Holy National Governance, Batman!
National Governance No Comments 
2020 NCS, delegate, governance, gsg, gsusa, membership dues, national board, national convention, national council, national delegate, sylvia acevedo
Happy New Year! 2019 is here – and that means this blog will be five years old in April. We’ve come a long way, baby. I noticed one of the posts from the first month is about my first meeting as a service unit delegate. I knew absolutely nothing about governance at that time – and look at me now! There are two categories dedicated to National Governance and Delegates!
Along these same lines, I received an email from Marty Woelfel from the Kentuckiana council here recently about a new website called Girl Scout Governance that’s dedicated to our Movement’s national governance system. Here’s what she has to say about it:
I wanted to send you information about a new Girl Scout Governance website. I’ve posted links on several Facebook pages, including Girl Scout Convention Chat, Greenblood Gab, and some others–so perhaps you’ve already seen them. If you care to take a look, here is the website: www.girlscoutgovernance.com.
As you will see, we are interested in trying to slowly bend GSUSA back toward more responsiveness to the voice of members. We are very encouraged by a lot that has happened under Sylvia Acevedo, so now seems to be the time to “make permanent” the idea that GSUSA must consult with National Delegates on a regular basis. I was a national delegate twice and a national alternate twice in the period 1999-2011 (counting my full term that began in 2008), and during that entire time, I remember only once that GSUSA contacted national delegates and alternates about anything at all. In my opinion, they are really missing out on “using resources wisely.” You will see at the website that I have other ideas, too, and we are hearing now from others about things like girl representation, membership dues, and so forth.
If you’re new to the topic of national governance in Girl Scouting, you’re probably wondering what the title of this blog post means. Every three years, the Girl Scout Movement holds a meeting called the National Council Session in order to conduct business on a grand scale. The next one will be October 21st through the 25th in Orlando. I don’t know the exact dates of the Session itself within that time range, but we’ll find out closer to the date. 
Many moons ago, the 
This time last year I was up to my eyeballs in national governance and great excitement about the October 2017 G.I.R.L. National Convention! I have no idea how I juggled service unit and troop responsibilities for the new troop year on top of becoming a national delegate late in the game, how I prepped for the National Convention, and how I kept up with the blog discussion about membership dues. This year I’ve only (I say ONLY – ha ha!) had just troop and service unit responsibilities, and I’ve still been completely swamped along with my life outside of Girl Scouts going nuts. I’m squeezing this blog post in while I have a few moments to myself. Calgon, take me away!