Girl Scouts to realign

COLUMBUS - The Nebraska Girl Scouts' organization will go through a transformation to better serve its members and make the most effective use of its programs.

It is anticipated that within the next couple of years, the five Girl Scout Councils in Nebraska will realign to form one. The state is following a national plan made by the Girl Scouts of the USA's National Board of Directors to consolidate 312 councils to 109.

Nebraska's councils include Goldenrod, Great Plains, Guiding Star, Homestead and Prairie Hills, the last of which is located in Columbus. Prairie Hill serves a 19-county jurisdiction and is headed by CEO Bernie Hansen.

Hansen said the realignment is one of the biggest changes the Girl Scouts organization has had over the past several years. She said it is an opportunity to make the best use of the organization's assets.

“We want to be able to serve as many girls as we can and have them be served with the best resources available,” Hansen said.

The realignment process will start in April of 2007 and the process in Nebraska is expected to be complete by 2008. The national realignment is expected to finish by the end of 2009.

Hansen said the change isn't being done because the current councils are not effective, but that this is a strategic move to position the organization for the future. She sees the move as a positive for the organization as funding will be available to offer more programs in the future because of the combining of strengths and resources.

Hansen said a board will be formed to start the realignment process. That board will be responsible for deciding what to name of the new council, where it will be located and where service centers will be. Hansen anticipates that many of the present locations will need to be kept.

The Prairie Hills Council has been in existence for 50 years and has always has its headquarters in Columbus. It was formed by combining with other councils in Fremont and Norfolk. The council has 2,286 members and 663 adult volunteers.