By Yadira Betances
Staff Writer
March 02, 2008 08:27 am NORTH ANDOVER — It's not only Fortune 500 firms merging these days. It's Daisys, Brownies and Cadettes, too. On Feb. 1, three Girl Scout councils representing different parts of the state merged into one large council called Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts. The local council, Spar and Spindle in North Andover, merged with the Patriots' Trail Council of Boston and the Girl Scouts of Southern Massachusetts. Together, the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts serves some 45,000 girls. This merger will allow the girls to participate in camps and workshops outside the Merrimack Valley, including those in Boston and on the South Shore. "When people think of the Girl Scouts, the first thing they think of is cookies and camping," said Ruth Bramson, new chief executive officer for Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts. "We want to be much more than that. We want to be known as a place to help girls develop and become tomorrow's leaders." The national group, Girl Scouts of the USA, began merging councils in 2003. The reason behind it was the concern that there were too many councils competing for financial help for the same types of programs. Since 2003, the number of councils has been scaled down from 318 to 110. Bramson, who was a Brownie and Girl Scout growing up, said chances are the girls won't notice much difference. The merger will not affect cookie sales. Lifetime and annual membership will remain the same, and there are no immediate plans to close branches. They only thing they will notice is that they can now attend camps in Brewster, Ashland, Norton and Nantucket as well as the Bradford section of Haverhill and Meredith, N.H. Lorri Beverage, who has been in Girl Scouting since the 1970s, remembers when the Spar and Spindle Council was formed by the union of the Merimack and Hawthorne councils in 1980. "Some people saw that merger with trepidation, and look where we are now," Beverage said. "This is going to be even better because the girls will have many more opportunities to expand their horizons." The new council will be overseen by a board of directors, delegates, Scouts and their mothers. Its first meeting is planned for May 15. Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts will revamp its Web site to make it more sophisticated and appealing to teenagers and also use UTube as a mean of attracting more members. "We want girls to see Girl Scouting as a relevant place to be," Bramson said. "It's a great place for girls to be safe and learn. It's a win/win situation."
About Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts Formed Feb. 1, 2008, after the merger of Spar and Spindle, Patriots' Trail and Girl Scouts of Southeastern Massachusetts. Serves 45,000 girls in 178 communities from the Merrimack Valley to Cape Cod. Owns 11 camps including ones in Andover and Rowley, and 11 service centers including North Andover, Boston, Lowell, and Lynn. One out of every eight girls in eastern Massachusetts is a Girl Scout. Girls are led by more than 17,000 adult volunteers.
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Photos
Ruth Bramson of Dover, new chief executive officer of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts, brings a wealth of experience after working with nonprofit groups and government agencies. Staff photo