Experiences as a Leader, National Operations 3 Comments 
strongly worded letter, vtk
Almost a year and a half ago, I would lose it when I came across bugs in the Volunteer Toolkit (VTK). I even wrote a very strongly worded blog post that got some people’s attention.
Me in August of 2020:
Opinions 7 Comments camping, camps, councils, gsg, gsusa, leader issues, outdoors, trailblazers
A little over two years ago, I raised a question to our interim CEO at the time about one of our camps. I thought maybe I could get an answer since I never got one from our previous leadership. It prompted a meeting, of course. In it, we had a general conversation about the sale of camps. Our interim CEO stated in basic terms that people only want to hold onto camps because of their fond memories from the past.
She is wrong. Continue reading
National Governance 9 Comments 2023 NCS, cei, circlearound, gsusa, judith batty, karen layng, membership dues, national board, national delegate, volunteer systems
Back in May, I wrote a blog post about GSUSA’s IT expenses called “We’re Spending HOW Much on IT?” This post serves as a follow-up, so it would really be best if you take a few minutes to read Part 1 if you haven’t already before continuing so you can see how this all fits together. I’ll wait here while you do so. It’s not that long, I promise.
<<waits for a few minutes>>
Welcome back. Continue reading
Random Things That Don't Fit Anywhere Else Kinda Like Me 1 Comment ann robertson, OFFICIAL scarf
A few months ago, many OFFICIAL scarves went on sale at the online GSUSA shop, including the “It’s How Much!?!” OFFICIAL scarf (it’s now down to $60 if you’re interested). I wondered if this meant any new ones were headed our way. The lovely Ann Robertson sent me a message last week and said she saw a new one in a council shop. So I pulled up the GSUSA store website, and lo and behold: Continue reading
Traditional Stuff 1 Comment ann robertson, history, j-low
I always make it a priority to publish something on both March 12th and October 31st, for obvious reasons. Sometimes I’ll catch the date of Juliette Low’s death, like this one from January 17, 2017. It ties into the following post. That entry included a message from the preface of the 1933 Handbook and referenced a 1924 letter. Along the way, I found the 1924 letter! It was published in an edition of American Girl that same year. Here’s the text of the letter: Continue reading
National Governance, National Operations, Random Things That Don't Fit Anywhere Else Kinda Like Me 2 Comments 2023 NCS, cei, karen layng, middle tennessee council, national board, national council, volunteer systems
<<Karen Layng, the National President of GSUSA, steps to the podium at the 2023 National Council Session in Orlando.>>
KL: Thank you, fellow National Delegates, for passing our most important work at this National Council Session which was raising membership dues by 50% and removing the 25% guardrail in the Blue Book to give the National Board and GSUSA complete control over membership dues with no boundaries. And now, we come to the next portion of the National Council Session to give you a status about something we’ve been laser-focused on this past decade, which is Network Alignment. Network Alignment forces… I mean… places all of our councils onto a common IT platform, whether it works or not. Yes, we’re bleeding money, and yes, membership is in crisis, but NETWORK ALIGNMENT!!!! And we are proud to say that we are finally ALL under alignment!
<<The National Council applauds.>> Continue reading