Junior/Cadette/Senior/Ambassador Patrol or Team System: In this system, large troops divide into
small groups, with every member playing a role. Teams of four to six girls are recommended so that each
girl gets a chance to participate and express her opinions. Patrols may be organized by interests or
activities that feed into a Take Action project, with each team taking responsibility for some part of the
total project; girls may even enjoy coming up with names for their teams.
Junior/Cadette/Senior/Ambassador Executive Board: In the executive board system (also called a
steering committee), one leadership team makes decisions for the entire troop. The board’s
responsibility is to plan activities and assign jobs based on interests and needs, and the rest of the troop
decides how to pass their ideas and suggestions to the executive board throughout the year. The
executive board usually has a president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer and holds its own
meetings to discuss troop matters. Limit the length of time each girl serves on the executive board so all
troop members can participate during the year.
Junior/Cadette/Senior/Ambassador Town Meeting: Under the town meeting system, business is
discussed and decisions are made at meetings attended by all the girls in the troop. As in the patrol and
executive board systems, everyone gets the chance to participate in decision-making and leadership.
Your role is to act as a moderator, who makes sure everyone gets a chance to talk and that all ideas are
considered.
How parents decide to transport girls between their homes and Girl Scout meeting places is each parent’s
decision and responsibility.
For planned Girl Scout field trips and other activities—outside the normal time and place—in which a group
will be transported in private vehicles:
Every driver must be an approved adult* volunteer and have a good driving record, a valid license,
and a registered/insured vehicle.
Girls never drive other girls.
If a group is traveling in one vehicle, there must be at least two unrelated, approved adult volunteers
in the vehicle, one of whom is female, and the girl-volunteer ratios in Volunteer Essentials must be
followed.
If a group is traveling in more than one vehicle, the entire group must consist of at least two
unrelated, approved adult volunteers, one of whom is female, and the girl-volunteer ratios in
Volunteer Essentials must be foll owed. Care should be taken so that a single car (with a single adult
driver) is not separated from the group for an extended length of time.
Male volunteers must be accompanied by an unrelated approved female volunteer.
*“Adult” is defined by the age of majority in each state.
For more about driving, see the “Transporting Girls” section of the “Safety-Wise” chapter of this handbook.
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