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



Minutes of Service Unit Meeting, May 7, 2009

Carmela Arale welcomed everyone and introduced Fatima Latif from Girl Scouts Heart of NJ Council.

Registration packets are not available yet, but the Early Bird deadline remains at June 30, 2009. Leaders or troop registrars will be notified by Deb Knapp when the packets are ready. If you are a leader, but would like Deb to notify your troop registrar instead of you, please send her that person's e-mail address.

Fatima reminded everyone that as of next year (Oct.1, 2009), the new Girl Scout levels must be followed. You can check the Girl Scouts Heart of NJ website if you are unsure of your troop's level.

Anyone starting a new troop, or becoming a new leader at any level, must follow the guidelines for New Leader Training. The first step is to go to our town Girl Scout website and fill out the New Leader application ( found under "forms"). After approval, you can then sign up for the council's Leader Training programs.

All bank accounts must be re-registered at the bank as "Heart of NJ" instead of "Washington Rock" by JUNE 30th. This is vital, as the Tax ID number is changing, and the old one will be invalid. Make sure that your check signers are registered moms. Also, the year-end Financial Report must be completed and submitted to Carmela.

Our Service Unit number (for paperwork) is 55.

May 27th is the council's Adult Awards recognition event. The venue has not yet been decided on.

Camp Hoover still has space available in its summer programs.

Our Service Unit needs a few more volunteers to make the upcoming year run smoothly. We need people to fill the following positions: Newsletter editor; Family Giving coordinator; shadow Deb Knapp as registrar, in order to take over that job in 2010; and consultant for Woodruff School.

Anyone who wants to use our Girl Scout Bridge for their Bridging ceremony can contact Carmela for the location of the Bridge.

We are hoping to arrange for another First Aid/CPR training in Berkeley Heights for next October or November.

Check the town website for information on the Girl Scouts participation in the Memorial Day parade.

Dates to remember:

1. May 16th is Greenfest in Berkeley Heights, taking place at the lower Columbia field from 10am till 2pm.
2. May 30-31st is Relay for Life at Governor Livingston.
3. June 10th is our annual town recognition of outstanding Girl Scout adults and girls. The Gold and Silver Award recipients will be honored, as will special people in our community who have been helpful to our troops. The event takes place at Mountain Park School at 5:30 pm.
4. The Rotary Club's annual Rubber Ducky race will be held on June 13th at Passaic Park from 1-5 pm. Girl Scouts can participate by sponsoring a booth with free give-aways or services. Girls can also sell tickets, with 49% of the price going back to the seller, but please note that we cannot sell tickets officially as Girl Scouts. You must sell out of uniform, and then donate the portion of the ticket money that you receive back to your troop.