My overall opinion of this trip was that not only was it the most enjoyable trip that I ever went on, but it was also the most fulfilling thing I ever did as far as being in charge of and seeing a major event come off successfully.
I feel that not only I, but the entire troop learned many things in the area of planning and motivation. I have grouped these things by the subject they fall under.
FOOD
Although this disagrees with Denise Harrington's opinion-(food chairman)-, I think that next time we should buy in bulk, and package it ourselves..
This will require a lot of pre-planning but I think it's worth it. The cost of the food for our trip did run a little bit high. I also suggest that the food chairman have a commit-tee, or at least one assistant.
I think that the system of dividing the food equally be-tween patrols and then having the patrol leaders dividing it among their patrol members was a very good and efficient one.
TRANSPORTATION
In my opinion the problem of transportation was handled quite well.
All packs were taken up in one truck. Only adults going on the trip drove.
Each of -these drivers was reimbursed for gas and wear/tear on the vehicle.
Unfortunately however, we didn't have enough money to fully cover the drivers'
expenses,
FINANCE
My finance chairperson's evaluation was a little short so I'll fill in the holes. In order to partially pay for each girls expenses on this trip, a number of things were done.
First of all, we had an extremely successful candy bar sale. Hershey's milk chocolate, krackle, and milk chocolate with almonds were sold. Thirty-three cents profit was made off of each bar and half of that profit, or seventeen cents went to the individual girls account.
Cookie profits were also divided this way. As a point of clarification, when I say individual account I mean that the treasurer kept track of how much each girl had earned.
Another fundraiser that really worked was a paper drive. This was our first one and we did it on a small scale. We did however, make quite a bit of money in proportion to the amount of time invested. I believe that this has great po-tential as a major money-maker.
Our troop tried something new this year. We went to every bazaar and boutique we could find and sold individual items. I really don't feel that these efforts were worth the trouble. They took a lot of preparation and didn't produce much profit.
Here are some ideas for future fundraisers:
Candy bar sales
Calendar sales
Girl Scout cookie sales
Car washes
Dog washes
Selling gift-check books
Selling Benson's fruit cake at Christmastime
Selling mistletoe-door ornaments at Christmastime
frisbee-a-thon
Walk-a-thon
Swim-a-thon
A cookie decorating booth at the Country Faire.
EQUIPMENT
There's not really much to say about equipment except that I feel prices of different brands were sufficiently com-pared and the best deal found. Another thing is that this equipment-(cook kits, water buckets(collapsible), first-aid kits, and frying pans)-have long been needed.
I do think that the first-aid kits were a bit inadequate. There was not nearly enough tape, moleskin, or gauze pads. These things should be added before the kits are used again.
As it is now, anyone can borrow these things for use of an outing as long as advance notice is given.
MOTIVATION
Being the Senior Patrol Leader, most of the motivating was my responsibility. Over the week long outing and the two month planning por6od, I learned a lot of things. Not only about motivating people, but also how people react when treated different ways. For the remainder of this paper I will discuss these things one at a time.
A good rule of thumb on the trail is to wake people up 1 1/2 hours before you want to leave camp.
2. When planning a time schedule, always allow generous amounts of time for things, also permit time for miscellaneous and the unexpected. That way you're less likely to be disappointed by not completing your task, hike, or whatever on time.
3. When in a leadership position never approach fellow workers with a "Holier than thou" attitude.' This just puts them on the defensive. Approach them on a friendly level and make sure they know they can come to you for help.
4. For the preservation of your own sanity, don't try to do other people's jobs for them. It's alright to give suggestions and encouragement, but don't do it all.
5. Once you make a decision, stick by it!! Don't ask a large group of people their opinion after you already decided. This does absolutely no good, it only makes you feel awful. There's absolutely no way to please everyone. This is not to say that you shouldn't ask opinions of one person at a time BEFORE making the choice.
6. When a quick decision is needed, make it! Don't stop to take a poll of what everyone's' opinion is.
7. Don't forget to delegate responsibility. A good leader is supposed to bring other people up to his/her level of capability. This isn't possible if you're not willing to share the work. Don't however, make anyone do something you wouldn't want to do yourself.
8. After you've given somebody a job to do, check up on them occasionally
and make sure that everything is moving according to schedule.