VISTA 5:

1. Welcome!

   • We started the meeting with treats organized by Mary Beth C.’s (Park Ridge) Cadette Troop #1098. Thank you to Mary Beth, her girls and all of her adult volunteers. The tables looked adorable with the "campfire" centerpieces, and the food was very tasty. The girls did a great job decorating and making the room look very festive.
   • Sue S. (Park Ridge) introduced herself as our VISTA 5 Manager, and welcomed all the leaders and guests to the VISTA 5 Awards Night.
   • "If it weren’t for all of our volunteers, we would not have such a great Girl Scout group as we have. We have come a long way in bringing our communities together, so thank you, thank you, thank you!"
   • Sue reminded everyone to drop their name in the bag for the raffle prizes that were awarded later in the evening.
   • We had a short meeting, followed by the presentation of awards.

2. Finance Report -- Carolynn C. (Park Ridge)

   • Troop finance reports are due at the end of June. It is available on-line under Forms at www.girlscoutsgcnwi.org.
   • Please do not wait until the last minute to complete this form. The volunteer in charge of your troop’s check book should be the person completing this form.
   • When you have completed this form--Park Ridge leaders should submit their forms to their school organizers; who should forward all forms to Carolynn C.; Niles/Morton Grove leaders should submit their forms to either their school organizers or directly to Michael M.; Skokie/Lincolnwood leaders should submit their forms to Susie S.
   • All of these forms get forwarded to council.
   • Please give a specific explanation if there is an excess of funds (over $1,000).
   • If your troop will be disbanding this year, please complete the Disbanded Troop form. Click here to access the form. Close out all troop accounts. If you have remaining funds, make a donation to another Girl Scout troop, use them for a big end-of-the-year event (play, dinner, etc.), donate to a local charity, etc. Submit this form with your financial report.

3. Council Events -- Sara N. (Council Liaison)
   

   • Family Fun Science Event for the whole family

   • June 12, 2010 from 10:00 am - 12:30 pm
   • Oak Terrace School, Highwood
   • Cost: $8 per scout, $5 per adult
   • Click here to register on-line. Registration code: 598
   • For a "double feature" add Fit Fest to the above program.
   • June 12, 2010 from 1:00 - 5:00 pm
   • Oak Terrace School, Highwood
   • Cost: $10 per scout
   • Click here to register on-line. Registration code: 095

   • Weather Watch with a Storm Chaser!

   • Appropriate for all ages.
   • Dates, times and locations vary.
   • Cost: $6 per scout
   • Click here to register on-line. Registration codes: 72001, 72002, 72003 through 72012

4. Registration -- Joyce M. (Morton Grove)
   

   • VISTA 5 is raffling off a pizza party to those troops that register their girls by June 4, 2010. All troops that have input their information into the E COUNCIL database and have their paperwork to their Community Registrar on time will have their troop number entered into the raffle to win the pizza party.
   • Community Registration Managers: Joyce M. (Morton Grove/Niles), Jennifer M. (Park Ridge), and Susie S. (Skokie/Lincolnwood)
   • At the February VISTA 5 meeting, it was reported that we were short our registration goal by about 200 girls and 100 adults. Sue S. happily reported that today we are only short our current school-year goal by 10 girls and 20 volunteers. Thank you to everyone for registering your girls and adult volunteers!

   • Family Partnership

   • Please encourage every family in your troop to donate to the Family Partnership campaign. Although the recommended gift is $25, suggest a matching $12 for $12. Even $1 per family will make a difference.

5. Fund Raisers

   • Fund raising events are allowed only if the troop/group has participated in both the Fall Product and Cookie Sale programs.
   • Troops must complete the Money-Earning Activity Application form available on-line, and submit this form to your Community Manager.
   • Advertising fund raising events for specific organizations is discouraged, however troops/groups may donate money to any charity of their choice.

6. Trip Applications
   

   • The Trip and Travel Application form for summer activities (and year-round activities) can be downloaded from the Forms section of www.girlscoutsgcnwi.org web site.
   • This form is new. Please list the names of all your adult volunteer drivers and their insurance carrier for overnight trips. Their account number is not needed for this form.
   • CPR/First aid adult volunteers should be listed on this form, as well as your outdoor trained adult volunteer, if you are going camping.

7. Niles 4th of July Parade -- Judie E. (Niles)

   • Everyone from VISTA 5 is invited to participate in the Niles 4th of July parade on . . . July 4, 2010!!
   • Scouts and their leaders should meet at the Notre Dame High School (7655 W. Dempster St., Niles) parking lot at 8:30 am; parade steps off at 9:00 am; and finishes at Grennan Heights (8255 N. Oketo Ave., Niles) with a party in the park.
   • Niles troops will be pushing shopping carts and collecting non-perishable food donations for the food pantry, so if you know of anyone going to the parade, please encourage them to bring an item to put in the carts.
   • Trip applications are needed for anyone participating in the parade.

