Councils in Q-C region realign

Font Size:

By John Willard | Friday, October 20, 2006 11:56 PM CDT | () comments

Girl Scouts can expect to enjoy more opportunities for personal growth as the result of a merger of four Girl Scout councils serving eastern Iowa and western Illinois.

The combined council, whose name will be announced next week, will serve 20,000 girls in 31 counties in Iowa and seven counties in Illinois. The new organization has the potential of serving more than 126,700 girls, council representatives said.

The councils making up the new organization are Girl Scouts of the Mississippi Valley, Rock Island and Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Girl Scouts of Conestoga, Waterloo, Iowa; Girl Scouts of Little Cloud Council, Dubuque, Iowa; and Girl Scouts of Shining Trail Council, West Burlington, Iowa.

Diane Nelson, the chief executive officer of Girl Scouts of the Mississippi Valley, said the move resulted from an initiative by the Girl Scouts of the USA to see how the 95-year-old organization can best serve the needs of today’s young women. The national organization asked its 312 councils to take a hard look at what they were doing, who they served and whether consolidations might improve their programs for the girls.

The four councils in the Quad-City region are among the first in the nation to merge since the national organization handed down its guidance, said Jennifer Neumann, director of community relations for Girl Scouts of the Mississippi Valley. The realignment is expected to be completed in May.

The move makes good sense in that it will reduce duplication, improve access to programs and provide more opportunities for girls, Nelson said.

For example, the girls now will be able to select from four summer camps that are available through the merger, Neumann said. Previously, they went to the camp serving their respective council.

“It should be a seamless change. Our girls should have more programs, more opportunities to meet more friends, and our leaders will have better access to training. And we will have a greater pool from which to draw volunteers,” she said.

A national search is underway for a chief executive officer to head up the new organization, Nelson said, with hiring expected to take place before the end of the year. The combined council staff presently consists of 74 full- and part-time employees, plus seasonal staff. The new council has more than 5,800 adult members and an annual budget of $5.3 million.

It is not known at this time whether there will be any staff reductions, Neumann said.

The Rock Island headquarters of Girl Scouts of the Mississippi Valley will serve as the temporary headquarters, she said, but no final decision has been made on where the headquarters of the combined council will be located.

More than 140 prospective names for the new council were submitted and whittled down to three, two of which were accepted by the national organization. The council realignment committee will select the finalist.

John Willard can be contacted at (563) 383-2314 or jwillard@qctimes.com.