There are only a few days left until we leave for the National Convention, and I’m starting to kinda sorta get ready. I’ve made all of my swaps. I’m not quite to 300, but I will have three different kinds plus two limited editions. I have 97 of the OFFICIAL scarf swaps, 150 something of my cat comic swap, and 40 something of swaps from my daughter’s Destination from this past August. So catch me early if you want an OFFICIAL scarf swap and bring a good one to trade!
Disclaimer: The following is my own personal opinion and does not necessarily reflect the view of my council’s delegation. Addendum 9/26/17: To clarify, this rebuttal speaks solely to the claim that National Board has the authority to raise membership dues and does NOT speak to the amount of lifetime membership dues. In my opinion, Proposal 3 is specifically about the amount of lifetime membership dues and does not imply authority whether it passes or not.
Learn It. Love It. Live It.
This blog post is (yet) another continuation of a series about membership dues, proposals, and who has the authority to change them. It’s not really necessary to read the previous three if you haven’t already, but I highly recommend it because I might have already answered some questions, plus I go into depth as to my explanations and rationales as to why the National Board does not have the authority to raise membership dues. You can start here. But this one is a direct follow-up to the blog post called The Lifetime Membership Dues Amendment Contradiction where I stated that this year’s National Session Proposal 3 contradicts the National Board’s previous assertion. Before we begin and in case you’re just joining us, here’s a refresher: 1) The National Council DID NOT vote at any point to give authority to the National Board to raise dues, nor was there ever a proposal. 2) The National Council DID NOT vote to raise membership dues from $12 to $15 at any session. 3) The National Council DID NOT vote at any time to raise membership dues from $15 to $25. For a list of all proposals since 2008 and their results, read this blog post. Continue reading
So who caught the total solar eclipse a few weeks ago? I was lucky enough to live in the totality area, and we also had completely clear skies for it. I had been looking forward to this event for a year and a half, and it completely lived up to the hype and then some! My youngest daughter and I went to a leader friend’s house with her two girls and watched it there complete with a pinhole camera, solar glasses, white poster paper (to see the shadow bands), and even a recording of Total Eclipse of the Heart to play during the totality! We all screamed when it hit 100% like it was a big rock star! And it was! Continue reading
As I said in the last post, I recently became a national delegate alternate. The following rationale is my personal opinion and does not necessarily reflect the views of my council’s delegation.
Proposal 2 for the 2017 National Council Session is a Constitutional and Bylaws Amendment that would establish the National Board Development Committee (NBDC) as a direct committee of the National Board. Continue reading
It’s been an intense few months here on the GSWAC blog due to all of the governance posts I’ve written lately. Here are a few non-membership dues/National Council/National Board and hopefully fun quick hits:
AS SEEN ON TV
OK, I lied. Here is a governance related update. Contrary to what I posted back in June about G.I.R.L. being a no-go, things have changed and I will be attending as a national delegate alternate! So while I won’t be voting or attending any of the delegate only events, I will still get to be a part of the National Council Session as a guest and enjoy the weekend activities. No word if security has been notified yet. So look for me! I will be the one in the navy blue and wearing an OFFICIAL scarf! And yes, I will have my OFFICIAL scarf swaps with me among others – but you’d better bring your best swap in order to get one! I will only have a limited number on hand because they are very time-consuming to make. Continue reading
This page is no longer updated. You can find a summary of all NCS proposals and decisions from past years on the GirlScoutGovernance.com website.
Based on my research and personal observations over the past few months about National Council Sessions since 2008, it’s become obvious that many people’s memories are fuzzy and a lot of assumptions are being made about what passed or what they were even about. There’s a lot of “I believe” and “I think” or “I remember” out there. Even former delegates don’t even remember what they voted on. What exactly is being slipped into the food at conventions? What the heck people!
So to put it all in one place and make it easier to reference, here are the proposals and actions taken at National Council Sessions since 2008. This summary does not include secondary motion voting results. More NCS proposals and results from previous years can be found here. Continue reading
I don’t know about you, but when I hear about a “board of directors,” I get the mental image of a bunch of people in business suits sitting around a long conference table looking important. They may be on a conference call too. Probably one of those calls where it takes 10 minutes for the call to actually get started because you have to go through the usual “Who just joined us?” and “Can you hear me?” questions and the uncomfortable silence and shuffling of papers while waiting for everybody to finally get on the call. I bet it’s even got that weird background noise that nobody ever cops to but forces the call organizer to ask “Can everyone please mute your phones when you’re not speaking?” multiple times.
This week is our service unit’s annual summer camp called City Slickers, so I’ll be out of pocket for at least the rest of the week and maybe more for recovery! It comes at a good time, and I’m looking forward to getting to do what this is all about. I’ll write up something about this year’s City Slickers once I get back down to earth. Hah. I just made a funny because this year’s theme is “Look to the Sky!” It’s astronomy based to tie into into next month’s solar eclipse. We’re in an area of totality! So off to City Slickers – and beyond!
In case you’re just joining us, we’ve been studying what’s been going on with the National Board, raising membership dues, modifying the Credentials, and looking at the Lifetime Membership Proposal for the upcoming 2017 National Convention.
Before proceeding, it’s a requirement that you read these two posts first in this order if you haven’t already:
Sometimes I feel like I might be getting too cutesy with the titles of my blog posts, so I decided to stick with something that’s more to the point. But now that I’m reviewing this particular one, it reads like a title of a Big Bang Theory episode. Anyway, this is a follow-up post to the one entitled Back to the Future: About 2008 and Membership Dues. If you haven’t read it yet, stop right now and do not continue reading until you’ve read it. This one will make no sense unless you’ve got the background down pat first. Re-reading it is probably not a bad idea either. Continue reading
national convention, OFFICIAL scarf, swaps 
So who caught the total solar eclipse a few weeks ago? I was lucky enough to live in the totality area, and we also had completely clear skies for it. I had been looking forward to this event for a year and a half, and it completely lived up to the hype and then some! My youngest daughter and I went to a leader friend’s house with her two girls and watched it there complete with a pinhole camera, solar glasses, white poster paper (to see the shadow bands), and even a recording of Total Eclipse of the Heart to play during the totality! We all screamed when it hit 100% like it was a big rock star! And it was! 
Proposal 2 for the 2017 National Council Session is a Constitutional and Bylaws Amendment that would establish the National Board Development Committee (NBDC) as a direct committee of the National Board. 
I don’t know about you, but when I hear about a “board of directors,” I get the mental image of a bunch of people in business suits sitting around a long conference table looking important. They may be on a conference call too. Probably one of those calls where it takes 10 minutes for the call to actually get started because you have to go through the usual “Who just joined us?” and “Can you hear me?” questions and the uncomfortable silence and shuffling of papers while waiting for everybody to finally get on the call. I bet it’s even got that weird background noise that nobody ever cops to but forces the call organizer to ask “Can everyone please mute your phones when you’re not speaking?” multiple times.
In case you’re just joining us, we’ve been studying what’s been going on with the National Board, raising membership dues, modifying the Credentials, and looking at the Lifetime Membership Proposal for the upcoming 2017 National Convention.