News on the merger of Girl Scouts of Buffalo & Erie County, Girl Scouts of Genesee Valley, Girl Scouts of Niagara County and Girl Scouts of Southwestern New York
Chief Executive Officers of the Four Realigning Councils
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| Fran Isaacs Girl Scouts of Niagara County |
Lisa Lane-Gniewecki Girl Scouts of Southwestern NY |
Cindy L. Odom Girl Scouts of Buffalo & Erie County |
Ann Sartwell Girl Scouts of Genesee Valley |
In Fall of 2005 the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) announced exciting plans
for a nation-wide transformation of the Girl Scout Movement… Under
the new plan, the current 312 Girl Scout Councils would realign to be 103
high-capacity Councils. These Councils will be better equipped to serve
the needs of today’s girls, thereby increasing girl enrollment numbers.
Local, Merging Councils
In Western New York, four Councils are in the process of realignment to form a single, high-capacity Council. Girl Scouts of Buffalo & Erie County, Girl Scouts of Genesee Valley, Girl Scouts of Niagara and Girl Scouts of Southwestern are currently engaged in an exciting realignment process that will result in a Girl Scout Council that will serve over 30,000 girls throughout Western New York.
The Chief Executive Officers and Board Presidents of the four Girl Scout Councils have been meeting regularly to thoughtfully develop the foundation of this new Council –- carefully reviewing infrastructure needs, staff and volunteer requirements and girl program delivery These highly-qualified and sensitive individuals also focused on maintaining and exceeding established standards of service efficacy and staff efficiency. The Board Presidents are:
Michael Osika, President, Girl Scout Council of Buffalo & Erie County
Helene Diederich, President, Girl Scouts of Genesee Valley
Lisa Frew Yaggie, President, Girl Scouts of Southwestern New York
Judy Penzotti, President, Girl Scouts of Niagara County
Council Realignment Committee (CRC)
The group is currently putting together a Council Realignment Committee with equal representation from all four Girl Scout Councils. The committee will consist of board members and volunteers, with various backgrounds, to ensure that it contains a broad range of expertise and opinions. Subcommittees will be created to research and make recommendations to the CRC on such topics as communications, technology, CEO Search, finance, human resources, membership and program, product sales and Council shops and any other topics the CRC deems necessary to review.
What’s Next?
The CRC and its subcommittees are poised to begin the work of developing
a comprehensive blueprint for the design of the new, “Super Council”
to benefit all of the girls in Western New York. We will keep you informed,
through this website, of the progress of the realignment process.