Early Bird Registration and Incentives

Early Bird registration begins on 4/2/18 and ends on 6/15/18.  There are incentives for both the individual troops and the service unit if you are able to do early bird registration.  Please find the flyer detailing the incentives here.

Congratulations to the NR Service Unit and individual leaders!

The North Reading Service Unit was nominated and will receive the President's Award at the Annual GSEM Awards Ceremony on April 28th.  Please see the letter of recognition here.  Also Ruth Kennedy and Joanne Gibson will be receiving the Appreciation Pin for their dedication and service above and beyond to not only their troops but also for all they've done on the Service Team over the years.

Leader Meeting Minutes 3/19/18

North Reading Girl Scouts

Leader Meeting – March 19, 2018

Minutes of the Meeting

Meeting Started at 7:40 p.m.

Leaders/Volunteers in Attendance:

Debbie Nearing, Service Unit Coordinator and Troop 73891; Kerri Antonuccio, SU Membership Promotor and Troop 62803; Amy Kelly, SU Treasurer and Troops 71901 and 62804; Anne Valade, Fall Product Manager; Joanne Gibson, Cookie Manager, Hood School Coordinator and Troops 69175 and 62548; Amber O’Driscoll, Batch School Coordinator and Troop 76211; Denise Kung, Interim Recording Secretary and Assistant Fall Products Coordinator and Troop 62798; Rebecca Lowe, Troop 62550; Laura Cherwek, Troop 82417; Ruth Kennedy, Troop 73899.

WELCOME:

Debbie led us in the Opening Flag Ceremony and the Promise and welcomed the Leaders.

COOKIE UPDATES:

Cookies update from Jo – Still a few troops who have leftover cookies. Jo is writing thank you cards to local businesses who allowed troops to sell cookies. If you sold at a local biz, please send Jo some examples of what you are doing with your cookie money.  Recognitions should arrive by the start of May, once they are sorted and they can be picked up at the next meeting or at Jo’s house.  Amy reimbursed Leaders who brought Thanks cookies for SU to purchase.

Debbie gave cookie update from Regional Delegate Meeting – cookie sales are up 2.7%, online sales were much higher with ABC (16,891 cases!) this year versus 259 cases last year online!! Lord and Taylors will allow girls to sell cookies on March 24^th and they are calling it GS Day (check your local store).

Jo is looking for ideas of local businesses she can ask to allow us to sell cookies next year. GSEM told Debbie Dunkin Donuts has a contract with them as well as Walgreens.  DD now offers flavored coffee with 3 varieties of cookies: Thin Mints, PB Sandwich and Carmel Delights. DD purchased $50,000 of cookies from GSEM this year!

GIRL SCOUT LIFETIME REGISTRATION:

Debbie – NEW from GS: lifetime membership dues discount will be added for Gold Awardees not just graduates. – Debbie checking to see if there is a cap for number of years passed.

GIRL SCOUT SUNDAY PATCHES:

Debbie has GS Sunday patches still available.

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION UPDATES:

Kerri – early bird registration beings April 2^nd.  Between 4/2 and 6/15 you get incentives! Families by 4/15 get $5 coupon for GS Store, by May 25 for troops get $50 program credit for up to 12 girls and $75 for more than 12, Service units get $300 for 50%, $400 for 65% and $500 for 75%.  Debbie will include a detailed incentive sheet in the Monday email.

Early Bird Recruitment campaign – Amber had an idea to create a flyer to give out to preschools (to recruit Daisy girls) – Kerri checking dates for a recruitment event

MEMORIAL DAY PARADE:

Memorial Day Parade – Rebecca brought a banner to show to the other leaders and we discussed ideas on how to make a banner for a new troop.  Check out the information about the length of the banner. If too long, girls will trip carrying it in the parade.  Banners also used for Fly Up Ceremony as well as parade.  Discussion on whether you use the same banner each level or create a new one.

FATHER DAUGHTER SPORTS DAY:

Father Daughter Sports Day – trying to secure the gym at the HS again, Amber and Karianne working on this. The event would be for Daisies and Brownies (maybe for Juniors). Turnout was good last year.  Amber working on securing a date for the HS gym.

TOWN WIDE FLY UP CEREMONY:

Amy requested June 20^th for June Fly Up ceremony (for 1^st, 3^rd, 5^th, 8^th, 10^th, and 12^th grade). She thinks the time will be 6-8pm.  Amy awaiting to hear back from St. Theresa’s as to the date.

BLOG MANAGER POSITION OPEN:

We need to find someone to do the blog, Melissa Audier is stepping down after this year.  Amy suggested maybe a HS girl scout would be a good fit if trained as to what we need.

SUMMER CAMP AT GSEM:

Summer camp with GSEM – financial aid IS available. Check Camp Program guide mailed out or go online.  Space still available. Girls do not have to be registered in a troop to attend camp!

