On the heels of its latest endeavor CircleAround™, Girl Scouts of the USA announced today the launch of CircleMeow™, a media brand and online destination targeted to meet the needs of today’s cat owners. CircleMeow™ is a operated by GS Mew-dia, a wholly owned subsidiary spun off by GSUSA just the other day. Continue reading

Nerd Alert! A Virtual Parliamentary Procedure Reality?

National Governance, Opinions 12 Comments 2017 NCS, 2020 NCS, democratic process, governance, gsusa, national board, national convention, national council, national delegate, roberts rules, samona

It’s the summer, and I get bored. Idle hands are the devil’s workshop and all that. So I thought, what’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now? I’ve been considering becoming a certified parliamentarian for the past few years. Samona says I’d be good at it. At least I think she said that. But who knows – it could lead to some sort of side job! Last year, I did look into how to become certified and even took a practice test, but maybe this is a good time to revisit it.

Yeah, I know it wouldn’t look this way, but that’d be kinda cool.

So while I was gathering up study materials, I thought back to the reasoning given by the National Board denying two potential proposals allowing for electronic NCS meetings submitted by councils for the 2020 NCS. The rationale was based on the opinions of two parliamentarians that GSUSA hired and can be found in a National Board memo released at the same time as the Early Alert back in February. You can read the board’s response in this previous blog post where I thought the NCS would be postponed.

I’m not sure what made the National Board do a 180 and decide it’s now possible to have the NCS virtually, but the questions it raised in its denial still have to be answered. I still wonder about the legality of the decision, but that’s another discussion entirely. Regardless, I would really like to know how parliamentary procedure will be pulled off in a fair and correct manner. Continue reading

June 3 2020

NEW! Adult Achievement Patches

Random Things That Don't Fit Anywhere Else Kinda Like Me 11 Comments gsusa, patches, strongly worded letter, volunteers

So about this time last year, GSUSA debuted…

THE OFFICIAL ADULT VEST!

There was much rejoicing! And much grousing about the fit and the collar, but I digress. Continue reading

May 29 2020

A Rabbit Hole, a NCS Workbook, and a Membership Dues Timeline Rebuttal

National Governance, Opinions No Comments 2017 NCS, 2020 NCS, democratic process, farthest north council, governance, gsusa, membership dues, national board, national council, national delegate

This blog post is an accompaniment to The 2020 NCS: Proposals 2 through 4 – I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do) and covers the timeline about membership dues that is presented in the 2020 National Council Session Early Alert and the 55th NCS Delegate Workbook. It doesn’t matter what order you read them in, but I do suggest you read both at some point.

Also, I would like to state for the record that I DO NOT represent my council’s views or delegation. I am not a National Delegate. I am speaking only for myself and expressing my own personal views.

“Curiouser and curiouser!” cried Alice.

May 29 2020

The 2020 NCS: Proposals 2 through 4 – I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)

National Governance, Opinions 6 Comments 2017 NCS, 2020 NCS, councils, democratic process, farthest north council, governance, gsusa, membership dues, national board, national council, national delegate, volunteers

Before I begin, I would like to state for the record that I DO NOT represent my council’s views or delegation. I am not a National Delegate. I am speaking only for myself and expressing my own personal views. And even if you’re not a National Delegate, you might find this blog post informative as this membership dues issue hits everybody in the wallet!

Also, this debate is NOT about the current amount of membership dues. I, too, believe $25 is a great deal. But this is about WHO has authority over membership dues in the future.

Addendum 7/24/20: Want to see this blog post in webinar format?

The 2020 National Council Session (NCS) is coming up later this year, and as expected, authority over membership dues is at the forefront with a total of not one, not two, but THREE proposals about it! And there’s a fourth proposal about lifetime dues as the cherry on top. This drama has been playing out since 2008, and finally (hopefully!) – it’s being settled where it should have been heard in the first place – and that’s the National Council Session. When it comes to all of this, I believe it’s especially important to know the background to what’s gone on the past 12 years because there’s more than meets the eye at first glance. There’s another blog post that goes hand in hand with this one called A Rabbit Hole, a NCS Workbook, and a Membership Dues Timeline Rebuttal, and it’s a response to the timeline GSUSA and the National Board present in the NCS Early Alert (EA) and the NCS Delegate Workbook (WB). I don’t think it matters which one you read first as long as you read both of them at some point. Continue reading

May 16 2020

Governance, Grassroots, and GSG

Delegate Duties, National Governance No Comments delegate, democratic process, governance, gsg, national council, national delegate

GirlScoutGovernance.com

This is just a quick hit (plus further commentary, of course) to let you know there are now two new tutorials on the GirlScoutGovernance.com (GSG) website: the National Delegate and Council Delegate primers.

