Shanasi Bagnariol-Shafer

In addition to serving as a delegate and recruiter for the Mid du Lac service unit, Shanasi is also the Lakamaga Conference committee vice chair. This is her second year working on the event and she believes staying organized, meeting deadlines and maintaining a positive attitude are all critical to her role. “I’m excited by the ideas I get to be a part of and seeing the conference come to life,” Shanasi said.

Debbie Grimmer

For six years, Debbie has served on the Lakamaga Conference committee in a leadership position. “I love the team I have been a part of and enjoy meeting all the new people,” she said. As chair, Debbie plans and leads two-hour, monthly meetings and ensures everything is on schedule. She’s also a delegate, the organizer of the service unit manager group called Order of the Trefoils and the Woodbury service unit manager.

Charmin Pelletier

Charmin is from the Centennial service unit and has been part of the Lakamaga Conference committee for eight years. Her favorite thing about handling accommodations (lodging, welcome ceremonies) is making people feel special, particularly new attendees. Charmin also looks forward to camping, meeting new people and seeing old friends each year.

Karla Wakefield 

As the transportation lead for the Lakamaga Conference committee for the past several years, Karla is constantly on the go, transporting people to and from their classes and sleeping areas, or delivering supplies to different parts of camp. “I get to meet a lot of people during the conference,” she said. Karla is from the Kinni Croix Valley service unit and enjoys seeing old friends and the delicious meals. 

Amy Jones, Sharon Blackie, Sheila Ambrose, Andrea Koukol, Don Lee, Lori LeVasseur, Jan Pluff, Sharon Reece, Terri Siebert, Caroline Thompson, Karla Wakefield, Deb Walstrom-Riske, Emily White and Sandi Wintz also serve on the committee. Bert Jones designed the theme artwork, T-Shirt and patch.

Julie is the service unit manager for the Woodlake service unit, and both she and Doug are leaders for their two younger daughters’ troops. Doug has also been the troop cookie manager for the last two years and has served as an alternate delegate and a Centennial Day of Service coordinator for the Woodlake service unit.

Put simply, Doug says, “We are a Scouting family.”

One annual highlight for Doug and the troop he leads is the Woodlake service unit weekend encampment, which provides an extended time for the troop to be together and grow.

According to Doug, participating in Girl Scouts provides not only meaningful experiences for the girls, but it also provides a unique opportunity for the leaders.

“Being a Girl Scout leader allows you to make a difference in the lives of the youth that are our future,” Doug explained, “You get to watch them grow and mature into their own individuals, and you get to play a part of their development as young women.”

He added, “I can’t think of a better use of my free time than to help prepare our youth to be the leaders we need in the future, in their families and communities.”

Christine Pearson

Christine will be attending the Lakamaga Conference for the sixth time this year. She originally signed up to complete required trainings, but the networking, enrichment activities and service projects have kept her coming back. “I really enjoy the conference as a way to learn fun skills that I can bring back to the girls,” she says.

Christine’s most memorable experience was an evening sing-along around a fireplace. Participants were invited to lead a song, and then everyone shared why they liked singing it.

Christine leads a group at the conference that works on quilts in the Old Lodge art studio during downtime. “I have only been leading the project for two years, but in that time, we have been able to donate eight quilts to Project Linus and another six quilts to Bundles of Love,” she says.

Liz Cooney

Liz found a great deal of camaraderie as a new attendee and staff member at the 2012 Lakamaga Conference. “I’m always looking for ways to learn more and grow. The conference sounded like a wonderful opportunity for me as a staff member to interact with volunteers in a fun, relaxed environment,” she says.

Liz also wanted to expand her outdoor knowledge and skills, which she accomplished by starting a fire using flint rock and steel. “I came away as a stronger person with more skills and a better understanding of our volunteers, their needs and the girls we are all working for,” she says. In addition to attending again in 2013, Liz plans to lead an enrichment workshop.

Christine + Liz’ Advice to New Participants

• Take advantage of all the conference has to offer
• Share ideas and stories
• Listen to others
• Complete required training sessions
• Get out of your comfort zone
• Introduce yourself to someone new
• Try something new—you might surprise yourself
• Have fun and see what Girl Scouts are capable of!

Donna says she is a Girl Scout volunteer because she enjoys helping girls become successful young women. She incorporates many of her passions into weekly meetings.

