I send e-mails like this to our full board about twice a month - this month I thought I'd simply post the update here.

Salute to Scouting Update: Thanks to Bill Bacic and the rest of the salute committee the initial pledges have exceeded $100,000 the kick off will be scheduled for mid October giving us 8 weeks to run the “public” campaign. We are in good shape to reach the 50% of goal prior to the kick off. This level of early support is crucial for the overall success of the event. Thanks to Larry DiCara and David Warren, BluePrint Studios has agreed to provide pro bono support for all Salute to Scouting graphic needs, including invitations, program book, A/V support and collateral documents.

Storer Renovation Campaign Update: The campaign has exceeded all initial expectations in the first week. The Alumni and the Knights of Storer have exceeded $12,000 in the first week of the campaign. Thanks to Bill Sullivan, Greg Boyd, Joe Curran, Shelia Greally, Brian Cronin, Nick Tagne, and Chuck Phelan for their generosity.
Additionally, Tim Roach is on his way up to Storer today with 30 volunteers to complete the chapel! The 2011 summer camp season at Storer will boast a brand new Beautiful Chapel and a brand new, safe, state of the art, fully funded Archery Range!
Lastly, we have hired our 2011 camp Director for Storer, Matt Sheridan. Matt has served on camp staff management for over 20 years at Yagoog, and Onteora Scout Reservation. Matt is a school teacher in RI, a life-long Scouter and Eagle Scout. While I was checking his references I had a chance to catch up with an old Storer Reservation Director, Ed McLaughlin. Through Ed and everyone else I talked to, Matt receives the Storer seal of approval. Please welcome Matt to the team! TLStorerCD@gmail.com

Customer Service
After spending much of the summer listening closely to Scout volunteers about the strengths and struggles of the council it became clear to me that internal communication and customer service is an area we need to improve. To help address those concerns we’ve hired Heather Sheehan to serve as our receptionist and customer service coordinator. Heather spent 7 years in Girl Scouting as a youth and served as a volunteer for her own children. Heather started this week and has surprised many Scout volunteers when a pleasant live person answered the telephone. Please take a moment to welcome Heather to the team! hsheehan@bsaboston.org

Strategic Plan Update (list of 360 degree interviewees) Marshall Sloane has invited CEOs from the following companies and organizations to participate in the 360 degree review of our council.
Amica Insurance, Arnold Worldwide, Bank of America, Boston.com / Boston Globe, Boston Properties, Boston University, Cambridge Trust, Catholic Archdiocese, Citizens, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Cummings Property, Deloitte, Dunkin Donuts, Eastern Bank, Genzyme, Global Partners, Gulf / Cumberland Farms, Harvard Pilgrim, Hill Holiday, KPMG, Marina Bay Development, MIT, The Mitre Group, National Grid, Nstar, Pagasystems, Raytheon, State Street, Suffolk Construction, Thermo Fisher, United Way
Obviously, this list is a combination of current supporters and companies that do not (yet) have a relationship with Scouting. We are in the process of securing these meetings. Their responses will provide an interesting tapestry of feedback for us. That feedback will factor into our eventual Strategic Plan.

Long term debt / Sale of long term assets: for years Boston Minuteman Council has found itself in the difficult position of selling long term assets to alleviate the pressure from the significant debt. That process was nearly complete when I was hired, the current debt is $1.2 million. I have had initial meetings with the DCR, Nature Conservancy, Natural Land Trust, several real estate professionals and developers, five possible tenants / program partners for the Egan Center, Milton officials, and others. Through these meetings I’ve accumulated a fairly clear picture of the past situation. I am happy to report that we have several possible options and we have friends that are willing to help us.

How we make decisions about those options
“The council” is responsible to take its direction from our uniformed Scout volunteers / our customers. I’ve started that process through the series of priority meetings held throughout the summer. (results attached) I’ve continued that process through the council coordinated meeting, and a series of older scout meetings. Through these meetings the options are synthesized down to operational recommendations. Stating: “This is what our Scout volunteers want and need to help Scouting thrive in their community.”
Those recommendations are vetted through the board and balanced against all other recommendations and opportunities. Through that ongoing dialogue between both parties the direction becomes the plan. The board approves the plan and has the fiduciary responsibility to achieve that plan. Their role is governance.

This process will recur over and over again for all significant council decisions. I believe consensus is more easily achieved by adding more voices into the conversation. The more voices focused on the common ground we all share in Scouting the more readily we find common sense. I will use my blog, face to face meetings, webinars, face book and every other means of communications at my disposal to keep everyone in the loop.

Other topics in development
Four new inner city Cub Packs – with funding, uniforms and volunteer leadership
Public Relations interns to increase visibility
Program partnerships with Boston area family attractions
Popcorn sale starts today, initial orders up 34%
Massasoit and Cub Day Camp improvements and collaboration
New BSABOSTON.org on-line apps to assist in the functionality (and navigation) of the website

Thanks for your continued support. By working together we will revitalize Scouting throughout our entire council.