GSEM AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS:

Congrats to Jo Gibson and Ruth Kennedy who were nominated by their peers and will be awarded for outstanding service above and beyond the troop as part of the Service Team! They will receive an appreciation pin at the Sheraton Hotel in Framingham on Sat April 28^th from 11-3pm. Anyone can attend, the cost is $25, and you just must log on to www.gsema.org and register.  Please contact Debbie to carpool.

Debbie surprised and congratulated the Service Team when she announced that she nominated the entire NR Service Team for outstanding volunteerism and really working and pulling together as a team and meeting goals in a difficult year. Thank you to Ruth Kennedy and Lisa Coroa-Bockley who endorsed the nomination and sent in very detailed and thoughtful letters.  Kim Lambert from Council also endorsed the nomination. The Awards and Recognition Committee and GSEM Board both approved the nomination for North Reading’s Service Unit, and we will be recognized at the Volunteer Recognition Luncheon on April 28^th.  Please let Debbie know if you want to attend.  We can take 4 ST members free since Debbie and Anne are already free and Jo is already attending with a ticket.

ARBOR DAY AND PLANTINGS:

Ruth will be sending out information about GS Planting Day @ Veterans Memorial Park. Arbor Day celebration will be Friday April 27^th at 6pm – plant a tree at Ipswich River Park to celebrate Arbor Day. Meet at the gazebo and walk over to the planting area.  Contact Ruth Kennedy at ruthekennedy@gmail.com for information.

Meeting Ended at 8:45 pm

Minutes taken by Denise Kung

Reviewed and Edited by Debbie Nearing

April Vacation Brownie camping

New Session of Brownie Camping: April 14-15 at Camp Cedar Hill

Due to weather and rescheduling, we have a new session of Brownie Camping open the weekend of April 14^th. Experience overnight cabin camping for the first time! During the day, explore crafts, games, nature activities and more. At dusk, enjoy songs and s'mores around the campfire. Troops bring their own food supplies to cook in the kitchen or over a campfire. A minimum of two volunteers is required. Badge included. *Volunteer supervision required.

·       Additional volunteer training required: One First Aid-certified volunteer and one volunteer who has completed Troop Camping Skills-Lodge.

·      Register here: http://www.gsema.org/en/events-repository/2017/brownie-camping.html

     Please direct questions to Kimberly Connon at kconnon@gsema.org.

Reading Girl Scouts Celebrates 100 Years on March 10th

Girls first registered to be Girl Scouts in Reading, Massachusetts in 1918, only six years after the national organization was founded in Savannah, Georgia. To mark this milestone, an all-day celebration will take place on Saturday, March 10, 2018 (snow date March 11) from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm at Camp Rice Moody located on Rice Road in Reading.

This volunteer organized event will kick-off with a pancake breakfast at 9:00 am, an annual tradition for Reading Girl Scouts for many years. A flag ceremony and visit from a re-enactor portraying Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Low will occur at 10:45 am, prior to a 12:00 pm fashion show of uniforms through the 100 years. The afternoon includes a Sing Along at 1:00 pm, a campfire with s'mores from 1:00 - 2:30 pm and a tea and birthday cake at 2:30 pm to close out the day's festivities. Occurring all day will be photo booth activities, windsock making and crafts. Items for a time capsule will be accepted all day long and the time capsule will be buried and opened at a future Girl Scout celebration.

This celebration is free of charge and open to all, thanks to many generous sponsors. Donations are welcomed, and any proceeds will benefit the Reading Girl Scout Achievement Award. All participants will receive a commemorative patch designed specifically for this 100-year celebration. Guests will also be treated to displays of historical information through the 100 years. Reading Girl Scouts had a Drum and Bugle Corp, ran their own summer camp and overnight camp and much more!

Come for the day or stop in for a specific event. Full schedule of events can be found on the Reading Girl Scout website, https://sites.google.com/site/readinggirlscouts/.

Welcome our new CEO of GSEM!

Following a six-month national search and a unanimous vote of the Board, Denise Burgess has been named to lead the council as the Chief Executive Officer for Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts. Denise is an experienced leader with strategic planning, organizational development, operations, and communications expertise. She also is a strong resource manager who builds collaborative stakeholder relationships and mobilizes groups to action. I am confident you will be as impressed with her credentials and vision for the council as the board and search committee.

Denise most recently served as a resident country director for The Carter Center, the not-for-profit organization founded by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. In this role, she led a field operation focused on monitoring elections, human rights, and mining governance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Earlier in her career, she founded an international strategic planning, communications, and marketing consultancy. She appeared as a CNN correspondent from 2002 to 2005, managing the Middle East and Asia news desk during the Iraq invasion, then delivering live reports from Baghdad during the post-conflict phase. In this role, she was nominated for "Best Feature" by the National Association of Black Journalists. For 16 years earlier in her career, she served as an American diplomat working for the U.S. Department of State - Foreign Service.

Denise earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Princeton University, and a Master of Science in Communications Management from The Newhouse School for Public Communication at Syracuse University.