This committee had many summer scheduling issues and joined to meet twice in September. These are notes from the past two meetings. Thank you to the dedicated volunteers who help out on this committee. 9/16/13 The Outdoor Property Evaluation Task Force met to discuss the selection of additional volunteers to the Task Force, recommend a Task Force Charter to the Board, and complete an initial review of the Outdoor Property Evaluation Plan. Volunteers selected to join the Task Force included Katie Blair and Sarah Braught.  Members also approved a draft Charter for board review and approval and provided feedback on the initial draft of the Outdoor Property Evaluation Plan. 9/30/13 The Task Force discussed feedback from the Board of Directors (BOD). The Task Force Charter from the Board that was approved by the Board (posted to the Properties page of the GSCO website) The BOD requested a formal communications plan, documenting how the evaluation process will be communicated to our constituents. The Task Force discussed appointing interested volunteers to serve as Key Consultants for the evaluation process.  To date, those individuals include: Nicole Jones – Communications Strategy & Coordination Anna Beucler – Outdoor Program Advisory Board Liaison Penny Roberts – MMR Siobhan Murtha – Kiwa Korral Debbie Wiggins – Kiwa Korral Jill Marostica – Lazy Acres Additional property specific Key Consultant positions remain available to interested volunteers. The Task Force finalized the Outdoor Property Evaluation Plan (posted to the Properties page of the GSCO website) http://www.girlscoutsofcolorado.org/outdoor-property-evaluation The Task Force reviewed some preliminary data received to date on each property. The Task Force discussed site visits to each property and a site visit evaluation tool.  Staff representative Betsy Till agreed to finalize dates for a tour of the properties, as well as the evaluation tool.  The Task Force agreed to hold its next meeting after the first round of property visits, date TBD. #KeyConsultant #BoardofDirectors #TaskForce #MMR #GirlScouts #KiwaKorral #evaluation #Colorado #LazyAcres

[slideshow] The members of Girl Scouts of Colorado continue to provide assistance to those in their communities whose lives and homes have been turned upside down by the flooding last month in Colorado. We understand how fortunate we are that our impact is limited to damage to one camp (Kiwa Korral) and one office building (Colorado Springs Service Center). Our girls and volunteers whose primary residence and families were affected will be missed as they will have to put Girl Scout participation on the back burner. I understand that members are anxious for more details about the damage to Kiwa Korral and the future of the property. In this post, I am sharing photos that were taken last week during the only time our property manager has been able to step foot on the property, with our insurance adjustor. The course of the river has moved dramatically, which will affect our property lines, and this is one of the largest areas of uncertainty for the property and its future. As the photos show, the gate that used to open to a road to our property now opens to a river. Authorities are denying us access to the property with the exception of the insurance visit because the only way to access Kiwa is on foot via the neighbor’s property and crossing the old river’s flow. We are working as fast as local authorities will allow on determining a course of action, yet it’s clearly going to be a slow process. Understandably, much higher priority is being given to primary residence property owners. We have spoken with Boulder County and the Colorado Department of Emergency Management, and it is still too early to get answers on the course of the North St. Vrain River. According to the Boulder County Sherriff’s office, the county’s priority is to open roads and utilities so that people whose homes were cut off can get back to some function of their lives. There are 6 different agencies working on the river and property rights issues, so it will undoubtedly be a lengthy process. Talks of clean-up efforts will be down the road some time. In the meanwhile, I must stress that, no one is granted access to the Kiwa Korral property, as it is a major safety hazard.  Thank you for your understanding and patience. #Damage #daycamp #Flood #Kiwa

