Girl Scouts of Central Texas
September 2014 Council Agenda for Service Unit Directors/Membership Staff
September 2014
SU Focus: Recruitment and Registrations; New Leader Training; FOGS
 September 1 – Deadline for 2014 AMBASSADORS GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL to register for
Lifetime Membership to GSUSA: Girl Scouts graduating from high school this year (2014) may take advantage of
the discounted price of $195 for a Lifetime membership if the registration is received and receipted before
September 1st. After September 1st, the regular Lifetime membership price will go up to $375 for 2014 graduates.
 Friday, September 19 - On-time Deadline for Troops - All paper registrations must be turned into their Service Unit
by this date to be considered “On-time.” Troops are asked to turn paper forms into their Service Unit Registrar
and not directly to a GSCTX Service Center.
 September 27, 28, & 29 – Trailblazers Week-end – Note: Registration deadline: 9/11/14
 Monday, September 29 – On-time Deadline for Service Units – Online All online registrations must be complete
by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, September 29, 2014 in order for members to be considered “On Time”.
Note: After this date troop leaders cannot re-register existing troop members online.
October 2014
SU Focus: Fall Product Sale
 October 31 – Juliette Gordon Low’s birthday
 October 1 – Fall 2014 Migration from e-Council to Personify for girl program events and adult trainings.
 October 1 to 12 - Nuts go on sale
 October 1 to 31 - Magazines go on sale
 Cookie College dates range from Oct. 2nd to Oct. 28th – this is a SERVICE UNIT level training. Dates below.
 Fall Product Program
 Follow up on remaining recruitment, placement and registration
 Register independent (non-troop affiliated girls who don’t want to be placed in traditional troops)
 Ensure training of Service Unit volunteers and troop cookie coordinators
November 2014
SU Focus: Prepare for Cookie Sale
 Coordinate plans for spring activities, including day camp
 Appoint day camp director and register for training
 Remind troop leaders that the cookie credits expire in December
December 2014
SU Focus: Prepare for Cookie Sale
 December 13 - Previous program years’ cookie credits expire
 Girl Scout Dough may still be used for Membership Dues until expiration date
(Changed since the VE Conference Announcement)
 Girl Scout Dough may be used for Troop Travel or Events
 Review membership roster to assure that all girls participating in Girl Scouts are registered
 Review girl & adult membership goals and formulate a plan to reach those goals
Membership Department Staff Changes:
Katie Hall, Membership Team Lead – Area IV in Austin, has resigned effective August 26. She has accepted a position with a
social services group. Katie extends her gratitude for the leadership experience and the friendships she has acquired while
working at Girl Scouts of Central Texas.
Leah Brubaker, Membership Development Executive in Killeen, has accepted a membership position with Girl Scouts of
Greater Atlanta. This move places her close to her family. We know she will be a success in the Greater Atlanta Council.
Welcome to the GSCTX eBiz Registration Site!
Membership
And Activity
Registration
Are Now In
One Place!!
Are you excited to meet with your troop and plan for the new Girl Scout year? We are! Our
October- December girl activities and adult trainings are now open for registration on eBiz.
All you have to do is log into your account and click the Activities tab at the top of the page.
You can then sort activities to see only what applies to you. Simply search by grade level,
geographic location, activity type and date range. Have a troop meeting coming up and
want to show off the list of awesome activities to your girls? You can now print the list of
activities that you sorted right from the landing page!
Special Instructions: Browse our activities today by following this link:
http://gsusa.ebiz.uapps.net/vp/FamilyManagement/Activities/ActivityLanding.aspx
Recruitment Resources Online - Don’t forget to check out the helpful resources page to view the new “I Can’t Wait to”
Recruitment Resources at https://www.gsctx.org/forms/helpful-resources. Service Units can set up your own flyer template!
Contact your MDE for resources available to your service unit for recruitment which includes yard signs and wrist bands.
