Core Strategy | Realignment
10 Council Groups Step Forward as Early Adopters
Valuable Training Delivered at Virginia Beach Session

More than anything, the Early Adopters Training Session held in Virginia Beach in May demonstrated the working partnership between GSUSA and councils. The training brought together more than 100 people -- members of nearly all the Early Adopter groups, as well as GSUSA staff and National Operational Volunteers.

Initially seven council groups, representing 25 councils, became the first early adopters of the Core Business Strategy's Realignment process. Three additional council groups stepped forward at the CEOs and Board Chairs Work Session earlier this year in Orlando, Fla., bringing the total early adopters to 10, representing 37 councils. Representatives of 36 of those councils were present at the training.

Each council has its own reasons for joining in on early adopton of Realignment. For some, it just made sense. Central Indiana for example, faces the job of hosting the next Girl Scout Convention -- in Indianapolis in 2008 -- so councils there wanted to be done with realignment as soon as possible. For Connecticut, realignment had been talked about for so long that the decision to move ahead was simple.

In Virginia Beach, Early Adopters learned more about realignment and the tools and support available to them from GSUSA.

"This session was a presentation of new ways of looking at how we're going to function in the future -- new ways of distributing helpful tools," said Kate Genaitis, a GSUSA Council Consultant in Realignment and a more than 50-year veteran of Girl Scouts. "It wasn't saying how all of these things should look or be, but here's new information, new framework, new lenses to use as you go forward creating this new entity."

For the most part, the mood was upbeat. There was a feeling, Genaitis said, that "this is going to be such an exciting new council to be a part of. You'll have more opportunity to enjoy the work of this new council -- to take part in a much more meaningful way."

But the mood was also intense, and with good reason. "There was a tremendous amount of information," Genaitis said. "One of the best messages in a way was that they [the realigning councils] could do this quicker than they thought."

To help move realignment forward, a key resource available to Early Adopters is pro bono legal help from the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, which provides counsel to some of the world's largest multinational corporations. Pro bono services can include advising on state law related to mergers, drafting merger documents, providing advice from a legal perspective regarding required board and member approvals, and reviewing contracts for possible third-party approvals. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher will also offer an extranet of realignment resources and FAQs that will be available to all councils. So far, nine of the 10 early adopter groups plan to use the firm’s pro bono services.

As more councils follow in the footsteps of the Early Adopters, meetings like the one in Virginia Beach will be held on a regional basis to support all councils as they begin the critical process of realignment.

The Early Adopter council groups are listed below as New Council 1, New Council 2, etc. No special meaning should be attributed to the definition of the area or the order of the listing.

New Council 1: Connecticut – 5 Councils
Connecticut Trails, Connecticut Valley, Housatonic, Northwestern Connecticut, Southwestern Connecticut

New Council 2: Eastern New York – 4 Councils
Adirondack, Hudson Valley, Mohawk Pathways, North Country

New Council 3: Eastern Pennsylvania – 3 Councils
Freedom Valley, Great Valley, Southeastern Pennsylvania

New Council 4: Central Pennsylvania – 4 Councils
Hemlock, Penn Laurel, Penns Woods, Scranton Pocono

New Council 5: Eastern South Carolina – 2 Councils
Carolina Low Country, Pee Dee Area

New Council 6: Western South Carolina – 3 Councils
Congaree, Old 96, Piedmont Area

New Council 7: Eastern Iowa/Western Illinois – 4 Councils
Conestoga, Little Cloud, Mississippi Valley, Shining Trails

New Council 8: Maine – 2 Councils
Abnaki, Kennebec

New Council 9: Lower Hudson Valley – 5 Councils
Dutchess County, Rockland County, Westchester Putnam, Sarah Wells, Ulster County

New Council 10: Central Indiana – 5 Councils
Hoosier Capital, Sycamore, Treaty Line, Wapehani, Tribal Trails