View more photos (Photos by Jesse Myers, Girl Scout volunteer) Girl Scouts of Colorado was honored to have Anna Maria Chávez, Girl Scouts of the USA’s CEO, as our keynote speaker at the 2013 Thin Mint Dinner on Thursday evening, Oct. 10, at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel. This evening also honored Girl Scouts of Colorado’s 2013 Denver Women of Distinction and helped raise $250,000 for Girl Scouts of Colorado’s leadership programs. Ms. Chavez set the tone for the evening, which was a call to stand up for Girl Scouts. Many in the nearly 600-person crowd were unaware that individual adult donors supported Boy Scouts of America to the tune of $56 million annually, and during the same year adult donors only gave Girl Scouts of the USA $4 million. These figures don’t include what youth members of these organizations raise through fundraisers like the Boy Scout popcorn sales and the iconic Girl Scout Cookie Program. Clearly, Girl Scouts needs more financial support from those who believe in our mission, but donating money isn’t the only way to support the Girl Scouts. Girl Scouts nationwide, including Colorado, is in need of volunteers, particularly troop leaders to help place the thousands of girls who want to be Girl Scouts but can’t until they have adult volunteer leadership. To learn more, visit girlscoutsofcolorado.org. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UycElK7Woo&w=560&h=315] Taking the lead in standing up for Girl Scouts were Girl Scouts of Colorado’s Women of Distinction. Eight new 2013 honorees joined the 387 who have been named to this honor since 1997. This year’s inductees are: Denise Burgess, President/General Manager, Burgess Services, Inc., Michelle M. Lucero, Esq., Chief Legal Officer, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Karen Nakandakare, Diversity, Inclusion & Community Investment, CH2M HILL, Kristin Richardson, Community Volunteer, Smithsonian National Board, Smithsonian Science Education Board, Children’s Hospital Colorado & Foundation Boards, TBD Colorado Board, Christine M. Riordan, Ph.D., Former Dean, Daniels College of Business, University of Denver, Provost, University of Kentucky, Mimi Roberson, President/CEO, Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center & Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children at P/SL, Regina M. Rodriguez, Partner, Faegre Baker Daniels LLP, Shari F. Shink, Esq., Founder/President Emeritus, Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center. Girl Scouts of Colorado also awarded an honorary Woman of Distinction recognition to Girl Scouts inspirational national leader, Anna Maria Chávez. To learn more about these honorees see the event program: WOD_DEN_program_FINAL. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3ZRooGuxnA&w=560&h=315] Girl Scouts of Colorado honors top women leaders in our community as Girl Scout Women of Distinction. These women have reached remarkable levels of achievement as business, community and civic leaders. Girl Scouts of Colorado engages Women of Distinction in ongoing Girl Scout activities and programs designed to build the next generation of leaders. Over the last 16 years, the Women of Distinction program has raised more than $2 million. Special thanks goes to event chairs Paula Herzmark, Executive Director of the Denver Health Foundation, and Elaine Gantz Berman, Colorado State Board of Education, both 2002 Women of Distinction, as well as 2013 Women of Distinction Selection Chair Dr. Jandel Allen-Davis, Vice President of Government and External Relations at Kaiser Permanente Colorado and 2012 Woman of Distinction. Major sponsors of the 2013 Girl Scouts of Colorado Thin Mint Dinner included Bow River Capital Partners/Johnson Financial Group LLC, Centerplate, Children’s Hospital Colorado, DaVita, FirstBank and UMB Bank. For more information on Girl Scouts of Colorado, visit girlscoutsofcolorado.org. On Wednesday evening, Oct. 9th, Blair & Kristin Richardson were gracious hostesses of a private reception for Denver community leaders, Girl Scouts of the USA’s Anna Maria Chavez and senior staff, and Girl Scouts of Colorado senior leadership team and board. View more photos Media clips from Anna Maria’s visit and Denver’s Women of Distinction event: The Villager (Greenwood Village) The Denver Post AskMissA.com #AnnaMariaChavez #fundraisingevent #WomenofDistinction #GirlScouts #Colorado

