Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa Property Announcements 

September 7, 2010

TOWN HALL MEETING INVITATION - JOY HOLLOW

The Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa cordially invites you to attend a Town Hall Meeting to continue the discussion of our volunteer committee's review of the Joy Hollow Property. 

Date: Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Time: 6:00 - 8:00 pm

Location: North High School, 4200 Cheyenne Boulevard, Sioux City, IA 51104

Contact: Kristin Hunter, 800-342-8389

Please see the Joy Hollow page for details from the first Town Hall Meeting.

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August 19, 2010

PROPERTY SALE - OFFICE RELOCATION - COUNCIL BLUFFS

After careful consideration, the Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa has made the difficult decision to divest of the property currently being utilized by the Council Bluffs Leadership Center. We strive to provide safe and well maintained facilities that meet current girl, volunteer and staff needs and unfortunately, this property does not adhere to this standard of excellence.

The Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa is undergoing a review of all property resources, including the use and maintenance of leadership properties. Upon the review of the Council Bluffs Leadership Center, we discovered extensive repair and updating needs, along with several safety concerns. As a result, our council is currently exploring alternative location opportunities in Council Bluffs.

The Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa is committed to providing a seamless transition that will make the most effective use of resources to better serve our girls. Furthermore, the change in location will enhance our volunteers and staff experiences with a contemporary facility that will allow for the improved utilization of space and provide increased safety and satisfaction.

If you have questions or desire additional information, please contact Erin Johnson, Girl
Services Director, via phone at (800) 422-2093.

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August 18, 2010

PROPERTY REVIEW - JOY HOLLOW

In response to these challenging economic times, the Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa is in the process of revieiwing all of our resource allocations, including the use and maintance of camp properties. A Joy Hollow property committee was created and has regularly met over a period of 9 months to review and assess the camp’s current state of affairs.

During this process, data revealed several challenges pertaining to the resources needed for the proper upgrades and conservation of the property. On July 26, the Joy Hollow volunteer task group recommended to the board of directors that we proceed with an appraisal of Joy Hollow and will work with interested entities for additional details regarding a potential partnership, with continued use by the Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa.

On Monday, August 23, a town hall meeting will be held at the Sioux City Leadership Center to discuss the volunteer committees’ review of the Joy Hollow Property and to receive volunteer and community input.

If you have questions or desire additional information, please contact Kristin Hunter, VP of Marketing, via phone 515-278-2881, ext. 124

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May 5, 2010

STATEMENT REGARDING SALE OF CAMP LAKOTA

After careful consideration, the Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa has made the difficult decision to divest one of our Girl Scout camp properties, Camp Lakota, located near Dayton, Iowa. Steve Collen, of Collen Farms, has purchased the property for the purpose of agricultural development and personal recreational activities.

The decision to divest of a camp is not made lightly and is done with vast input and supportive data. We understand the emotional toll this may have on our girls and volunteers, and we will do everything we can to help address those needs. Nonetheless, at the heart of this decision is what’s best for meeting the needs of today's girls and tomorrow's successful women.

Girl Scouts has a rich and unmatched tradition of outdoor education. We offer all area girls a contemporary, relevant, and compelling indoor and outdoor leadership experience. New trends and changing girls' interests lead our Girl Scout council to be proactive in making changes to our properties in order to most efficiently serve girls"We believe this decision will strengthen Girl Scouting in our area by helping us use resources wisely to better serve girls with the leadership programming they want today,” Martha Krone, Board Chair.

Generations of girls have been well-served by Camp Lakota. The memories will last forever, as they inspire the Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa to create new memories by continuing to build girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place.

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JANUARY 26, 2010

LONG RANGE PROPERTY PLAN FOR GIRL SCOUTS OF GREATER IOWA

Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa Property and Mission Overview

Our mission at the Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa is to build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.  That mission is our foundation and the focal point for all of our Council decisions.  Our organization serves girls today, and makes decisions regarding the future, in order to help girls become our future leaders - the strong women of tomorrow.

Council properties make it possible for girls to participate in creative and educational experiences as well as to be challenged and have fun in an all-girl environment.  Our goal as a Council is to optimize our camp property so that girls have an exciting leadership experience that brings them skills and resources so they may become strong women leaders.

