Kubsie's Korner
My Guiding Page

In 1986 my mother decided that my sister and I should join the Girl Guides of Canada. She was a Girl Guide when she was younger and enjoyed it and wanted to provide the same experiences for her daughters. My sister was in Guiding until Pathfinders but I stayed in Guiding and will probably never get out! ;) I joined the 43rd Kitchener Girl Guide Unit in 1986. I was a year older than most of the other girls but had a blast while I was there. We met on Monday nights at Franklin Public School. I became a patrol leader my third year and earned my All Around Cord. At the time, the All Around Cord was the highest honour you could earn in Guides. (The program has since been changed and the All Around Cord doesn't exist anymore.) During my time in Guiding, among other things, I learned how to properly tie a bedroll for waterproofing and completed many crests. Three years later I joined a Pathfinder unit. I must admit that Pathfinders wasn't my favourite branch of Guiding. Pathfinders are girls aged 12-15 which is always an exceedingly hard time in a girls life. We had three different leaders for each of the years that I was there. We did do some weekend camping but I can hardly remember any of them! The best part of Pathfinders was being able to go to Doe Lake, a provincial Girl Guide camp near Huntsville, Ontario. In 1988 I went to a week long craft camp. It was a blast and I decided to go back for three more years. During those years I did a two week canoe camp, a two week canoe and wind surfing camp, and a two week sailing camp. During that time I earned my Ontario Canoeing Recreational Association (ORCA) Level C in canoeing and my White Sail III. In 1992 I joined the Donnacona Rangers as a Ranger. This was my favourite branch of Guiding! We were old enough to know about camps and we had great leaders who were willing to go camping whenever we wanted to. We participated in many Rover Moots (see the Scouting Pages for more information), weekend camping trips, social activities, and service projects. We also participated in the last Ontario Ranger Regatta held at Doe Lake in 1993. Most of my best friends were made in Rangers and we all still keep in touch either directly or indirectly. Many of them were at my wedding 13 years later! After Rangers I became a leader for the 43rd Kitchener Pathfinders. For the first few years it was a rough ride! It was a challenge to me because I didn't actually like being a Pathfinder. I wanted Pathfinders to be a better experience for the girls who went through my unit. I certainly hope I succeeded. It took me about 3 years to figure out the right balance of program and fun stuff to keep the girls coming back. On top of that, the girls changed from year to year so we had to keep adapting! The most challenging things are the most rewarding! During my 8 years as a Pathfinder Leader (1995-2003) I earned my Guiding Leadership Stages 1 and 2 and my Camp Leadership Certificate. In 2002 I moved out of Kitchener and moved from Silver Birch Area into White Oaks area. It became too difficult to run a Pathfinder unit in Kitchener and live an hour away. So, in 2003 I gave up the unit. I still wanted to be a part of Guiding so I joined White Oaks Area Link. I remained a member of Link until 2007 when I become to old. (Link members are 18-30.) While in Link I earned my Outdoor Activity Leadership Path and Trail Levels. These replaced the Camp Leadership Certificate that I had already earned. I also got the opportunity to attend several Area Days in White Oaks to upgrade some camping skills and have some fun. I was also able to redo my ORCA Flatwater Canoeing Level C since I had lost the paperwork from when I was in Pathfinders. I also had the opportunity to visit Guiding Mosaic 2006, and international camp held in Guelph Lake, Ontario July 5th-14th, 2006. I was there for one day but it was great fun! In 2005 I became a Guider with the 1st Kitchener Donnacona Senior Branches. We met every second Monday at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Kitchener. It was an awesome 3 years!! In 2007 I put on an extra hat and became a Resource Guider for Ukranian Egg Decorating. Units in my area can call upon me to come and teach their girls this craft. In 2008 things changed again. I moved from Donnacona to being a Guider with the 1st LaSalle Rangers in Burlington. We meet at St. Steven United Church in Burlington every second Monday. Also, because I was no longer in Link, I joined the 1st BOLD Trefoil Guild which is also in Burlington. 2010 - Celebrate 100 Years of Guiding in Canada!