“Their enthusiasm is really what keeps me going,” explains Donna, “They want to engage in all that we do. When they are successful, I see the happiness in their eyes.” She also enjoys hearing feedback about troop activities from parents.

Even after the girls leave elementary school, she has been proud to see their passion for Girl Scouts continue. Many of the girls that have gone to middle school and high school return to visit Donna and her troop. “Some girls still come back and help tutor at our meetings. [The experience] meant a lot to them, and it’s great to see that they formed good bonds and friendships,” says Donna.

Although troop meetings are often overflowing with fun activities, Donna also takes time to emphasize good behavior and setting a good example for other students. She even checks in with her troop’s teachers and makes sure the girls are doing well in their schoolwork and with their classmates. If girls do get in trouble, they have to improve their behavior before they can start coming to Girl Scouts again.

With only a few months left in the school year, the troop is looking forward to its summer outing to Camp Lakamaga. Just recently, the girls returned for the second year to the Women of Distinction on April 18 luncheon to sing for attendees.

Soon after her inquiry, River Valleys reached out and invited her to a volunteer recruitment event. She says, “I attended my first meeting and was asked if I wanted to co-lead a troop of Daisies with another volunteer, Kelly Christofferson. I was nervous at first, but Kelly and I decided that together we could lead the group of girls.”

Karen and Kelly’s troop has been going strong for five years and typically has around 17 girls. Although Karen doesn’t have a daughter in Girl Scouts, her troop has become very special to her. She spends a great deal of energy staying in contact with the parents and recruiting new members. A tool she loves to use is Shutterfly, where she can privately share pictures and troop updates with the families. She jokes, “I sometimes feel like I over-communicate.”

Karen and Kelly do a lot for their troop, but they get some help along the way from their ready and willing troop parents. “My advice to people is to organize things in a way so you don’t have to do everything yourself,” explains Karen. “There are so many resources available, it is important to realize what parents are good at and what they can commit to, even if it is something small.”

Karen’s favorite Girl Scout memory was two years ago at her wedding. She invited her troop to her special day on Memorial Day weekend. Many of the girls attended with their families, and Kelly’s daughter even walked Karen down the aisle. “I was so surprised at how many girls came since it was over a holiday weekend,” says Karen, “At the reception, they manned the candy table and filled the dance floor. We even did a few Girl Scout dances!”

No longer the new person in town, Karen now has a strong network in the Rochester area. Through her experience as a volunteer, she gained a best friend, her co-leader Kelly, and built a Girl Scout family.

As an alumna, Amanda knows the importance of growing up as a Girl Scout and didn’t want girls to miss out on the opportunities she had. She says, “I know how much Girl Scouts impacted my life. It helped me become organized and take on active leadership roles.” Amanda started Girl Scouts when she was in kindergarten and earned both the Girl Scout Silver and Gold Awards.

Amanda enjoys reliving her experience as a Girl Scout by co-leading her Girl Scout Daisy troop. For her, “The big thing is to help teach girls leadership skills, encourage them to be self-confident and help them reach their goals.” This year, she taught the Girl Scout Promise and Law and got the girls ready for cookie season through role-playing. Next up on her agenda is to get the girls prepared for a day camp experience this spring.

Amanda will be transferring leadership of her troop completely to the parents at the end of the year, and she has plans to start another Daisy troop next year. In addition to being a troop leader, Amanda has also been on the Girl Scout Gold Award committee for several years and has been a volunteer at council-sponsored program and membership recruitment events.

The lessons learned and sisterhood gained through Girl Scouts are tremendously important to Amanda, and her dedication to River Valleys as a volunteer proves that. As a leader, she says, “You can see the growth in the girls. They become more outgoing and willing to talk—they are bonding and forming friendships outside of school. As a leader, you’re actually helping shape girls into successful women.”

During Skylar’s first year of Girl Scouts, Jamison did everything he could to help her earn badges. During her second year, one of Skylar’s troop leaders stepped down. Jamison jumped at the chance to become the new leader of Troop 13594, and with the approval of all parents, joined Dawn as a co-leader of the troop.

“The girls have done a great job accepting me,” says Jamison. “I believe that Dawn and I create a great dynamic environment for the girls.” Jamison’s background is in sports, the outdoors and astronomy, and tries to incorporate those skills into activities for the girls.

