|
tionwide as the organization expanded. But in recent decades, the group has consolidated its local councils. That process accelerated dramatically under a plan that cut them from 330 to 112 by 2009.
• The restructuring left groups with additional properties to manage, many featuring old cabins and dining halls that need upgrades.
• Gregory Copeland of Domokur Architects in Akron, Ohio, a consultant to local councils, said by 2020, the number of Girl Scout-owned camps could easily be cut in half. He said the newly merged groups have a glut of properties they cannot afford to maintain, let alone fill with programming.
• "While it's a hugely emotional issue, there's just realistically no way they can end up sustaining that amount of land," he said. "The emotional ties have nothing to do with logic or dollars or anything else. People just don't want to lose what they feel is theirs."
• Scouts from the younger generation are accustomed to technology and comfort and have more summer activities to choose from. Girl Scouts USA estimates that only 10 percent typically attend a residential summer camp every year, while 25 percent will spend a weekend camping with their troop.
• The national group does not keep data on the proposals, but says a "considerable number" of councils have opted to sell one or more sites, said Mark Allsup, a property consultant for the organization. He said some councils have handled sales smoothly by keeping members informed during reviews so that final decisions aren't a surprise and are backed up with data.
• Some decisions "are being made soundly, and we are very supportive of them," he said. "And, like with anybody else, we have good students and C students."
• Critics say any sales undermine a key Girl Scouts tradition. They have a saying: "I am who I am today because of camp."
• Kinsey, a University of Iowa art history professor, credits her experience with giving her a love of landscape painting and friendships that include an English woman who named a child after her. She said the Girl Scouts have become too focused on money, and she was outraged by the security presence at one meeting.
• "We just keep shaking our heads, 'This is just not Girl Scouts'," Kinsey said at her Iowa City home, where she keeps her old Scout memorabilia. "I've started saying (Continued on page 32)
|
|