Our hearts go out to those whose lives have been devastated by the flooding in September throughout Colorado. We know that our members have been concerned about how the floods may have affected our Girl Scouts of Colorado properties, as have we. With no access to the property, information has been very slow to come on the status of our property in Lyons, Kiwa Korral. Hundreds of Northern Colorado girls enjoy a volunteer-led day camp that’s held every year at the property, and the beautiful camp is beloved by GSCO girls, volunteers and staff around the state. Late last week, council staff got their first brief view of the property with our insurance adjustor. The state highway adjacent to the property is washed out, and the flow of the nearby creek diverted itself and has enlarged by many times to be river-sized and has expanded to the opposite side of our property, leaving Kiwa Korral as an island. Because we are not permanent residents, we will not have access to the property for an indefinite period of time. The lodge is standing, but has suffered significant damage. The shelter is a loss, and the entire property is flooded with massive amounts of debris. It is truly saddening. We do not have a report as of yet from the insurance company, and no FEMA assistance is available to us. This is all of the information that is available to GSCO at this time. We have just learned that Pawnee Lodge in Sterling did not sustain any damage. The other good news for GSCO is that no other camp properties incurred any flood damage. As soon as more information is available, we will continue to share it with our members and the public. #floods #gscoproperties #KiwaKorral #Lyons

Submitted by Sara and Kristin Centennial Troop 61133 On October 5th we had the wonderful opportunity to Bunk With the Beasts at the Denver Zoo! The whole trip was super cool and everyone had a great time. Our tour guide, Maggie, was informative, sweet, patient, and fun. The girls had a private tour of the zoo at night, visited with a baby snow leopard, learned about the importance of enrichment and even played with some, used night vision goggles, and made a Shrinky Dink necklace. We wrapped up the evening with some hot chocolate and popcorn and a visit from a beautiful bearded dragon and a very active tortoise. In the morning they greeted us with another private tour with a trip to the commissary and a visit with a porcupine and two of our girls even got to feed him! Overall, our first overnight as a troop was not only super fun but the girls demonstrated that they are in fact living by the Girl Scout Law. They were respectful, helpful, asked thoughtful questions, made connections to prior learning, were sisters to every Girl Scout, and giggled and whispered their way into the night. We could not have been more proud. They earned the Pets badge and a special Bunk With the Beasts fun patch and they are already thinking about their next overnight. Thank you Denver Zoo for putting on this awesome program! At the end of the trip, the girls talked about how they’ve put their cookie money to good use: a big service project for a local preschool, a painting party at the Lone Tree Rec Center, new Journey books, membership dues  AND the Bunk with the Beasts overnight was mostly funded with cookie proceeds. Now the girls are even more excited to start selling cookies again in January! [slideshow] #cookieproceeds #Brownies #DenverZoo #BunkwiththeBeasts #Troop61133

Girl Scouts of Colorado is announcing the 2013 inductees into the esteemed Women of Distinction program in Grand Junction at a breakfast on Oct. 15 at the Western Colorado Center for the Arts. This year’s three Grand Junction honorees were chosen based on their contributions to the community, both professionally and personally. The Women of Distinction commit to supporting Girl Scouts of Colorado and serving Girl Scouts today. This will be the first year Girl Scouts of Colorado has honored Women of Distinction on the Western Slope. The Girl Scouts Women of Distinction program is active in other parts of the state, including Colorado Springs and Denver. More than 400 women throughout the state have been recognized and honorees are dedicated to raising funds to support Girl Scout leadership programs, with more than $2 million raised in the last 20 years. For more information on the Women of Distinction, including the names of Colorado honorees, visit Girl Scouts of Colorado’s website. The Grand Junction event is sponsored by WPX Energy and hosted by Grand Junction resident Susan Alvillar. For more information, please contact Cindi Graves 970-201-3556 Girl Scouts of Colorado’s Grand Junction 2013 Women of Distinction: Lois Dunn, Real Estate Broker, Invest in Colorado West, Inc. Teresa Coons, Executive Director, Math and Science Center Lisa Boyd, Co-Owner, No Coast Sushi Story about the honorees and event on KJCT-ABC Grand Junction #women #GrandJunction #WesternSlope #fundraisingevent #WomenofDistinction #GirlScouts #Colorado #leadership

Help spread the word, Girl Scouts needs adult volunteers. Share this with friends and family. YOU can be the role model she’ll always remember, volunteer today! #FirstLadyMichelleObama #GirlScoutvolunteers #recruitment

