Issue #93 – October 2019
A Note From the Founder – New Website Up and Running
by Kerry Cordy
Last June our website experienced a catastrophic crash that we were never quite able to recover from. As a result, I have spent the last 3 months starting from scratch and creating an entirely new website. Members should not see a huge difference as I tried to keep the same basic look, feel and layout as the previous website. Most of the problems we were having were behind the scenes though we did lose quite a bit of content as well. We migrated the new website to the domain name on September 30 and there will be a few hiccups to overcome in the next couple of weeks.
We are now using a higher quality membership program that allows members to have more than one membership associated with their account and will allow members to see the status of their subscriptions at all times. Unfortunately, as passwords are protected for privacy reasons, we were not able to move them over to the new system which means everyone will need to reset their password the first time they use the website. Because the previous system could also only handle one membership per email, troop leaders, who need both a family membership as well as the troop membership may see limited accessed until we manually get all the accounts properly up to date. Finally, those members who paid via check we have to enter in manually as well. If you attempt to access any of the members pages and have problems, please email Lisa, our membership coordinator, at lisap@frontiergirlsclubs.com and she or I will get your account fixed as quickly as possible. We appreciate your patience.
While we were able to save the majority of our content we did lose several badges and other pages that were unrecoverable. Many pages were also severely damaged and while I think we were able to fix everything, there is a good chance there are still some broken links or truncated pages. If you find any problems with the website, even if it is something small like a typo, please let us know so we can get it fixed. We have also put together a Google Doc to request help in proof reading the new website. Please add anything that needs to be fixed to the document located at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EZZwydDAn99gQgJc50GekQgfH7ZM5kNNHdwEYtL90es/edit?usp=sharing
In addition to helping us proof read the new site, we could also use help to ensure the new site works well on phones since 60% of our members now access the site solely via their phone. If a page does not look or operate correctly on a phone, please add the issue to the Google Doc. We will get everything fixed and running smoothly as quickly a possible. Thanks everyone!
Changes to Refund Policy
As of October 11, Paypal will follow industry standards and no longer refund our fees paid on a transaction if we refund all or a portion of it. Therefore beginning October 11, any memberships that are not cancelled in a timely manner and need to be refunded will only be refunded the amount we originally received from Paypal which was the payment minus the fees. For Individual memberships $27.76 will be refunded and for family memberships only $56.02 will be refunded. Please make sure all parents know that they must turn off the auto renew feature via their Paypal account when they leave the program or email us and request that we do so for them to avoid having to process a refund. We have looked into using other payment gateways, but at this time Paypal is still the least expensive and they are one of the last to switch to the policy of not refunding fees.
New Badges Posted
Slime, World Geography (Specific)
Troop #159 Honored with VFW Youth Activities Award
Troop #159 in Colorado was recognized by the National VFW Auxiliary and presented with the Youth Activities Award for the 4th year in a row. They also received the honor of being named Outstanding Youth Group of the Year by the Colorado State VFW Auxiliary, which came with a monetary award. Thank you so much, Debbie Hutchins and all involved at VFW Post 101 for always supporting troop #159! This troop, although chartered by a local church, has functioned as the Youth Group for VFW Post 101. They are invited to participate in activities and help with service projects such as Memorial Day flag placement, Poppy Drives, Purple Heart Ceremonies and more. Congratulations Troop #159!
Discounted Tickets for Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker
Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker shows feature beautiful, professional dancers and stunning backdrops and costumes. Attending one of these shows will help foster an appreciation of dance and the athleticism required to be a dancer. These performances are enjoyed by 250,000 patrons of all ages annually in over 100 cities nationwide. Yet again they are offering discounted tickets for Frontier Girls members and may even be able to arrange meet and greets with the dancers prior to the show. Many of our troops have taken advantage of this opportunity in the past with great enjoyment. Watch your emails for updates as we get more information.
Knot Games
by Kerry Cordy
Looking for something to keep you busy on a rainy Saturday afternoon? How about working on your knots badge? Whether you use rope, yarn, paracord or string, knot tying is an essential skill both for outdoors as well as everyday use. Knowing the correct knot to use for each need will help keep both you and your equipment safe and undamaged. Whether you are tying a drying line at camp or a climbing rope, using the correct knot is essential.
Games like the knot tying card game shown above are a great way to practice your knots while having fun with friends or even just to practice by yourself. A variety of similar knot card or board games can be found online. Active games with troop mates are another fun way to practice. To practice square knots and two half hitches, try hiding lengths of rope or paracord around your meeting area. Divide the troop into two or more teams and hand a stick to each team. On “Go!” the girls must search for hidden rope. The first piece must be tied to their stick using two half hitches. As more rope is found, each piece must be attached to the one before it using a square knot. When all the rope has been found or a time limit has been reached, the team with the longest “rope” wins the game. All knots must be correctly tied however. If a knot is tied in correctly, all knots tied after that are disqualified and only the length of rope up to that point will count so it pays to constantly check the knots and retie them in necessary before another piece of rope is attached.
Have fun!