April 2009 SUM Minutes                      Back to Service Unit Calendar & Meeting Minutes



Minutes of Service Unit Meeting, April 2, 2009

Attendees : Carmela Arale, Lori Dryer, Debbie Knapp, Brb Smith, Linda Haines, Denise Piatnochka, Joy Young, Amy Stuart, Lisa Campbell, Linda Lenahan, Susan O'Donnell, Eileen Granelli, Lisa Lisk, Stephanie Henderson, Carla McGlynn, Emily Long, Margaret Illis, Diane Azalone, Heidi Friedlander, Emily Frank.

Carmela Arale welcomed everyone to the April meeting and introduced our new Council representative for Berkeley Heights, Courtney Cook. She will be our go-to person for any issues that you need a Council contact for.

Courtney's most important message to everyone is that it's time to change our troop bank accounts to reflect the new Girl Scouts Heart of NJ information. Envelopes were distributed containing a letter from Council that is necessary to make the changes at your bank. These changes include the new troop numbers (adding either 40 or 400 to your existing troop number to make it 5 digits) and changing the council name from Washington Rock to Girl Scouts Heart of NJ, registering the new Tax ID number with the bank, and including the Service Unit manager (Carmela Arale) as a third authorized signer on your checks. Some banks will let you take the signature card to Carmela to sign - her cell phone number is 908-512-3984 and her address is 176 Briarwood Drive. Please contact her about how to get her added to your account. All accounts must be changed over to include the new information by the end of June, 2009.

New Girl Scout levels will be followed starting next October 1st, when we begin our new Girl Scouting year. The new levels are: Daisy-Kindergarten and 1st grade; Brownie-2nd and 3rd grades; Junior-4th and 5th grades; Cadette-6th through 8th grades; Senior-9th and 10th grades; and Ambassador-11th and 12th grades. If you are working on your Silver Award, the level changes do not change your time frame. You should still submit your paperwork when your girls are in the 9th grade, although your Silver Award requirements will already be completed.

Early Bird registration deadline in B.H. will be June 30th. Registration packets will be handed out in May.

We need someone who is good at public speaking to chair our Family Support Partnership program (formerly known as Gifts for Girls). If you know someone who would be willing to help with this fundraising effort, please let Carmela know.

Leaders, please pass the e-mails that you receive concerning Girl Scout programs on to your troop moms. Some moms have been unaware of opportunities because they were not informed by their troop leaders.

The Girl Scout Birthday Party will be held at the Florham Park Roller Rink on April 18th from 3:30 to 5:30 pm. Details are on the BH Girl Scouts website.

Also on the website is information about the Someone Special and Me Dance, to be held on April 24th.

Berkeley Heights will host a First Aid/CPR certification course at the Rescue Squad building on Sat., May 9th from 8 am until 5 pm. This is American Heart Assoc. CPR training, and is good for 2 years. Reserve your spot with a check for $50.00 made out to BH Service Unit. First come, first served!

On June 10th we will again honor our Gold and Silver Award winners with a celebration at Mountain Park School. Younger troops are encouraged to attend and see what they can achieve as Girl Scouts.

Our End-Of-Year Leader's celebration will be held on June 4th at Kim Spellman's house. Mark your calendars1

Relay for Life will be held on May 30th-31st at Governor Livingston High School. This is a huge event for our town, with a lot of Girl Scout participation. This year, Berkeley Heights has been invited to enroll people in a long-term cancer-prevention study for the American Cancer Society. For details, or if you are interested in enrolling, check the website or contact Heidi Friedlander.

The Rotary Club of Berkeley Heights is looking for Girl Scout troops to help with the Rubber Ducky Festival on Sat., June 13th. There are plenty of booths to be manned and other ways for the girls to help. If interested, contact Lori Dryer at loridryer@comcast.net.

Wednesday, April 22nd is Leader Appreciation Day. Show your appreciation for a great Girl Scout leader!

The Berkeley Heights Environmental Commission is sponsoring GREENFEST on May 16th, from 10-2 pm at the lower field at Columbia School. Girl Scouts are invited to help out with set-up, clean-up, manning tables, and helping at the Children's Center. Sign up can be by troop or individually. Contact Marlene Sincaglia at scsmmm@verizon.net

Finally, our last SUM of the year is May 7th, at 7:30 in the Columbia School Media Center. Troop Registrars must be present to pick up registration material for next year.


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