   • Senior Troop #1006

   • Judie’s Senior troop will be having a flag burning ceremony as a service project on June 16, 2010. Please donate any old, worn flags that you may have in your basement so that they can be disposed of respectfully.

8. Camp Anokijig Update -- Nancy F. (Morton Grove)
   

   • 272 campers have already registered. There is space for about another 80 people.
   • We will be opening up this event to other VISTAs this weekend to try to reach the maximum of 350 campers.
   • Cabins are filled, but tents are available.
   • Trip Applications must be completed and submitted to your Community Manager by the end of June.
   • Outdoor Training modules 1 & 2 must be completed. (If you are staying in tents, module 3 must be completed, as well.) Currently, Girls on the Move or Leader Essentials will satisfy the Module 1 requirement.
   • Every troop must bring their own First Aid/CPR adult volunteer.
   • Safety-wise guidelines must be followed.
   • NO alcohol is allowed.
   • Space is still available for the climbing wall.
   • Horseback riding is full.
   • The $45 per camper, non-refundable deposit was due at tonight’s VISTA 5 meeting. Please get your money to Nancy ASAP. Balance is due in July.
   • Also, please turn in any updates to your troop roster with your check. Camp activities are organized based on the roster of girls that you submit.
   • Please make your checks payable to: Girl Scouts VISTA 5.

9. Leader/Daughter Event
   

   • An e-mail went out to all those leaders and daughters who will be attending this Saturday’s (May 16) performance of Peter Pan at the Lake Zurich Performing Arts Center, 300 Church St., Lake Zurich.
   • If you have any questions, please contact Cheryl B. (Park Ridge).
   • The performance starts at 6:00 pm. Please allow at least 45-60 minutes to travel to the theater. The theater is located in the Lake Zurich High School. Go to cytchicago.org and select Peter Pan for driving directions.
   • Please proceed to the "will call" desk to pick up your tickets. Inside your ticket envelope will be the appropriate amount of patches that you ordered. For those of you who purchased a souvenir bear, please see Cheryl at the will call desk to pick up your bear.

10. Brownie Day Update -- Jennifer M. (Park Ridge)
    

    • Deadline for Brownie Day registration is June 5, 2010.
    • Brownies are invited to attend the Sunday, July 18, 2010 Schaumburg Flyers Scout Day.
    • Stadium opens at 11:50 am; game time is 1:20 pm.
    • Cost: $10 per Girl Scout and $8 per adult
    • There are pre-game activities, including a parade around the warming track, as well as activites that happen throughout the entire game. If you have never been to a Schaumburg Flyers game, it is great fun!
    • Click here to see more details for this event, and to download the official event flier.

11. Girl Scouts Forever Green Festival!

    • Saturday, June 5, 2010
    • Allstate Arena, 6920 Mannheim Rd., Rosemont
    • Outdoor festival opens at 3:30 pm; Sky game tips off at 7:00 pm
    • Cost: $20
    • Click here for complete details of this event.

12. 2010 Summer Camp
    

    • 2010 Summer Camp Guides are now available.
    • Camping options include Journey World, resident camping and day camps.
    • There are many options for girls of all levels from Daisies to Ambassadors.
    • Resident camp open houses are May 2 at Camp Juniper Knoll, East Troy, WI; May 16 at Pokanoka, Ottawa, IL; and May 23 at Butternut Springs, Valparaiso, IN.

13. ADULT RECOGNITION AND AWARDS CEREMONY
    

    • Thank you to Margaret T. (Park Ridge) and her committee for all of their efforts in the nomination and selection process.
    • A special thank you to all of the cabinet members, event coordinators, and community managers.
    • Congratulations to all of our adult volunteers who received their Years of Service Pins. There were 47 adult volunteers who received their 5-year pin; 6 volunteers received their 10-year pin; 4 volunteers received their 15-year pin; 1 volunteer received her 25-year pin; and one received her 30-year pin. Congratulations to all!
    • Congratulations to those adult volunteers who were awarded the VISTA 5 Honor Roll award, the Outstanding Volunteer award, the Outstanding Leader award, the Newfound Treasure award, the Hidden Heroines award and the Appreciation Pin.
    • And from all of our VISTA 5 volunteers, a very, very special thank you to Sue S., our VISTA 5 Manager, for all of her efforts and dedication to our VISTA.
    • We ended the evening with the entire VISTA 5 singing On My Honor.

Have a safe and relaxing summer!