Formation of Property Task Group

At the time of realignment in 2007, we maintained that all property would be held for two years.  The two year period has now passed and we continue to look at our council as a whole unit, functioning together to create the best environment for our thousands of girls and adults.  We have undergone long-range strategic property planning in order to gather data, seek input, and recommend a plan of property management to support programming for the next ten to twenty years.  The decisions made by this property planning task group will continue to move Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa into being the premier organization, which will build girl leaders for our communities, the state of Iowa, and the world.

Property Task Group Charge

The task group began its work in September of 2008 and was comprised of eighteen volunteer members providing a broad geographical representation across the Council with knowledge on property, program, youth development, engineering, finance, and of course, Girl Scouting. These individuals have been committed to the process of long-range strategic planning and the importance of sustainability and forward momentum for our Council.

The Board of Directors supported and enhanced the task group, charging them with balancing the interests of our girls, our families, and our communities with the overall fiscal stability and the future of the Council as a whole.  Our task group work revolved around three major areas:

1. Data analysis: including and not limited to site visits, assessing usage, financial income and expenditures, examination of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
2. Market and program research: including surveys, camp input meetings, progressive programming trends, and marketing trends for non-Girl Scouts.
3. Property research: including site visits, current and deferred maintenance costs, and capital needs current and future.

A third party consultant, as well as GSUSA Property Consultant, Glen Chin, provided a property audit, recommendations, and assessment of all GSGI camp property.  Camp input meetings throughout our jurisdiction gave our membership an opportunity to voice opinions and offer suggestions for how and what the girls want in outdoor program and camp property facilities.  We also posted a general comment box on our website for additional comments regarding our property decisions.

Property Task Group Priorities

Our Council has also undertaken a Strategic Learning Process, which began in January of 2009.  This process solidified our Council’s five priorities and outlined that the Girl Scout Leadership Experience is the foundation of Girl Scouting.  The Strategic Learning Process underscored the importance of pathways into Girl Scouts so that even more girls can experience and grow strong through Girl Scouting. This process emphasized how camp and the outdoors is just one of the five pathways that this Council will support as we grow into a high capacity Council.

As a task group we understood the following to be true for Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa:

1.     Decisions for property should be based on objective program information and the Girl Scout Leadership Experience.

2.     Program quality and depth should increase.

3.     Property must fit the need and criteria for forward progress.

4.     State and federal regulations for safety must be immediately addressed at all camp properties.

5.     The Council cannot indefinitely subsidize camp program $400,000 - $550,000 as it has in the 2008 and 2009 fiscal years.

6.     Property has to have the ability to provide a safe, secure environment offering natural landscape and exciting opportunities for individual growth.

Board Approved Property Recommendations

Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa’s Board of Directors on January 26, 2010 approved the following recommendation made by the Property Assessment Task Group:

Vision: Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa is the provider of preeminent program for Girl Scouts that are age-appropriate and progressive in nature.

Our top priority is that our Council makes long-term property decisions that increase the financial stability of the Council and allow for growth and expansion of camp property. Equally important is to consistently improve our program delivery options for girls within our jurisdiction that lead to new Girl Scout Leadership Experiences in a safe and sound environment. Significant capital expense will be needed for camp property to meet GSGI standards for safety, as well as Federal and State guidelines.

Resident Camp Property Decisions:

1. Camp Tanglefoot will be maintained and expanded. We will request a long-term lease from the Camp Tanglefoot Corporation Board of Directors to protect and enhance the relationship with the board as well as the Council’s financial resources. We will clarify long term maintenance from capital improvement in the new lease.
2. Camp Sacajawea will be maintained and expanded. We will establish a Camp Sacajawea Property task group to develop a long-term property strategy with storm or tornado shelter options identified, develop a long-range capital plan, and actively pursue land acquisition.
3. Camp Neyati and Camp Lakota will be divested. Board task groups will be formed to carry out this task with consideration to conservation or preservation groups.
4. Rose Tree Cabin will be divested and the building will be given back to the City of Centerville, Iowa.
5. Joy Hollow is under additional investigation. A Board task group will be formed to investigate options of partnership and ownership including but not limited to options outlined by the Plymouth County Conservation Board. The task group will recommend to the Board of Directors how, and if, the Council should retain the Joy Hollow property for the future.
6. Camp Juliette is under additional investigation. We will await the abstract of title and then, set up a Board task group for recommendation to the Board of Directors to utilize or divest of this property.

