Scheduling and Organizing Meetings
The first step to effective service unit meetings is to make sure that everyone knows when and where they will happen. Consistency is key!
- Distribute a calendar of upcoming meeting dates and activities.
- Include the date of the next meeting at the bottom of the agenda.
- Maintain a consistent schedule; same place, time, day.
- Set event registration deadlines that coincide with service unit meetings.
- Publish upcoming meetings through the service unit’s communication platforms such as social media, newsletter, website, email, etc.
- If leaders miss a meeting, contact them directly to encourage them to send someone to represent their troop if they can’t attend themselves.
Running Engaging Meetings
Providing effective service unit (leader/volunteer) meetings gives you, as the Service Unit Advisor, the opportunity to build the leadership skills of adults within the service unit. When facilitating a service unit meeting it is important to keep in mind three key objectives that help produce an effective meeting:
- Create a welcoming atmosphere
- Engage your audience
- Make the time together productive
By focusing on these three goals, your leaders will have a positive experience and feel that their time was well spent. Below are some examples of how to incorporate them into your meetings.
Create a Welcoming Atmosphere
- Designate a greeter to say hello to everyone as they arrive.
- Have an icebreaker/opener.
- Pair a new leader with a mentor leader.
- Use name tags.
- Provide beverages and snacks, if possible (consider rotating this responsibility amongst the service unit team members or troops).
- Start the meeting by thanking everyone for coming and welcoming any new leaders or volunteers. Remind volunteers that what they are doing is important and how much they are appreciated.
- Provide child care on location, if possible (consider inviting CSA troops to help).
Engage Your Audience
- Offer more than an “information dump”.
- Make meetings interactive with discussions, activities, and hands-on learning.
- Include time for sharing success stories; let leaders highlight what’s working.
- Incorporate a round-table topic at every meeting to encourage peer learning.
- Provide a “take-home” item; a song, craft, ceremony, or activity leaders can use with their troops.
- Rotate seating arrangements (by troop level, school, or experience) to encourage new connections.
- Invite speakers to the meeting, e.g. troops or individual Girl Scouts to talk about an event they are planning, Highest Award they are working on, or an experience they want to share.
Make the Time Productive
- Send out the meeting agenda ahead of time with the meeting reminder. Make the agenda visually clear, and leave some blank spaces for notes.
- Delegate topic reports to different people (be sure to let them know ahead of time!)
- Have a Q & A time.
- Ensure the information is timely.
Download the Effective Service Unit Meetings Guide
Last updated on May 13, 2026