View more photos A crowd of 300  gathered at Pueblo Community College on Tuesday morning, Sept. 24th, for the Pueblo Community Bloomin’ Breakfast. The event raised $10,377 to support the Girl Scout Leadership Experience in the area. Co-chairs of the event were Cora Zaletel and Shelly Moreschini. Leadership testimonials were given by Angela Giron, Community Leader, Priscilla Lucero, President, Wells Fargo Bank, and Jen Mullen, Chief of Staff, CSU–Pueblo. Troop 31709 did the flag ceremony, Julie Kuhlman with Troops 34111 and 34112 gave the invocation and Patty Ervajec, President, Pueblo Community College, welcomed attendees to the event. Troop 32663 presented Dance Folklórico and Andrea Austin, with Troop 34112, talked about the impact of Girl Scouting in her life. Special thanks to our sponsors of the event: Wells Fargo, El Pomar Foundation, Ent Federal Credit Union, Parkview Medical Center, Pueblo Community College and Southern Colorado Community Foundation. Article in the Pueblo Chieftain about the event #Colorado #fundraisingevent #GirlScouts #Pueblo

Submitted by Laura Hopkins Littleton The eight 2nd grade girls of Brownie Troop 74 at Acres Green Elementary held a drive to collect children’s books and magazines for an underprivileged elementary school. The drive was done in conjunction with the World of Girls It’s Your Story Tell It journey. The girls first worked together to choose a community service project that would benefit girls in our area. It was decided to do a book drive since we knew of an elementary school that serves a low-income area where most of the families do not have any children’s books in their homes, and the children can’t develop their reading skills like the girls at our school can. The girls made posters for the drive and hung them around the school, and had the drive announced during morning announcements at school. They decorated a bin to collect the books in the school lobby. The girls also cleaned out their own book and magazine collections and asked friends and family for donations. By the end of the drive, the girls collected 99 magazines and 469 books! They were donated to the school, and it was much appreciated. The school in turn gave the students tickets and let them pick age-appropriate books to take home. The girls in Troop 74 learned a lot about choosing a project that was meaningful to them, planning and carrying out the drive, and the great feeling of giving! This story was submitted via the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too #AcresGreenElementary #communityservice #Brownies #Troop74 #ItsYourStoryTellItJourney

Girl Scouts of Colorado has on our minds and in our hearts all of our members and neighbors throughout the state who have been affected by the flooding in our communities. GSCO is currently assessing the impact of the flooding on our properties and what our action plan will be. We will alert our membership as soon as we have complete information. We also know that Girl Scouts near and far want to reach out when others are in need. At this time, the best way to help is to donate money to organizations that are helping www.helpcoloradonow.net. HelpColoradoNow.org is a partnership between the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) and Colorado Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (COVOAD). Their website lists agencies, foundations and funds that are helping flood victims, as well as information on how to make donations, volunteer and drop-off centers. In the coming weeks and months, Girl Scouts will want to take action to help their neighbors recover and rebuild. Please let us know what your troop is doing to help. You can also see GSUSA’s “How Girl Scouts Can Help When Disaster Strikes”http://forgirls.girlscouts.org/disaster-response/. #Coloradofloods

