April 2 2018

Survey #2 Results: What Type of Troop/IGP?

Experiences as a Leader, National Operations    2 Comments    , , , , ,

It’s time for the second GSWAC (not a council) survey results to be revealed!  This survey was about getting a rough estimate of the percentage of troops that are multi-level vs. single level and also the percentage of Individual Girl Program (aka Juliettes) to see what sort of part they play since they are also a program option.

This poll was very short and straight forward and garnered a total of 826 votes.  Here’s what it asked:

  • What type of troop do you lead? Or IGP (Juliette)?
  • If you chose multi-level, you were asked how many levels are in your troop.
  • If you chose single level, you were asked what level you lead (Daisy through Ambassador).
  • If you chose IGP, then you were not asked any further questions.

These votes were taken via various Facebook groups including Girl Scout Gab, Greenblood Gab, The Outdoor Journey, and various other service unit and council groups.   It was also shared via email and on the Facebook pages Greenblood News and GSUSA Are you Listening?  I tried to steer away from groups dedicated to a specific level as I was afraid they would skew the results.

So what’s the verdict?  Drum roll, please!  Continue reading

March 21 2018

Survey #2: Types of Troops/IGP

Experiences as a Leader, National Operations    3 Comments    , , , , ,

Here’s the second installment of the newest category on the GSWAC (not a council) blog called Surveys!  These series of polls are designed to be very short and easy in order to get a quick snapshot of whatever the topic is at hand.  I was pleasantly surprised at how well the first one about the number one cause of stress for volunteers went, and I hope this one is a success too.  Continue reading

March 19 2018

Court is Now in Session

National Governance    12 Comments    , , , , , , , ,

Someone the other day in a Facebook group asked about the status of the Farthest North Council’s case versus GSUSA.  In case you’re not familiar with it, Farthest North is suing GSUSA for overstepping its bounds per our organization’s Constitution when it raised membership dues from $12 to $15 in 2013 (effective 2014) and then $15 to $25 in 2016 (effective 2017).  Well, that trial is being heard TODAY!

If you weren’t around during last summer’s blog drama and are wondering, NO, the National Council did NOT vote to give the National Board authority to raise dues at any time.   And NO, the National Council did NOT vote for the increase from $12 to $15 OR the raise from $15 to $25.  Don’t believe me?  Read through all of the proposals and the results since 2008.  While researching all of this, I was completely fascinated by the wholesale confusion about what really happened when discussion about past National Council Sessions took place.  A friend told me the other day that this is a perfect example of what’s called the Mandela Effect, or a collective false memory. Continue reading

March 13 2018

It’s Girl Scout Week!

Traditional Stuff    6 Comments    , , ,

I didn’t get to publish this on March 12th (the GS birthday if you’ve been living under a rock), but I did make it happen during Girl Scout Week!  While researching for a different topic, I came across the perfect thing to share via the Girl Scout Collector’s Guide on pages 22 – 24.  It’s called a “History of Uniforms, Insignia, Publications, and Memorabilia,” and it is meticulously researched.  I’ve got the second edition from 2005.  Continue reading

March 10 2018

Survey Results: What’s the #1 Stressor for Troop Leaders/Volunteers?

Experiences as a Leader, National Operations    1 Comment    , , , , , , , ,

Previously I wrote about a new series I’m going to start here on the GSWAC blog featuring surveys.  I’m curious about getting the pulse of the volunteer base, and it is my hope that this serves as useful to someone out there.  I plan on creating very quick surveys that can be shared easily among Facebook groups, service units, and anywhere else!  It seems like there’s a void for something like this that really tries to get to the root of issues or perceptions of volunteers.  Continue reading

March 3 2018

Survey: What’s the #1 Stressor for Troop Leaders/Volunteers?

Experiences as a Leader, National Operations    4 Comments    , , , , , , ,

I’m starting a new series here on the GSWAC blog featuring volunteer polls.  I don’t feel like GSUSA does enough to survey what’s really going on out here in Volunteer Land (or as they like to call us, the “customers”), and it sounds like councils are inconsistent in gathering data.  If they do, I never see the results.

I’ve cross-posted this in various Facebook GS groups, but please feel free to share the survey link to whomever – your service unit, other Facebook groups, friends – the more answers, the better!  Here’s the direct link (or you can answer below):  https://goo.gl/forms/uFYCIhDBYO4tZAg22

Addendum 3/11/18:  Here are the results!
Continue reading

February 11 2018

Cookie Incentives from the 80s

Reminiscing    7 Comments    , , , , , , , , , , ,

Just for fun, I thought I’d pull out some of the cookie incentives that I earned as a girl in the 80s since it’s cookie season.  Yay.  Surprisingly, they made it through my mother’s purging of junk from my room throughout the years.  All I’ve got left are stuffed animals and patches, so I’m not sure if anything else was offered.  I never made it close to getting any of the cool gifts.  Jenny and Caroline always sold enough to get a free week of summer camp at Camp WaBak.  Our council (Northeast Georgia at the time) didn’t own any camps, so we had a deal with Old 96.  I was insanely jealous, I must admit.  Continue reading