FLYERS (8.5" X 11")
Instructions: How to print Recruitment Flyer
Recruitment Flyer_ (Bilingual)
I can't wait to...Be a Girl Scout (Bilingual)
POSTERS (11" X 17")
Recruitment Poster for Girls
Recruitment Poster for Girls (Bilingual)
New and Updated Forms Online - Visit http://www.gsctx.org/forms, to view the forms section to see the new and updated
council forms for money management and troop travel. Don’t forget to check out the helpful resources page at
http://www.gsctx.org/forms/helpful-resources.
ONLINE GSUSA MEMBERSHIP REGISTRATION!!!!
Register Online
Girls may use their Girl Scout Dough to pay for membership dues until the dough expires in
December.
TO JOIN GIRL SCOUTS: To get started, go to www.gsctx.org/join and click on the "Join" button. Everyone,
regardless of being new, former or existing member of Girl Scouts of Central Texas, must create a new
login and password in order to use the eBiz system. Choose NEW MEMBER on the main eBiz (lower right
side of page) and you will be one your way to setting up your new username and password for your eBiz
account! Once logged on, you will be able to:





Renew your annual membership or become a new member for the first time
Become a lifetime member and make a lifelong commitment to Girl Scouts
Update your contact information
Manage your family online if you are a Family Manager
Manage your troop(s) online if you are a Troop Leader (01)
Have Registration Questions?
HELP DESK: Go to our registration help desk. It's available at gsctx.freshdesk.com. You can also click
the "Help Desk" button on the www.gsctx.org/join page. The Help Desk has a large number of self-help
articles, which will hopefully answer many of your questions.
Now that GSCTX is on eBiz, EVERY single membership, whether coming from eBiz online OR entered as
paper is generating an automated GSUSA email like you see below to the customer.
2015 On-Time Patches can be purchased in shop. Patches this year are a one of a kind patch issued by GSUSA at a cost
of 25 cents per patch + tax. Service Units and Troops may purchase patches for all members they deem “on-time” and
patches can be used for recruitment purposes.
Cookie College for SU Cookie Managers – Attendance is mandatory for all Service Unit Cookie Managers. If your
service unit does not have a Cookie Manager appointed by the time these trainings take place, the Service Unit Director
should attend in his/her place if the Service Unit intends to participate in the Cookie Program. We also recommend that
everyone that handles cookies at the service unit level (especially the Booth Manager and Warehouse Manager) attend
Cookie College. Registration Cookie College at Trailblazers is on the GSCTX website. Contact SierraF@gsctx.org to register
for all other CC trainings.
9/27 Trailblazers
10/7 San Angelo
10/2 Giddings
10/9 Webinar for Experienced SUCM 3+ years
10/2 Brenham
10/11 Brownwood
10/2 Bryan
10/12 Waco
10/4 Austin (Kodosky)
10/14 eBudde Webinar
10/4 Austin (Slater Lane)
10/28 eBudde Webinar
10/5 Killeen
Loss Prevention Committee - GSCTX is forming a volunteer Loss Prevention Committee to assist Council in the
reduction/elimination of preventable loss. A preventable loss is any loss caused by deliberate or inadvertent human actions.
· Deliberate human actions that cause loss to an organization can be theft, fraud, vandalism, waste, abuse, or
misconduct.
· Inadvertent human actions attributable to loss are purely poorly executed business processes, where volunteers
and/or employees fail to follow existing policies or procedures.
This committee is in the infant stages and will need to set goals and guidelines for the committee. Ideally, we will need
volunteers from all areas to work on “concerns” as they arise. Due to logistics, meetings will most likely be done via phone
conference. Since this is a newly formed committee… once we meet, we can determine goals, processes, position
description, etc. If you are interested, please contact Kathy Starr at kathystarr@austin.rr.com
GSCTX Board Members - As your Service Unit gets back into the swing of things, please reach out to Board Members
that reside in your service unit area. Please invite them to events going on in your SU. Please notify your MDE, if you don’t
know if you have a board member who lives in your service unit.
GIRL EVENTS & PROGRAMS:
Add your own area/service unit girl events here:
 Register for these and many other council events at: http://www.gsctx.org/calendar/girlevents#1372688706843
Cookie Captains
Girls in grades 6 – 12 can earn their Age Level Service to Girl Scouting Bar and a Cookie Captain Completion pin by
participating and completing 20 hours of cookie program related service through the Cookie Captain Program.