View more photos Last Thursday evening, Sept. 12th, Girl Scouts of Colorado honored the 2013 Pikes Peak Women of Distinction and Women to Watch during the Thin Mint Dinner at the Antlers Hilton in Colorado Springs. A group of 230 gathered at the event, which raised $35,000 for local Girl Scouting programs. This year’s honorees are a remarkable group. The Women of Distinction include Lindy Conter, Community Volunteer, Women’s Resource Agency, The Women’s Foundation of Colorado and Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame, Lynette Crow-Iverson, President/CEO, Conspire!, Margaret D. Sabin, President of Centura Health South State Operating Group, Penrose-St. Francis Health Services, Barb Winter, Executive Vice President – Organizational Resources, Ent Federal Credit Union, and Dr. Adis Maria Vila, First Chief Diversity Officer, USAFA, Nov. 2010 – June 2013. Women to Watch (an award started in 2012 given to emerging women leaders under 40) honorees, are Ann Cesare, Community Outreach Director, Memorial Hospital, University of Colorado Health, Amber Ptak, Director of Education Programs, Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado, a program of the Gill Foundation, and Shannon Rogers, Sales and Relationship Manager, Discover Goodwill of Southern and Western Colorado. Learn more about these women in the event program. Girl Scouts of Colorado honors top women leaders in our community as Girl Scout Women of Distinction or Women to Watch. These women have reached remarkable levels of achievement as business, community and civic leaders. Girl Scouts of Colorado engages Women of Distinction in ongoing Girl Scout activities and programs designed to build the next generation of leaders. Since 1994, 108 women have been named as Pikes Peak Women of Distinction and have raised more than $300,000 for Girl Scouts of Colorado. Including this year’s honorees, a total of five women have been named Women to Watch in the Pikes Peak area. Mary Kelly, Ph.D., CEO, Productive Leaders, gave the event’s keynote address. The event’s three-course dinner culminated with creative desserts featuring Girl Scout Cookies. Event chair was Claire Garcia, Woman of Distinction 2012, and the 2013 Women of Distinction Selection Chair was Renita Wolf with Girl Scouts of Colorado’s Board of Directors. Sponsors of this event included BKD CPAs & Advisors, El Pomar Foundation, Ent Federal Credit Union and Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado, a program of the Gill Foundation. Special thanks goes to Jym Fair with American Made Film & Media for putting together the event video. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1oxSdN_Ppk] For more information on the Girl Scouts of Colorado Pikes Peak Women of Distinction program, please visit our website. Colorado Springs Gazette article about the event #women #ColoradoSprings #fundraisingevent #WomenofDistinction #GirlScouts #PikesPeak #Colorado #leadership #WomentoWatch

View more photos Girl Scout Nicole Burkhalter, who is currently a senior at Arvada West High School, made a big impact on the junior and senior classes at her high school on Thursday, Sept. 12th. During a pre-Homecoming Week assembly she organized as part of a distracted driving prevention campaign, Nicole brought her classmates to tears as they saw how lives are forever changed from drinking and driving accidents. The students were particularly moved by the presentation from a Colorado mother with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (in association with drunk driving lawyers of California) who had lost her son in a drinking and driving accident. The inspiration for this project came from a community event Nicole attended where she learned about the impacts of drinking and driving accidents. “I felt this was an important issue because not many teens understand the dangers of drinking and driving, or even being in a car with someone who is driving drunk,” said Nicole, who has been a Girl Scout since 1st grade. Her original project plan was to focus on the dangers of drinking and driving, but after a rise in other distracted driving incidents, school administrators encouraged her to add additional pieces to her project. Arvada Police and Fire presented at the assembly on the dangers of texting while driving. The students took pledges not to text and drive, which included painting their thumb nails purple and wearing purple thumb rings. Later in October Arvada West will also participate in a teen driving safety campaign called Celebrate My Drive sponsored by State Farm. Arvada West’s student body will be encouraged to go online to pledge to be safe behind the wheel. Top pledging schools could win teen driving safety grants and a concert by Kelly Clarkson.  Nicole has also developed other drinking and driving prevention curriculum that will be used by the school year-round to continue to keep this important issue top-of-mind for students. This leadership project has earned Nicole Girl Scouts’ highest honor, the Gold Award. She also joins a long line of Arvada West Scouts who have earned Scouting’s highest awards, including Arvada West Principal Robert Bishop, who is a Boy Scout Eagle Scout recipient. An article about Nicole’s project was published in the Arvada YourHub, which is affiliated with The Denver Post. (On a personal note, this was one of the most impressive Gold Award projects I’ve ever seen. The support Nicole got from her school administrators as well as her student body was quite impressive! During the presentation you could have heard a pin drop as the students were actively listening to what was being said. Kudos to the leadership Nicole brought to this project, and I am confident she has made an impact on her student body and helped save lives on the road!) #GoldAward #Arvada #communityservice #drivingsafety #ArvadaWest #drinkinganddriving #TakeAction #GirlScouts #Colorado