August 14 2022

Wherefore Art Thou, Journeys?

National Operations    12 Comments    , , , ,

If you were around between 2008 and 2011 when the new national program called the Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE) rolled out, you’ll know that a new type of content called Journeys was considered the new backbone of it.  Badges, the staple of Girl Scouting throughout its history, took a back seat. Some might even say that Journeys were shoved down everybody’s throat. It took a while, but I think GSUSA reluctantly realized that you can lead a volunteer to a Journey, but you can’t make them do it. So through the years, some changes were quietly made.

All this time, I was under the impression that our national programming was still Journey-driven, but after writing my Tough Cookies Revisited paper, I realized this wasn’t the case. I think it’s OFFICIAL that we’ve moved back to a badge-centric national program. It seems obvious now, but I guess it just didn’t click with me until recently because Journeys were so heavily pushed when I began as a volunteer, and it stuck with me. They’re still required for the higher awards, but there’s not an emphasis on them like there used to be. The following is a rundown of the Journeys’ journey through the years and how they’ve faded into the background. Continue reading

July 29 2022

Online Smithsonian Collection and Archive List

Traditional Stuff    2 Comments    , ,

It’s listed as a uniform belt but the image meta says it’s a hat.

If you’re like me, you love browsing through Girl Scout history. The Smithsonian has catalogued its Girl Scout items online and many of them include pictures!  Here’s a link that will take you straight to its items, and I’ve narrowed it down further to only show items with pictures.  Some of my thoughts:

  • Many of the items are identified incorrectly (like labeling badges as patches and mixing up BSA and GG items for GSUSA), but they’re still fun to look at.
  • You can stop at about page 11 because a bunch of non-Girl Scout items show up at that point.  There might be a few things scattered after that, but I didn’t go much further.
  • It’s always a little disconcerting when you see things that you wore growing up labeled as vintage and historical.
  • I am not sure why this Girl Scout Glove Make-Up Kit got my attention, but I need to research it in the GS Catalog website to find out what exactly it is.
  • Alas, no OFFICIAL scarves were featured. If you want to see a display of them, check this out!

Continue reading

July 14 2022

GSG Survey about NCS Proposals

National Governance    No Comments    , ,

I’m cross-posting this here to get the word out. Please send this out far and wide!

YOUR voice is IMPORTANT as a part of the MEMBERSHIP of the Movement! GirlScoutGovernance.com is hosting a survey to hear what the membership has to say about potential 2023 National Council Session (NCS) proposals that were submitted to the National Board by councils for consideration of placement on the NCS agenda. Please share this survey with your National Delegates, service units, other volunteers, Girl Scout Seniors or Ambassadors, and staff so that the membership’s voice can be heard. Voting ends August 31, 2022. Results will be posted in early September on GSG and submitted to the Office of the National Board before the National Board meeting in late September.

Addendum 9/12/22: Results can be found published on GSG. Continue reading

June 20 2022

Lawsuits and NCS Proposals Join Forces

National Governance    No Comments    , , , , , , , , , , ,

I haven’t written all that much about the Middle Tennessee lawsuit other than one post last year and then a blurb back in March. From what I can tell, attorneys are still playing ping pong, and discovery is ongoing. I read online somewhere that the case would be heard in 2023, but I can’t find that reference now.

But recently, the Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana council submitted a proposal for consideration for the 2023 National Council Session agenda, and it’s related to the Middle Tennessee case. It involves an amendment to the GSUSA Constitution and the Credentials section in the Blue Book of Basic Documents. Continue reading

June 14 2022

A Spooky Governance Story

Random Things That Don't Fit Anywhere Else Kinda Like Me    1 Comment    , , , , ,

<<Spotlight on a group of Girl Scouts sitting around a campfire that’s starting to burn down to embers>>

Leader: It’s STORYTIME! But this story might get kind of scary, so prepare yourselves!  <<holds flashlight under chin>>

Girl 1: Ooh, I love scary stories!

Girl 2: I dunno about this. <<looks around tentatively>>

Leader: It’s okay. It’s an educational scary story. It’s about what happens when council leadership doesn’t use the DEMOCRATIC PROCESS when making major decisions! Continue reading

June 1 2022

Trailblazers – The Second Year

Experiences as a Leader, Hikes & Outdoors    No Comments    , , , , ,

Well, another year has passed, and we’re about to hit summer now. Last summer was a weird one. I was in a boot for a few weeks due to wearing shoes that didn’t have enough support at the beach which caused me to eventually develop a Morton’s Neuroma or something along those lines. It still bothers me from time to time, but I just ignore it and move on. It was also the Summer of *NSYNC. What will this summer bring?

Anyway, I just wanted to pull together a recap of the second year of our Trailblazer troop. It was a very different experience than our first year, so we’re still finding our way. So how was it different?  Continue reading

April 27 2022

I Wrote a Sternly Worded Letter

National Governance, National Operations    6 Comments    , , , , , ,

Yesterday, I opened my mailbox to find a letter from GSUSA Headquarters! I thought at first that it was the long-expected Cease and Desist, but then I spotted the words “Invest in Girl Scouts. Change the World” on the front, and I realized it was a solicitation for donations.  A business reply envelope was included.  I decided then that this would be a good opportunity to send a sternly worded letter up to NYC. I’ve tried to communicate my message via this blog and email, so why not snail mail?  Maybe I’ll attempt sky writing next.  I realize this letter will probably go no further than the intern who opens up the envelope, but perhaps they’ll enjoy it at the very least.

Notice that I didn’t write a strongly worded letter but a sternly one.  There is a difference.  Sternly isn’t quite as high on the nuclear scale.

Here’s my letter.  If you’re a regular reader of my blog, there’s nothing new in it other than some legal dollar amounts. Continue reading

April 18 2022

The Emphasis on Network Alignment

National Governance, Opinions    2 Comments    , , , , , , , ,

When I first started writing the Tough Cookies Revisited paper, it originally contained much more integrated commentary throughout the text. I eventually decided to go a more formal route and instead presented an objective timeline and survey results with a small section dedicated to my personal thoughts at the end. So now that a few months have passed since I published it, I wanted to flesh out a couple of topics.  Because you know, forty pages wasn’t long enough to explore everything. 😉

If you haven’t read the paper yet, you may want to in order to give this post a little more context. But I know not everybody is down with reading a forty page paper, so I’ll try to summarize things as I go.

The Core Business Strategy was a plan to completely overhaul and redefine Girl Scouting from top to bottom and included parts such as council mergers, a streamline of governance, a new volunteer onboarding and support system, and a major shift in the national programming model. Its development began in 2004 with implementation starting soon after that. Changes happened quickly. Continue reading