Jamison took his love for sports and the outdoors to camp last summer. “After clearing it with my daughter that I wouldn’t embarrass her, I took a week off work and attended Camp Elk River,” says Jamison. Before attending camp, he made sure the girls learned basic camping and outdoor skills to take with them. During their week at camp, he helped wherever he could.

Already excited to attend camp again this summer, Jamison describes it as, “A week’s worth of time off work on a vacation has no value compared to a week being at camp with the girls.”

Jamison balances his time between work and being a troop co-leader and treasurer for his Osseo service unit. It’s all worth it though. He reflects, “If I want her to succeed in life, it makes sense that I’m there for her now.”

Webinar Agenda

• Steps to earning the bridging patches.
• Ideas for bridging ceremonies.
• Open time for any bridging questions.

Each webinar will start with a 20–30 minute topic presentation, followed by time for questions on any topics you would like to discuss.

Dates + Times (No RSVP Necessary)

• Tuesday, March 5, noon–1 pm or 8–9 pm
• Monday, March 11, 7–8 pm

Update + Resources

Did you miss these webinars? Watch a recording below, and use our Guide to Bridging to plan your event.

Each webinar will start with a 20-30 minute topic presentation, followed by time for questions. Space is limited in these webinars, but a transcript will be provided on our training page for new volunteers.

Upcoming Webinars (No RSVP Needed)

• Troop Finances—Tuesday, January 29 (noon–1:00 pm or 8:00–9:00 pm)
• Camp Opportunities and Outdoor Training—Tuesday, February 26 (noon–1:00 pm or 8:00–9:00 pm)
• Ceremonies and Celebrations— Tuesday, March 26 (noon–1:00 pm or 8:00–9:00 pm)
• Early Bird Registration—Tuesday, April 30 (noon–1:00 pm or 8:00–9:00 pm)

Have you missed our webinars? Visit our new volunteer training page to find recordings and downloads of these trainings.

How to Log In to Webinars:

Visuals will be shared online and audio will be provided using a conference phone call system. If possible, please log in using both the web and your phone. If you can’t get to a computer, feel free to just call into the conference line.

Phone Log-in Instructions:

1. Call the toll-free phone access number: 866-439-4480
2. Enter the Participant PIN code on your telephone keypad: 528731#

Web Log-in Instructions:

1. Open your Internet browser and go to: https://lounge.anywhereconference.com/
2. Enter web login reference number: 122329718
3. Enter the Participant PIN code: 528731 (no # sign)
4. Enter your name
5. Click “Go”

New troop leaders, if you haven’t already done so, please visit the Training page for new volunteers for links to training information.

Please also feel free to contact 800-845-0787 or e-mail training@girlscoutsrv.org. Thank you for volunteering with River Valleys!

Friends

More than 170 volunteers registered for FALL Conference in 2011. This year our goal is to reach more than 200. We hope to see you there!

Activities

• Opening ceremony
• River Valleys Resource Fair and lunch
• Children’s book drive for Read Indeed (a girl-led organization) and Reach Out and Read
• “Name the 2013 Conference Theme” contest

Learning

Choose from over 40 unique enrichment training sessions for new, returning and service unit volunteers (some required trainings are also available). Following are some examples of session topics:

• STEM—Making Science Cool
• Leadership Progression—Best Practices for Cookie Success
• Outdoor Awareness—Teaching Emergency Survival to Girl Scouts
• Healthy Living—Go Team!
• Building Girl Scout Connections—Girl Scout Traditions: Day Camps
• Cultural Literacy—Treasures in a Trunk: Bringing Girl Scout History to Troops

Leadership

FALL Conference is planned by a committee of volunteers from across River Valleys’ jurisdiction: Jennifer Sakellariou (chair), Jeanine Kiefer (vice chair), Julia Miller (past chair), Don Lee, Roberta Peterson, Kimberly Rowland, Deb Tenold, Julie Wendland and Donna Young. The conference theme artwork was designed by volunteer, Bert Jones. Help us thank and recognize these individuals for their hard work and creativity.

Bring Your Girl Scout Cadettes

If you’re a leader of Girl Scout Cadettes, bring them along to the Cadette Getaway—a separate event held at the same time and location as FALL Conference.