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

October 16 2020

The National Council Session in the 1950s

Traditional Stuff    No Comments    , , , ,

Last year, I was doing research using Leader Magazines looking for recap articles about past National Council Sessions.  Because you know, doesn’t everybody do that?  Anyway, I found some neat nuggets that I thought I’d share.  Here’s a NCS checklist from 1957:

Wives in the 1950s were much more on the ball than I am.  Continue reading

October 13 2020

Last GSG Town Hall Before the National Council Session

National Governance    2 Comments    ,

We’ve had three great meetings in our GirlScoutGovernance.com Town Halls – and even had some unwelcome excitement when a group of hackers broke into our last one.  We were able to regroup though and continue the conversation.  No word if it was a troop doing some Take Action projects for their Cybersecurity badges.

But we’re holding ONE more so don’t miss it!  Here’s the press release:

GirlScoutGovernance.com will be hosting one last Town Hall on Monday, Oct 19th at 8:30pm EDT! This Town Hall will give you the opportunity to share your thoughts about any of the six proposals on the agenda for the National Council Session in a reasonably open, unstructured format. It’s also your last chance to “check in” with Girl Scouts from other councils and hear their questions, concerns, and opinions prior to the actual National Council Session debates. You do not have to have attended any of the previous three Town Halls to participate.

Register here: https://forms.gle/tqetMDNbYeAc4VhW8

More information: https://www.girlscoutgovernance.com/2020-ncs/last-gsg-town-hall-before-the-national-council-session/

See you there!

October 8 2020

Trust Me

Opinions    5 Comments    , , , , , , , , , ,

Trust.  It’s a complicated thing.  And it’s an issue for our organization – at least since I’ve been around.

I’m relatively new to the adult world of Girl Scouting as I’ve just started my 11th year as a volunteer.   I started with my first year of Daisies right after the mergers and as the Journeys were launched.  The previous badges and Try-Its were retired right around that time too.  So I basically stepped right into the middle of a battlefield.  I had no knowledge of what things were like pre-merger as I had really very little contact with the Girl Scouting world between the time I completed my Gold Award in 1989 until the fall of 2010.  I am also from a different legacy council growing up, so it’s not like I even had any ties to the council I am in.

But, it became very obvious that there was a disconnect the more I worked on the service unit team and attended council town halls.  I became a council delegate about the same time as I started this blog in the spring of 2014.   I really started to delve into the national scene in 2015 when Suellen Nelles, CEO of the Farthest North council, published a white paper because I felt like it keyed in on things I had picked up on previously but didn’t know where they came from. Continue reading

October 3 2020

We Interrupt This Blog For a Brief Announcement

National Governance    No Comments    , , , , ,

Breaking:  A Request for Information and Parliamentary Inquiry are now allowed as interrupting motions during the 2020 National Council Session!  In case you missed the background story, go here!  For the new set of Standing Rules, download them here:  GSUSA-55th-NCS-Standing-Rules_Revised

True story.

I’m all about the questions.  It’s a running joke that I always come with my plethora of questions to meetings.  Once a certain someone who travels around to different councils was grilling me as to why I asked so many questions.  What was my motivation, she asked?  Our Service Unit Manager was with me and said, “Amy is just one of those people who likes to know things for the sake of knowing.”  The certain someone rolled her eyes as she often seemed to do with me for the short time she was with us.  But back to the original topic.  THANK YOU for listening.  That’s one less amendment we’ll have to sit through.  In fact, it looks like there’s no limit to any interrupting motions from what I can tell.  Continue reading

September 29 2020

Before There Were OFFICIAL Scarves….

National Governance, Random Things That Don't Fit Anywhere Else Kinda Like Me    2 Comments    , , , ,

We’re less than a month away from the 2020 National Council Session, so I thought I’d change things up and write a lighthearted entry.   If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you know that the worship of OFFICIAL scarves is a main tenet here.  The OFFICIAL Scarf Showcase! is one of my more popular posts.  I mean, who can go wrong with an OFFICIAL scarf?

I do plan on dressing up in my navy & OFFICIAL scarf for this year’s NCS even though I am not a delegate and will not be seen on camera.  Because I’m nerdy that way.  Well, I take that back about being on camera.  I plan on doing some Facebook Live videos just like I did at the 2017 NCS.  Sigh.  I am still depressed about not having it in-person this year.   2023 seems so far off and who knows what the future might bring?

But anyway, where am I going with this?  I would like to share a couple of things I’ve come across here and there regarding National Council Sessions while doing research.  If you’ve visited the OFFICIAL Scarf Showcase!, you’ll know that the OFFICIAL scarves first showed up in 1968.  But was there something before then that commanded as much serious consideration?  YES!
Continue reading

September 25 2020

Open Town Halls Hosted by GirlScoutGovernance.com

National Governance    No Comments    , ,

We’re a month out!  Please share the following with everyone you know, especially National Delegates and Alternates!

GirlScoutGovernance.com invites you to unofficial Town Halls over Zoom to discuss Proposal 2 (Constitutional Amendment on Membership Dues), Proposal 3 (Adoption of a Procedure for Communication on Dues Actions by the National Board), and Proposal 4 (Membership Dues Increase Restriction).  All are invited, but we especially encourage National Delegates and Alternates from all councils to attend.  This is an opportunity to have conversations about your thoughts and views on these proposals and also to discuss possible changes you might like to see.

We are offering three dates.  Please register via the links next to each date.

[Dates removed]

A brief agenda will be emailed to registrants prior to the meeting.  Hope to see you there!

September 21 2020

2020 NCS: No Questions Allowed?

National Governance    3 Comments    , ,

We’re a month out from the 2020 National Council Session, so things are starting to get REAL.  I’ve been using all of this to help with studying for a parliamentarian certification, and there’s a lot this year!  If you aren’t aware, I recorded a YouTube video about parliamentary procedure tailoring it specifically for the NCS.  While prepping for it, I pulled out the NCS Standing Rules and took a look at them.  I know parliamentary procedure isn’t the most exciting subject in the world, but stay with me while I go through this particular issue, because there’s something pressing I want to point out, especially if you’re a National Delegate.

So first, what are standing rules?  As opposed to governing documents, they relate to the administration of an organization’s meeting such as how delegate credentials will be handled during a session. Normally, standing rules do not deal with parliamentary procedure.  However, convention standing rules are a little bit different in that they can in addition to regular administrative rules.  You can find this year’s standing rules in the OFFICIAL Call to Meeting on pg. 3.
Continue reading

September 16 2020

A GSWAC (Not a Council) Presentation on National Governance in Girl Scouting

National Governance    No Comments    , , , , ,

I had a request of sorts to put together a presentation on an overview of our organization’s National Governance structure.  It’s not nearly as long as the previous one about NCS parliamentary procedure, and it’s just a very high level overview for those new to the subject.  I hope you find it helpful!