There’s no better time than the present for Brownie Guiders in Ontario.  Ontario Council in partnership with the Disney Institute presents SUPER PROGRAM, a training exclusively for Brownie Guiders.  For complete details visit https://guidesontario.org/index.php/adult/unit-guider/brownies/26-adult-members/779-super-program

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I have been a member of Guiding for over 40 years.  I was a girl member until I turned 18 and then became a Guider.  I have worked will all levels of girls and have also done administrative and training roles.  Do I still get excited about Girl Guide Trainings? A big YES and here are my top three reasons why:

Number 3:  I have never been to a training as a participant or trainer without learning something I could use. Whenever I take on a new role, Guiding is there with training to help me understand the job and do it well.  When I get into a rut with my unit planning, attending a Guiding program day gives me all kinds of new ideas to use and the motivation to try them.  Guiding even helps me at work.  When I became a manager for the first time and had to do a budget, the Girl Guide financial training I had taken helped me tackle it with confidence.  You want me to be part of the Company Risk Management Committee?  No problem – I’ve taken Safe Guide Training!

Number 2: Trainings are a great way to get connected.  Even training via the phone reassures me that other people are learning this new idea and I am not alone. Often these connections are personal ones and give you someone to call with Guiding questions, a new friend or, even a better, sense of the magnitude of this wonderful worldwide organization.  I had the pleasure of living in Austin, Texas for a year.  While there, I joined Girl Scouts and met some wonderful women.  One weekend I lead a session on conflict management, using a video from Australia.  We laughed so much at the differences in the accents of the people in the video, my Canadian pronunciation, and the wonderful way of speaking they have in Texas. However, we also realized that no matter what terms we used and how we said it, the personal conflict themes we were exploring resonated across the globe.  It gave us all a better appreciation of the way WAGGGS gives women and girls across the world a voice in global issues.

Number 1:  Laughter! Girl Guide trainings always seem to be filled with fun, laughter, and usually a dose of silliness. I learn, but I also have a great time. Where else in my life except at a Guiding event am I going to let myself go enough to make animal sounds to find my group, pretend to be in a plane to visit an imaginary island or colour code a finance page based on my biggest fears (red for keeping track of cookie money)?

It’s Girl Guide training time?  Count me in!  I think I need a refresher on stress management. Preferably one where they show you how to make hand softener with kitchen ingredients and to massage a friend’s shoulders while pretending to be a rain storm.

Jan Ogden has just moved from Ontario to Alberta and hopes that what she has learned in her Girl Guide trainings will help her conquer her fear of heights to enjoy a trip to the Rockies!