The National Delegate Primer features articles that cover the basics when it comes to the National Council Session and what you need to know as a National Delegate. Some councils offer very little in the way of National Delegate orientation, so perhaps this will fill in those gaps. And even if your council offers superb training, you’ll still benefit from reading the articles. They were written by volunteers who have served as National Delegates at some point or another, so they’re going to have a unique perspective that you’re not going to get in a council orientation.

The Council Delegate Primer covers more of an overview of general concepts since governance systems vary by council. It includes information about topics such as governance documents, how to read council finances, and council governance players, just to name a few. Unfortunately, some councils’ leadership do not view their delegates as an integral part of the council and orientation is lacking – if there’s any at all. So like with the National Delegate primer, perhaps this will help those out there who really need it and serve as an additional resource for everyone. Originally I started a section on this blog called Delegate Duties that I had planned on building up as the years went on, but it’s found a home on GSG and does a much more thorough job there than I could have done here. I will eventually add a link to the corresponding GSG article at the top of those blog posts indicating where readers can find a better version. Continue reading

May 8 2020

Ten Years Gone

Experiences as a Leader No Comments ann robertson, gsusa, leader issues, outdoors, seniors, trailblazers, troop 2562

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.

April 23 2020

G.I.R.L. 2020 is a N.O.G.O.

Random Things That Don't Fit Anywhere Else Kinda Like Me 9 Comments eeyore, make new friends but keep the old, membership dues, national convention, national council

If you haven’t heard the very disappointing news yet, G.I.R.L. 2020 has been cancelled. It will not be rescheduled. The National Council Session is going to be held virtually. You can read more about the decision at the OFFICIAL G.I.R.L. 2020 page.

Not long ago, I wrote a blog post as to why I didn’t think the NCS could be held electronically. So much for that. Maybe there is a time crunch due to the nature of the membership dues proposals, and postponing the meeting would have been an issue. I don’t know. I also have no idea how virtual meetings work, but I hope there is some sort of option to allow non-delegates to watch the proceedings. So much will be lost by not having the NCS in-person, so I hope at the very least we can figure out a way to allow the membership the opportunity to see it. Continue reading

April 9 2020

The Yellowstone Trip: Three Years in the Making (Part Two)

Experiences as a Leader No Comments cheryl, seniors, trips, troop 2562, yellowstone

This is Part Two in a most likely five part series. Be sure to read Part One to catch the beginning!

After a night at the Roosevelt Cabins, we got up and ate the breakfast food we bought at Walmart on our way into Yellowstone the day before. We picked up non-refrigerated items such as muffins, pre-cooked bacon, breakfast bars, and the like for breakfast for the week along with packets of tuna and chicken, bread, and other lunch items that we could pack to take with us while we were out. Our plan was to have a nice dinner and have the freedom to splurge for treats (more about that later!). We ended up saving a lot more money than we thought we would by doing this.

Everyone found out that I was NOT a morning person on this trip. We first started the day driving out to the Lamar Valley to see what we could check out animal-wise. It didn’t disappoint!

April 4 2020

Electronic Musings

National Governance 3 Comments 2020 NCS, blue book, democratic process, gsusa, membership dues, national board, national council, national delegate, roberts rules

Recently, my mind started wandering to what the future will hold for this October’s National Council Session and G.I.R.L. 2020. It’s anyone’s guess at this point, but GSUSA did state that at this time, it does plan on moving forward, but that there would be a reevaluation in the late spring/early summer. Fingers crossed!

But I did start to think about what would happen to the National Council Session if G.I.R.L. 2020 was canceled. It’s mandated in our Constitution that we have a triennial meeting (see Article V/Sessions of the National Council Session/§ 1), so it can’t be canceled. What would the alternatives be? I wondered if electronic meetings could be a possibility. Our Constitution doesn’t say anything about them. So I did some research and went to both Robert’s Rules and Washington D.C.’s nonprofit corporation act. From my interpretation, our Constitution is specific about having to vote “in person,” and therefore, votes taken electronically wouldn’t be valid (emphasis added): Continue reading

Girl Scout with a Cause

GSUSA Launches CircleMeow™ – Powered By Girl Scouts!