Plan? What Plan?


- Plan? What plan? The point of the camp sales was to build PLCs. Except now we're not. Maybe. *

There is no plan. Period.
No budget, no goal, no clue.

When Brent Gardner, board spokesman, explained the camp liquidation plan to the General Assembly in April 2011, he assured them that the money from the sales of the camps was ONLY going to fund the transformation of the two remaining camps into Premier Leadership Centers.

BUT--- what exactly IS a Premier Leadership Center?

Here's the answer -taken directly from the GSNEO website properties FAQs:

  • A state-of-the-art, safe and secure outdoor and indoor destination for many types of Girl Scout programs
  • Themed areas providing progressive program experiences for girls and adults
  • Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified plans for minimal environmental impact
  • Increased accessibility for girls and volunteers, a place where they will want to spend time with old and new friends, have fun, become proficient and/or learn new skills
  • A place with the latest technologies and capacity for what's ahead
  • Multifunction spaces to maximize camp site availability
  • Improved campsite amenities for all camping types, including bathhouse facilities
  • Upgraded dining and food service facilities
All of which sounds pleasant enough, but disturbingly vague. GSNEO intends to create a "destination" but what, exactly? Why will anyone come to this destination? What is going to be there?

The only thing they promise is new construction. But what kind, or to what purpose, no one knows. Joan Villareal said it would be whatever the girls want. Then, at the August 2011 member "visioning" meetings, she said that since no one liked the name "Premier Leadership Centers", the new facilities would be dubbed "Camps, with multi-purpose, value-added, program possibilities."

So far, the camps we already have have been the sites for :

  • story telling workshops,
  • rescue dog demonstrations
  • gardening
  • theater projects
  • international friendship events
  • science exploration
  • fantasy architecture programs
  • cultural exploration
  • fashion shows
  • rallies
  • primitive basecamps
  • girl bands
  • hip hop class & performances
  • games, challenge courses, sports
  • ballet
  • equestrienne programs
  • boating
  • self-defense workshops
  • hands-on financial literacy education
  • girl leadership
Had the board proposal for Premier Leadership Centers been an application for a Gold Award project, the girl would have been told to go home and come back when she had specifics backed up by real data. What reasonable business plan involves selling off the majority of assets of a corporation without a clue for utilizing the profits?

As for "multifunction spaces to maximize camp site availability", it is already possible to run multiple programs in our current camps WITHOUT disturbing sites that troops are renting. If the dining halls or classrooms are unavailable, use a picnic shelter. Or pitch an easy-up. Camps should not be duplicating - or competing with - schools. Scouting programs rely more on imagination and initiative than expensive equipment.

The description of the PLCs is very much like the description of the Empereror's New Clothes: great sales pitch, no substance. That ultimately left the customer with his backside hanging out.