Our Vision
Immediate effect - An evaluation of the council properties the way it should have been done in the first place
If the court system upholds the GSNEO code of regulations, the real estate resolution passed at the 2011 annual meeting would take effect.:
" the Board of Directors [ will] immediately cease and desist all activities in connection with the transfer of any real property held in the name of the Girl Scouts of North East Ohio, until such time as any such pending, anticipated or planned transfers may be approved by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the voting members of the General Assembly participating and voting at a meeting held pursuant to Article II, Section 3 of the Code.'
The board was claiming that they had already completed an extensive evaluation which involved the members - although that was obviously not true. What would keep them from orchestrating yet another false evaluation? The solution: membership should have final approval.
Obviously , there will never be 100% agreement with every decision. But if a simple majority of the members agree with a plan to relinquish property, then we can live with it. We aren't going to be able to poll every member- we will use the governing system we already have in place: the general assembly. SInce the general assembly consists of board, BDC and national delegates as well as membership delegates, a 2/3 majority of the assembly ensures that at least a simple majority of the membership delegates have voted for a property relinquishment plan. It also ensures that a Friends' Group for a single camp , no matter how vocal, would not be able to block a plan to sell their camp. The majority could always be able to out vote a special interest group.
Prudent, fair, effective.
If the court system upholds the GSNEO code of regulations, the real estate resolution passed at the 2011 annual meeting would take effect.:
" the Board of Directors [ will] immediately cease and desist all activities in connection with the transfer of any real property held in the name of the Girl Scouts of North East Ohio, until such time as any such pending, anticipated or planned transfers may be approved by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the voting members of the General Assembly participating and voting at a meeting held pursuant to Article II, Section 3 of the Code.'
- The point of the resolution ( and the similar amendments to the bylaws that were proposed at the same time ) was not to give the delegates some kind of unwarranted power. It was to provide a realistic balance to a board which had taken serious missteps. The first drafts spelled out all kinds of criteria necessary for re-evaluation CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO. But there was no way to ensure the desired qualities of honesty, accuracy, transparency, inclusiveness, and contextualize.
The board was claiming that they had already completed an extensive evaluation which involved the members - although that was obviously not true. What would keep them from orchestrating yet another false evaluation? The solution: membership should have final approval.
Obviously , there will never be 100% agreement with every decision. But if a simple majority of the members agree with a plan to relinquish property, then we can live with it. We aren't going to be able to poll every member- we will use the governing system we already have in place: the general assembly. SInce the general assembly consists of board, BDC and national delegates as well as membership delegates, a 2/3 majority of the assembly ensures that at least a simple majority of the membership delegates have voted for a property relinquishment plan. It also ensures that a Friends' Group for a single camp , no matter how vocal, would not be able to block a plan to sell their camp. The majority could always be able to out vote a special interest group.
Prudent, fair, effective.