By:
Lime Green Giraffe Social Media Director, Avery B.
There is no feeling like standing among a crowd of
people, everyone dressed in khaki and white, proudly showing off their vests
and sashes – all there to support and promote the strength and abilities of
girls everywhere.
I will never forget it.
Every three years, Girl Scouts of
the USA (GSUSA) holds a convention, hosted by a different council. The
convention allows legislation to be voted on and goals and changes to be
presented to the Girl Scout movement as a whole. Beyond the practical side, the
convention is truly a celebration of the accomplishments and power of girls
everywhere. The convention in 2017 was the 54th Girl Scout National
Convention, held in Columbus, Ohio. It was also the first National Convention
to be planned by girls, making it the largest girl planned event in the world!
I had the unique privilege of being
one of eight girl delegates to represent Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta (GSGATL)
at the convention, meaning I had the responsibility of electing new members to
the national board and voting on proposed changes to the Girl Scouts
organization’s constitution. Our delegation also had around twelve adults,
including our CEO Amy Dosik (I was definitely a little star-struck meeting her
for the first time!).
To become a delegate, I had to fill
out an application, answering questions that discussed my experience in Girl
Scouts, any leadership experiences, my ability to represent many different
points of views, and any recommendations I had for the Girl Scout movement. As
I filled out the application, I made sure to stay true to my opinions and
beliefs, even if they weren’t what a cookie-cutter answer would look like, and
I think that made a difference in the end.
After being accepted as a delegate,
there was a lot of preparation that goes into the role before ever stepping
foot at convention. GSUSA hosted four webinars to discuss the three proposals
for amendments to the Girl Scout constitution, as well as to talk about the convention
in general. GSGATL also hosted a webinar and two in-person meetings. These
meetings were especially important, as we had to ensure that as a delegation we
were well-informed and had discussed every possible angle of the proposals. Even
though I clearly don’t have much experience with legislative issues, I was
still able to bring my opinions to the table and all the adults listened and
respected what I had to say.
Another important preparation for
the convention was to make SWAPS! GSGATL recommended that each person make
around 200 SWAPS around the theme of “I Had a Dream,” since Atlanta is Martin
Luther King Jr.’s birthplace. With the help of my family, I made over 200 tiny
dream-catchers using yarn, beads, and key rings. This was definitely the most
ambitious craft project I had ever embarked on! It was well worth it when I
came home with hundreds of SWAPS from people around the country and even the
world. Girl Scouts are so creative!
As a delegation, we met at the
airport and flew to Columbus on Wednesday, October 4, giving ourselves time to
check into the hotel and rest before the Opening Ceremony that night. This
Opening Ceremony kicked off the beginning of the legislative portion of the convention,
which took up the full day Thursday. My favorite part of the Opening Ceremony
had to be the flag procession, where every country in the world involved with
Girl Scouts and Girl Guides was announced and had their flag brought up on
stage. This also did this for all 50 states plus territories under GSUSA. (We
made sure to cheer for Georgia!).
All day Thursday, starting at about
8:30 in the morning and only pausing for lunch, we debated, discussed, and
voted on the proposed amendments to the constitution as well as where the
future of Girl Scouts should go. There were five microphones spread around the
large room, two for those in favor of the amendments, two for those against,
and one for procedural questions. These procedural questions were especially
important since there was a specific order we had to vote and act in, and there
were many times when people got confused. To vote, we used electronic devices,
allowing the votes to be counted up easily. However, when we had to vote for
the board nominees, there were 26 nominees and 25 seats, meaning the voting
took quite a while. We ended up ending the day around 6:00 pm, about an hour
and a half later than planned.
Friday morning was the Closing
Ceremony for the legislative portion of the convention. The highlight of this ceremony,
for me at least, had to be the honoring of the Young Women of Distinction.
These outstanding Girl Scouts are ones that went above and beyond with their Girl
Scout Gold Award projects, taking the lead and truly making our world a better
place. As someone working on her own Girl Scout Gold Award, it was such an
inspiring moment to see girls who had done such incredible work all over the
world even while still in high school.
Of course the events after the
legislative portion were incredible. There were so many different seminars and
activities and speakers all there to motivate and empower girls, and it was so
much fun just getting to be in that environment. However, the privilege of
being a delegate representing GSGATL was the best part of the convention. I
felt like my opinion mattered, and I felt so united with my Girl Scout sisters.
Being a delegate gave me the opportunity to meet lots of people from many
different councils across the country and learn about and share different
thoughts and opinions.
I would definitely recommend going
to a Girl Scout National Convention, especially as a delegate. There is nothing
like it, and it’s such an incredible opportunity to gain real life experience
about how organizations such as Girl Scouts is run, as well as learn how to
represent your own opinions while respecting the views of others.
The next GS National Convention will
be in 2020 in Orlando, Florida. I know that I’ll be making it a priority to go,
and I hope to see you there!
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