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New CEO
Arguably the biggest news of the last two months is the announcement of our new CEO, Kim R. Ford.
Prior to Girl Scouts Nation's Capital, Kim served as CEO of Martha's Table, a nonprofit organization that serves the communities and families of DC, providing education, and access to quality food and a variety of health services through the struggles of Covid.
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Kim was also the Acting Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, and oversaw workforce development programs.
Earlier in her career, she served as Dean of the University of the District of Columbia, as well as served in President Obama's administration, helping implement the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that put funds towards economic growth. Welcome again from all of us!
See a list of Kim's Favorite Things below to learn more fun facts about Kim!
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Kim's Favorite Things:
1. "Kenzie. My daughter Kenzie is my absolute favorite anything and everything! Watching her grow, explore, and learn is the most amazing experience. Her smile and laugh warm my heart. She's simply my everything!"
2. "Travel. I tasked myself many years ago to travel to at least one new country every year (and then about a decade or so ago to one new domestic location annually, too). But for the height of the pandemic, I've held to this!"
3. "Sports. I love playing and watching sports. I have a pretty good 3 point shot. Fun facts, my childhood dream was to be the first woman in Major League Baseball and I got married at Nats Park."
4. "Water. I love being near and on water. I'm an avid kayaker."
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Honoring An Outdoor Legacy
One of the main reasons for celebration at this year's President's Circle Dinner was the Council's sale of land to the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission, donated to us from the Pleasant Companies.
The sale funded the creation of the new Outdoor Legacy Fund and will ensure the 540 acres of untouched land in Prince George's County Maryland is conserved.
Don Pleasant was presented with the 2024 Officer's Award in recognition of his contribution to the Girl Scouts Nation's Capital.
The Outdoor Legacy Fund will support efforts to enhance accessibility to outdoor experiences and education for Girl Scouts, as well as serve to increase access to mental health resources. Additionally, the fund will help remove financial obstacles to Girl Scouts attending camp by increasing our financial assistance.
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Women's History Month
March was Women's History month, and the IDEA Committee's Shandel Johnson honored it with a 20 Day Celebration of remarkable women in history. Each day she emailed a profile to staff that detailed the life and accomplishments of women like Maya Angelou, Clara Barton, and Katherine Johnson.
The historical accomplishments of these women, many of which were long forgotten or unpublicized in their time, serve to "fuel our passion, drive, and commitment to creating a more inclusive and equitable world for all." They also served to honor women who were often overlooked despite their revolutionary contributions.
Shandel's words summarize the series perfectly: "Throughout this month, we've had the privilege of celebrating 41 extraordinary women—representing 9 countries—who have left an indelible mark on history and continue to inspire us today."
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Annual Meeting Super Shop Success
This year’s “Super Shop” at the Annual Meeting was a huge success.
The total sales for the April 20th meeting totaled $11,491.82! This total is up 12% from last year.
Shari Harvey gave a shout out thanking Bobbie and Alice from the Main Shop, and Debbie and Jan from the Centreville Shop for their assistance setting up on Friday night. Another thanks goes to Raphael and Robert for getting the merchandise and fixtures to and from the event.
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President's Circle Dinner
Our annual President's Circle Dinner was held on March 22nd at the Marriott in Georgetown. During the course of the evening, we raised over $50,000! The fundraising dinner honored our donors and some of the Council's biggest supporters.
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Deaf History Month
Did you know that Juliette Gordon Low was deaf? She began developing hearing loss in one ear at 17, and by adulthood was almost fully deaf. Her legacy as the founder of the Girl Scout movement is a reminder that Girl Scout history is also deaf history.
In honor of Deaf History Month, which takes place every April, the IDEA committee hosted two speakers, Brianne Burger and Katie Huray to lead a Lunch & Learn and present on
inclusivity of deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the Girl Scout organization and in the workplace in general. Their informative and engaging presentation was a great way to introduce the subject to staff.
Washington D.C. is one of the nation's largest deaf communities and has a plethora of resources and opportunities available for those who want to learn and participate. Below are resources to learn more about Deaf History Month, the deaf community here in the DMV, and learning ASL!
Resources:
Gallaudet University
Center for Democracy in Deaf America (CDDA) | Gallaudet University
Hands & Voices
https://www.handsandvoices.org/
Virtual ASL Classes:
https://deafchildren.org/
The recording of the Zoom session is available on the T Drive (T:\Collaboration\ IDEA Committee).
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Staff Book Club
Pages & Patches, GSCNC’s first staff book club, has officially kicked off! If you’re interested in joining, please email Erin Reynolds at ereynolds@gscnc.org or Natalie Thibodeau at nthibodeau@gscnc.org. Our plan is to meet virtually monthly to discuss that month’s book and add in-person meetings based on the group’s availability.
