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Girl Scout councils are organized around two geographical/conceptual segments, the neighborhood/service area and the association.
The neighborhood is one of the way Girls Scout Councils bring direct support and help to troop/groups and their leaders within a specific geographic area. The neighborhood char/steering committee and team are operational volunteer roles that provide management/operational support to girl members and their girl Scout leaders within the community. Operational volunteers are ultimately accountable to the executive director. Spanish Trails is currently divided into twenty-five neighborhoods.
The association is the other segment. It is a policy-influencing body that includes every registered member 14 years and over who lives within a defined boundary. The main purpose of the association is to elect delegates to the voting body of the council and its board of directors. Spanish Trails has six associations which includes the twenty-five neighborhoods and serve as a means for volunteers to be a viable part of policy formulation in the council. Each policy-influencing (body) association is entitled to representation a the council's annual meeting, which is held in the fall.
Below is a structural chart of the Las Caballeras Neighborhood of Spanish Trail Council. Click on a box to learn more about the position.
The Neighborhood
It is important for all troops to be
regularly represented at the monthly neighborhood meetings. At these meetings volunteers
can obtain the most current information about training, program events, service projects,
and program activities.
Service Teams
Service teams may vary from one neighborhood to another. The neighborhood team consists of
several volunteers who fulfill the following positions an duties. The positions described
below are usually available for support to Girls Scout Leaders
Neighborhood Chair
The Neighborhood chair appoints, reappoints and evaluates Girl Scout leaders yearly. The
chair also works in partnership with the field executive to advance Girl Scouting within
the community. The chair and the team set the time, place and agenda for service team and
neighborhood meetings.
Steering Committee
A team of volunteers that perform the same duties for the neighborhood chair.
Troop Organizer
Organizes and maintains troops as stated in Safety-Wise and extends membership to
all girls and adults regardless of race, color, religion, sex or national origin; places
girls in troops throughout the year; recruits potential leaders and makes recommendations
to neighborhood chair/steering committee for appointment upon verification of references.
Troop Consultant
Helps leaders to begin the job, provides orientation and continuing on-the-job help to
leaders, assist leaders with troop problems, works with leaders to help carry out
well-rounded program, and provides service team with monthly information about troops,
including problems and needs.
Training Promoter
Promotes and distributes council training schedule to all troop leaders and service team
personnel, keeps records of courses taken by volunteers in the neighborhood, helps locate
suitable sites for courses to be offered within assigned geographic area as requested.
Registrar
Distributes registration packets to all leaders, assists leaders in registering girls and
adults, maintains accurate registration records of all troops and individual members,
deposits monies in a timely manner, reviews all registration forms for completeness and
accuracy prior to forwarding to council registrar.
Public Relations Representative
Serves as contact person with local newspapers and community organizations bulletins.
Prepares and submits news releases, maintains a record of clippings along with copies of
stories for press file, and gathers community resources that could further Girl Scout
visibility
Treasurer
Maintains neighborhood funds and prepares year-end finance reports. The treasurer is the
signer of checking accounts and maintains accurate records of monies received and
disbursed.
Gifts for Girls
Promotes the Gifts for Girls campaign within the neighborhood. Works to increase awareness
of the campaign among both leaders and parents.
Individual Girl Liaison
Serves as a contact person for independently registered girls within the neighborhood.
Keeps the girls informed of events happening at the neighborhood and council levels.
Events Directors
Heads committees for various neighborhood events. Completes paperwork and supervises the
volunteer committee working on the events.
There are several other positions that are essential for supporting the work of the girls and the volunteers in the neighborhood area. These positions may include basic trainer, cookie manager, fall product sale manager, meeting hostess, finger-printer, etc.
*Information contained here comes from Girl Scout - Spanish Trails Council Ready Reference pg. 6-1, 6-2.