not my favorite thing to do, and I haven’t met any leaders who really enjoy it.  In fact, we had some troops fold in our service unit because they don’t see the point in continuing if it’s going to be this difficult.  It’s a discouraging situation all around really.  We’ll muddle through it and then hopefully rebuild at some point.

But it turns out that there’s been other times in Girl Scouting’s history where girls had meetings that weren’t held in-person.  I happened across this story while researching Lone Girl Scouts thanks to the help of Ernie A. and the Girl Scout Collector’s Guide on pg. 90.  Continue reading

November 9 2020

Letting It Run Its Course

National Governance, Opinions    3 Comments    , ,

I just wanted to drop a short note to let you all know that I will be taking a sabbatical of sorts here on GSWAC (Not a Council).  I might post things from time to time, but I don’t really see me writing any sort of editorial on a national scale for a while.  There’s really nothing left for me to say as I’ve been saying it over and over for the past five years now.

A friend of mine once said that making changes at GSUSA is like turning an ocean liner.  It’s a slow process in order to get it headed in a different direction.  But recently I feel like I got pushed off the boat, sucked under, and chopped up in the propellers.  Continue reading

October 31 2020

A Message From the Founder of Girl Scouts

Traditional Stuff    2 Comments    ,

Happy Halloween and more importantly, Happy Founder’s Day!  This is a message from J-Low from the October 1923 edition of The American Girl:

My dear Girl Scouts:

My message to you today must be a very personal one because it concerns the day of my birth.  So setting modesty aside, I must talk a great deal about myself.

When one thinks of the 31st of October, one associates the day with All Hallow-éen when fairies, imps, and witches fly about.  And on that night I made my first appearance in the world!

Long before I was born, lads and lassies of ancient times celebrated the night by testing their fortunes bobbing for apples, and playing many a joke on the credulous person.  Little did I dream when I, myself, was young and tried these Hallow-éen pranks that I should live to see that day turned into a Girl Scout Founder’s Day.  So you will understand what a thrill of gratitude comes over me.

One’s birthday should be the day for good resolutions.  And there is a suggestion by Arnold Bennett which may be of use to you as it has helped me.  He calls it an aid and says, “The deliberate cultivation of the gift of putting yourself in another’s place is the beginning of wisdom in human relations.”  To put yourself in another’s place requires real imagination, but by so doing each Girl Scout will be able to live among others happily.

 

 

 

October 27 2020

2020 NCS Wrap-Up Brought to You by Generation X

National Governance    3 Comments    , , , ,

Here’s your 2020 National Council Session wrap-up by yours truly.  This will be a full blown Generation X (of which I am a proud member of) exercise in cynicism, questioning authority, and sarcasm.  And some bitterness thrown in.  You’ve been warned.  I have to get it out of my system though so that I can move on.

Unless there’s some crazy reason for it, this will be the last post about the 2020 NCS.  I might make references, but there will be no more dedicated to it.  THANK GOD.

Now you have this song in your head.

First, here are a few titles I thought we could have used for themes:

  • 2020 NCS: Brought to You by the Volunteer Toolkit
  • 2020 NCS: Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here
  • 2020 NCS: Sloth Edition
  • 2020 NCS: The Never Ending Story
  • 2020 NCS: Resource Team? Are you there?
  • 2020 NCS: Stand at Ease
  • 2020 NCS: Revenge of the Interruption Mic

Continue reading

October 26 2020

GSUSA ‘Tis a Remorseless Eating Machine

National Governance, National Operations, Opinions    7 Comments    , , , , , ,

Well, I thought I was going to take a break from the blog for a little while, but I now feel like I need to write some more to help me sort through things.  The frustration of this past National Council Session made a lot of personal feelings come to the surface, and I now want to speak out about them.  Over these past two years, I saw a parallel to what I experienced as a council delegate, so maybe this is why all of this is bubbling up.

I built the framework of GirlScoutGovernance.com behind the scenes after receiving a scathing censure letter from our council’s board of directors back in the summer of 2018.  At that point, I gave up on trying to make a difference in our council on the governance level.  In addition to questioning what was going on, I had also tried to educate fellow volunteers and delegates about governance, and I feel like I failed miserably.  It was obvious that the deck was stacked against me.  I still tried my best on the troop and service unit level, but I realized at that point I was dead in the water when it came to council governance.  Even after retreating, the harassment intensified until I resigned as a delegate and National Delegate in January of 2019.  It was an extremely difficult decision because I felt like I was “giving up,” but it turned out to be the best one because it lifted a huge weight off of my shoulders, and I could then freely write on my blog again and work on GSG out in the open. Continue reading

October 22 2020

I Lied – One More 2020 NCS Post: Nomination Off the Floor

National Governance    1 Comment    , ,

Last minute news!  Cheryl Waybright will be a nomination from the floor running as a National Board Member at Large.  Here’s the scoop from GSG:

Members-at-Large

Cheryl Waybright | Atlanta, Georgia

Born in Virginia, lifetime Girl Scout member Cheryl Waybright earned her First Class (now known as the Gold Award) in May 1980 while a Girl Scout in the Nation’s Capital Council.  She became a volunteer member and troop leader in the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta Council in 2009 and has been active ever since.

Cheryl currently serves as her daughter’s troop leader. She has  been a Service Unit Director and Council Trainer and  is currently the Secretary of the Atlanta Area Trefoil Guild, one of the first organized in the United States.

Cheryl is a devoted Hokie, and the Virginia Tech motto “Ut Prosim” serves as her mantra. She leverages “That I May Serve” as she leads others to be servant leaders in the many volunteer roles she has held for multiple organizations.  Her passion rests firmly in ensuring good governance that is honest and fair because she believes good governance elevates member-centric organizations such as Girl Scouts to greatness.
 Continue reading

October 21 2020

Buckle Up – It’s Gonna Be a Bumpy Ride

National Governance, Opinions    1 Comment    , , , , , ,

Proof that all 1500 of them were ready to go.

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.  Continue reading

October 16 2020

2020 NCS: Proposal 4 Cannot Come First

National Governance    No Comments    , , ,

Did you know that in addition to amending the Standing Rules, you can also amend the agenda to reorder proposals?  Yes, you can!

There’s talk out there that there may be an attempt to hear Proposal 4 (Membership Dues Increase Restriction) first.  You don’t want to do that, and here’s why:

There’s an order to this!

Proposal 4 is an amendment to the Credentials section of the Blue Book.  Proposal 2 is a Constitutional amendment.  The language in the Credentials section cannot override the Constitution.  The only thing that can override the Constitution is the Congressional Charter, and only Congress can amend it.

So let’s say Proposal 4 is heard first and there’s all sorts of discussion and time spent on it and it passes.  Then when Proposal 2 comes around, it’s very possible that its result will render Proposal 4’s result void.

Do what now?  How can Proposal 2 void Proposal 4 if 4 passes first?  Well, if Proposal 2 is amended to state that the National Council is the ONLY one with authority over membership dues in the Constitution, then it doesn’t matter what’s in the Credentials section.   The Constitution supersedes the Credentials.  So why waste all of that time and energy on Proposal 4 when there’s a real chance it could be all for naught?  Proposal 2 needs to be decided upon first.  Continue reading