Here is a look at the book club’s 2024 reading schedule:
April – The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
May – All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
June – What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez
July – I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
August – Funny Story by Emily Henry
September – Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
October – The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
November – Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
Happy reading!
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Introducing Pet Pandemonium, the newest newsletter feature. The only thing this council loves more than our cookies is our pets. Send a picture and caption or bio of your pet (or any animal) to hrcoordinator@gscnc.org to be featured in the next one! | | | |
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Colo-Colo the Macaw
We had a surprise visitor to our DC office in March. Colo-Colo is a 15-year-old talking Macaw from Florida who lives with Lisa Stone.
Macaws can live up to 100 years old—he could very well outlive us all. He loves car rides, ice cream, walnuts, and visiting the national monuments. As Lisa noted, Colo-Colo is a very busy bird.
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Froggie & Her Kittens
Our very own Betsy West is foster mom to Froggie and her three kittens. They were rescued on Leap Day hence their frog-themed names. Here Froggie is pictured with Rain (left) and Mossy (right). The picture below is of their sibling, Tree.
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MAY 10
All Staff Meeting
9:00 AM @ Camp Potomac Woods
MAY 14
IDEA Committee Meeting
3:00-4:00 PM via Teams
Contact Angela Baker to join.
MAY 27
MEMORIAL DAY
MAY 28
IDEA Committee Meeting
3:00-4:00 PM via Teams
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JUNE 11
IDEA Committee Meeting
3:00-4:00 PM via Teams
JUNE 19
JUNETEENTH
JUNE 25
IDEA Committee Meeting
3:00-4:00 PM via Teams
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Review the Council's current Respiratory Viruses Guidelines here. Updated April 2024!
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Chrissy Watson joined our Council as a new Team 1 Membership Specialist on April 29th.
Chrissy's previous roles were family and community oriented.
They spent the last 10 years working with military children and their families, caring for infants as well as being a lead preschool teacher.
Chrissy looks forward to continuing to make connections in her community through the Girl Scouts. “
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Here are some of Chrissy's favorite things!
1. Hiking. "I absolutely love being outdoors. Whether it's going to the beach or for hike in the woods, I prefer being in nature."
2. "My dog is an important part of my family. Her name is Emmy Lil' Bean, and she is a 3-year-old mini Aussie/Cavalier mix. She is my adventure sidekick!"
3. "Traveling. I love to go somewhere I haven't been before. I want to see all the places and meet all the people I can."
4. I love to crochet. I'm currently working on blankets for each of my children. It's so relaxing and I like creating something beautiful."
5. "Music is something else that I love. I like all types of music from K-pop to metal. I live for experiencing music live. There is nothing like feeling the music through your body."
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Take a Child to Work Day
Thursday April 25th was an exciting day for our youngest coworkers. Here are some photos of Betsy West's daughters Ella and Hannah, and Kim R. Ford's daughter Kenzie and with Adrianna's daughter Zuri at our Connecticut Avenue office, hanging out with Anastasia Ingstad.
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Share the good news!
Send celebrations to Human Resources to be included next time.
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Quick and Easy Baked Cheese Straws | | |
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Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1.Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy. Beat in cheese until blended.
2.Combine flour, salt and cayenne; stir into cheese mixture until a dough forms.
3.Roll into a 15x6-in. rectangle. Cut into thirty 6-in. strips. Gently place strips 1 in. apart on ungreased baking
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4.Bake until lightly browned, 15-20 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
From Taste of Home.
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Share your favorite eats with your coworkers!
Send recipes to Human Resources to be included next time.
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Girl Scouts surprised everyone at the President's Circle Dinner by performing some classic girl scout songs, including "Girl Scout Spirit" and "I Love the Mountains". And don't worry—they got badges for their efforts! |
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In honor of Earth Day, Girl Scouts from Troops 1449, 1561 and 52061 cleaned up Cherry Run Creek. The creek is now clean and litter free in time for people to enjoy the spring weather. |
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Cookie season came to a close this spring! One cookie-related event to remember was Troop 51011 delivering Girl Scout cookies to the Secret Service. They got to take a special tour of the White House too for Easter Sunday. | |
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These "Girl Scout Proud" segments are featured from our social media.
Thank you to our Marketing and Communications team!
Click the buttons at the bottom of this newsletter to explore more.
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Coming Soon: Benefits Bites!
Based on staff votes from our poll in the January/February edition of Juliette's Journal, our first benefit bite will cover Employee Assistance Program. The session will be held at 1:00 on Wednesday, May 15th.
Tune in to learn more about EAP's, or to get your questions answered. Keep an eye out for the meeting link, which will be sent out soon.
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