Cookie Entrepreneur Program
Cookie savy Seniors and Ambassadors can learn how to create the perfect pitch for bulk sales of cookies. We invite
any girl with previous cookie selling experience to join us on this business adventure
COOKIE PROGRAM TRAINING DATES
Event Name
Cookie Captain Training (c/s/a)
Cookie Captain Training (c/s/a)
Cookie Captain Training (c/s/a)
Cookie Captain Training (c/s/a)
Entrepreneur Training (s/a)
Entrepreneur Training(s/a)
Location
Bryan - College Station
Kodosky Center
TBD
Kodosky Center
Kodosky Center
TBA
Date
10/25/2014
11/1/2014
11/8/2014
11/15/2014
10/13/2014
11/11/2014
Time
9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
TBD
9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
TBA
SEPTEMBER PATCH PROGRAM
From September 15 – October 15, Americans observe Hispanic Heritage Month in celebration of the
history, culture and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Mexico, Central
and South America, Spain and the Caribbean. This patch program is designed to help Girl Scouts of
all cultures develop an understanding and appreciation of the culture of Hispanic and Latin Americans
through Discover, Connect and Take Action.
OCTOBER PATCH PROGRAM
This patch program is designed to promote breast health awareness among girls and young women.
Participants will learn about the importance of breast health by participating in activities, completing
service projects and researching topics related to breast health awareness. All age levels are invited
to participate in this program.
Homeschool
Girls STEM
Club - Coder
Girl Explorers
+ Engineering
BACK TO SCHOOL - BACK TO FUNGirl Scouts of Central Texas is excited to continue
our STEM focused homeschool programming this fall. This group is designed to be a
supplemental STEM learning experience for homeschool girls. Each week the girls will
work on hands-on STEM activities. This semesters programming consists of two different
series - Aviation and the Samsung STEM challenge. Both series have activities for girls of
all ages. During this series Daisies and Brownies will discover the world of Computer
Science and Engineering. Girls will be introduced to programming with Scratch by making
an interactive collage with music, drawing, and animation. Girls will also participate in
hands-on engineering activities. Note: Closing Date on Sept. 17
All
Levels
ADULT EVENTS:
Add your own area/service unit adult events here:
 Register for Adult Events/Trainings at: http://www.gsctx.org/calendar/adultevents#1372688745671
 Alumnae Trip to Savannah has been cancelled
Fri 09/26/14 to
Fri 11/07/14
10AM - 1:00 PM
NEW!
Money Manager For
Troop/Group Co-Signers
This mandatory course is for all co-signers on troop/group bank accounts that
are opened or changed after October 1st. See Adult Events Schedule to find a
training near you. https://www.gsctx.org/calendar/adultevents#1409658495319
 Existing Troop Account signers have until May 31, 2015 unless there
are changes made to the account before that date. On Oct. 1st a Money
Manager’s webinar will be made available.
 This one hour workshop will cover opening GS bank accounts,
changing bank and signers, troop separation guidance, completing the
Troop Financial Report, soliciting sponsorships, basic Money Earning
Information, and using the sales tax-exemption forms. There is a short
quiz that must be passed before the volunteer may become a signer on
a new account.
Ye Olde Trailblazers Faire 2014
Camp Texlake * September 26-28, 2014 Note: Registration deadline: 9/11/14
Registration & fees
Join us for Saturday only or for the whole weekend (Friday - Sunday)!
o Weekend: $55 includes (Friday dinner not included), lodging and showers, four workshops with the option
of three additional workshops, Trailblazers patch, Friday evening activities and Saturday evening party.
o Saturday: $30 includes Saturday lunch and dinner, four workshops with the option of one additional
Saturday early afternoon workshop, and Trailblazers patch.
o Trailblazer T-Shirt: $10 additional fee
o CPR Certification by CPR Resources: $25 additional fee paid to CPR Resources at check-in
NEW Council Map