Dear Girl Scouts of Erie Shores Supporters and Volunteers,

In late August, the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A.’s National Board of Directors voted to endorse a major realignment of 310 Girl Scout councils throughout the United States into 109 high-performance, community-based councils.

GSUSA’s National Board of Directors also voted to endorse the proposed Leadership Development Program Model in order to make Girl Scouting more compelling, relevant and impact-driven for 21st-century girls.

Our regional realignment begins in October, 2006. GSUSA will begin to phase in the leadership development program changes in the fall of 2008.

These changes are occurring because girls asked for a leadership experience that was personalized in a way that’s fun and relevant to their lives. Historically, the Girl Scouts know that when girls suggest a change, they’re usually right. After all, when Juliette Low announced her idea to start an exciting new program for girls based on the Girl Guides in England, American girls asked her to change the name to Girl Scouts to better reflect how they thought of themselves. Juliette embraced their suggestion.

Following in the footsteps of our founder, The Girl Scouts of Erie Shores Board of Directors is embracing our changes, and our challenges. Know that we remain committed to ensuring community presence, local trainings and programs for our girls and our volunteers. Refer to the Beacon and the web site for information as, together, we move through this process.

Sincerely,
Marty Kelly
CEO, Girl Scouts of Erie Shores

Beth Frank
President, Girl Scouts of
Erie Shores Board of Directors