Additionally, a next step is forming a task group to analyze our leadership centers for viability, efficiency, and location.

Task Group Comments

Our focus is moving the Council forward.  As a task group, we would like to thank the Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa membership for allowing us this opportunity to pursue this challenge on behalf of the Council. We are dedicated to girls, engaging and relevant program opportunities, and to world-class resident sites.  As noted above, our foundation has always been on the Girl Scout mission, ensured sustainability, and growing services for girls and adults.

We are proud of the fact that many thousands of girls and adults have used our current camp properties over the years to create long lasting and life changing memories.  As we make decisions regarding these properties and the future of Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa, the task group, the board of directors, staff, and CEO know that some of those decisions are difficult and are sure to bring out much emotion in past and current Girl Scouts.

Property becomes part of who we are and lives on in the memories of many of us.  Our goal is to help create a future environment that is both Girl Scout oriented and fiscally sound, so that we can continue to provide places that will foster the creation of wonderful memories for many more thousands of Girl Scout girls and adults.

We acknowledge your ownership in our properties and the feelings of loss that may accompany these decisions.  We also feel the loss of the named properties, as they are a part of our Council history.  Through this loss, however, we are also excited and enthusiastic about continuing to serve girls in Greater Iowa with facilities that are top-notch.  The remaining properties will continue to be maintained and expanded to offer even more exciting adventures to our future leaders.  We thank you in advance for your continued support of Girl Scouts and of Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa. 

The Board of Directors and staff of Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa look forward to continuing to serve you. 

Ann Hanes, Board Chair

Karen Grode, CEO

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NOVEMBER 9, 2009

The Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa is undergoing a continual review of all property resources.  A Board level task group has been assigned to facilitate this review with their purpose being:  to research and make recommendation to the Board of Directors on a strategic process that focuses on a long-range property plan.  This plan will meet the council’s future programmatic goals and interests of girls while balancing environmental issues with the council’s ability to finance and maintain property assets.  Over the past year, this review has included community meetings as well as an open website comment forum to make sure that the voices of our volunteers and girls have been heard.  Now more than ever, we have to be smart, focused and innovative in allocating our limited resources. For us, this has meant a careful study of the properties we hold and proposing plans on how to use them more wisely.

This whole initiative is about being true to our mission of providing personal growth and leadership development programs for girls; building girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place. The property plan allows us to create the right surroundings for fostering that mission.  We aim to provide our leadership programs in the best, most appealing and functional facilities we can.  Our properties will be destination sites that deliver best-in-class activities for our girls and volunteers.     

The Property Task Group has made a recommendation to our Board of Directors, and they have accepted the terms of the following recommendation on September 22, 2009.  This recommendation is a short term, one year plan.  Discussion regarding the long term property plan will continue at the November, 2009 Board Meeting.

Property Assessment Recommendation (and Board of Directors accepted one year plan for 2009/2010 Membership Year):

• Camp Sacajawea will be used for Resident Camp.
  

• Camp Tanglefoot will be used for Resident Camp. 
  

• Camp Joy Hollow will be used for Service Unit Day Camps and troop use only.  A Resident Camp option is being reviewed for feasibility.
  

• Camp Neyati will be used for Service Unit Day Camps and troop use only. However, Camp Neyati’s beach may not be used until emergency vehicles can use the road to the beach.  During the months of October through April, troops and outside groups may use/rent Camp Neyati cabins. 
  

• Camp Lakota will be resting again and further strategy for this property has been passed to the Board of Directors.
  

To reiterate, this is a one year plan for our camp properties.  Our long range plan will soon be finalized and an announcement will be made following the decision.  Girl Scouts offers a unique focus on a girl-centric approach and because of our commitment to the leadership programs for girls, we will ensure that our properties continue to be the place for fun, friendships, and exciting adventures.

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