Recent Update

Scouting for Food
In the lead up to this first time effort, Clear Channel Outdoor provided 40 billboards to promote the program and get the public to help. In addition to their support we had some television coverage including this great interview with several of our Scouts before the program launched.
Fox 25 Interview
After the program concluded and the boys felt the satisfaction of a job well done - we continued to secure positive press about Scouting and the Scouting for Food program.
Patch Article.
All in all we collected 450,000 items of food across Eastern MA for the homeless and the needy. Thanks to all our Scouts and the leaders who dedicated their efforts to make this happen!

Scouts Meet some Notable Bostonians!

Wally the Green Monsta’ stopped by Camp during Cub Scout “pumpkinfest!”

The week after the election, Marty Walsh, the new Mayor of Boston stopped by Troop 7 in West Roxbury to help out with the pancake breakfast.



Development
On November 16th Scouting was honored to bestow a small handful of tributes to some of our most accomplished community leaders during the Salute to Scouting. The annual event is our signature fundraising event of the year and with the hard work of our committee and our distinguished honorees this year reached a new high water mark! (Raised $400,000!) Ambassador Chris Egan and his wife Jean received the Ralph Lowell Good Scout Award. Also, Deloitte and their managing partner Bill Bacic received the Second Century of Leadership Award and the TL Storer Good Scout Award.
Inaugural Hospitality Event
On December 6th the hospitality industry gathered together to help raise money for Scouting and honor some of their distinguished leaders. The event honored VPNE as our corporate recipient, and Peter Christie, President of the MA Restaurant Association. The event has raised $30,000.

From Sustaining to Thriving
Scouting has worked hard to re-gain a foothold in all our Boston area communities. From our growing ScoutReach programs for urban scouts, to the growth and camping and outdoor activities to boys of all ages and our focus on Science and Technology merit badges. We’ve reopened the indoor pool at The Egan Center, built countless new program structures and developed new programs to help Scouts and families get active and stay healthy!
Now, Thanks to a small group of generous donors we are developing more programs at our camp in Milton. These changes (scheduled for early 2014) will transform Camp Sayre into a hub of Scouting activities 24/7 365 days a year. From our headquarters nestled in the Blue Hills we will provide families with the Scouting Experience! Families will learn and enjoy rock climbing, outdoor cooking, ropes courses, swimming, canoeing along the Neponset River, winter camping, downhill skiing, and robotics and of course camping! In this way Scouts from every neighborhood will work together, learn together and get re-acquainted with the outdoors in ways never before possible.  Thanks to the financial support of Mike Jeans, Paul Gilbert, John Halsey, Jay Cashman, Arthur Mabbett, Rick Kiernan, the Magee Foundation and others who have collectively contributed $360,000 to start the project.

What if your Scout Council eliminated its debt, raised $500,000 to improve camp and asked for your opinion - would you tell them?

Discussions Around the Campfire.....

Well, a BLOG is not much of a discussion since there is so little back and forth. In light of that, I try to get out as often as possible and meet with and talk with everyone in the Scouting community. Admittedly, it's never enough. But I think I have a pretty good read on what the actual discussions around that campfire sound like. I try hard to listen to what everyone says, I try to listen to how many people say the same thing, I try not to listen to rumors, yet I do try to understand where rumors come from and why they are started. I also try to listen to what people don't say and anticipate the "mood of the Scouting community." I'll try to address what I hear in this months blog and as always, I'll welcome your comments and responses.

The first thing I hear is support and encouragement that we are "going in the right direction." That is clearly the MOST common voice. However, right behind that is a sentiment that we are not going fast enough or we just can't get a particular thing right. That second response is frustrating for all dedicated volunteers! (me too!) The speed and choice of projects is in some ways a great vote of confidence. It is sort of a double edged sword and sounds like this "you fixed this but when I called ..... this happened." or "just when it seemed we where doing things better ...... this didn't happen." I'll give you some specifics:

• "You opened the pool - but I can't go the nights and times I need"
• "You made a pretty website for new families - but we still don't have the training dates for the winter or spring"
• "You are doing all these programs at Sayre - but we want to do rifle shooting on a weekend at Storer"
• "You are providing all these programs - but they cost too much"
  
• "You want my help - but then .... this happens."
  

When I try to rise above it and view the Scouting from our 30,000 foot view it is clear that this you-did-this-but-not-this sentiment is caused by two things 1. The growing pains of trying to adapt a 100 year old organization to a modern world (we are working to resolve this growing pains) and 2. The Scouting community sees the visible positive results but not the underlying timeline and the reasoning (philosophy) behind the schedule. So, now that we, the Boston Scouting community, believe we can do anything. It's just a matter of 1. WHAT we choose to do, 2. WHO chooses and 3. WHEN. The answer to all three is a collective "you."

The answers to all those questions are contained within the strategic plan. 

• Original Plan
  
• 2012 Update (2013 Update will be published in January - your feedback through the survey will impact the 2014 adjustments)

The basic premise around the strategic plan is a two step process 1. Make Scouting Sustainable and 2. Make Scouting Thrive. Sustainable is all about the providing products and services required to help Scouting grow. And the number one need to help troops and packs thrive is help get parents involved in your unit. Yes, that's right :) the most important thing the council can do is help leaders get parents to become involved in Scouting. (That means it's not - FOS, Popcorn, District committees, owning camps, commissioner service, alumni relations, eliminating the debt or whatever the issue of the day seems to be, rather it's how all those things help parents get involved in your unit). The value of these campaigns is not measured by the success of the campaign - rather by how much it ultimately helps families engage. Each of those projects, and everything we do has shifted and needs to continue to shift toward helping unit leaders recruit and retain more parents and families.

Some examples -

• The mission behind Training and NOT to get everyone trained - it is to get parents excited about Scouting and the outdoors so they happily and willingly help the pack / troop or crew thrive.
  
• The mission behind Pumpkin Fest or SOAR is NOT to run a big event (or even marketing) - it is to provide a great family experience in the first few weeks of your Scouting year so parents can get excited about Scouting.
  
• The mission behind the products and services at Sayre is NOT to bring in more revenue - it's to provide great programs that helps get the Scout and his family more engaged in Scouting.

The following letter goes out monthly to every family who joins Scouting

Some of this may seem counter to common thinking for a Scout council or it may help fill in the gaps between what seems to be happening in the council and why. I hope it's feels like both. Our strategic plan and the ultimate destination for Camp Sayre is to become the Scouting and outdoor headquarters. Where Scouts can do everything they love about Scouting and parents can engage easily in the program. Older boys learn to rock climb (or whatever outdoor pursuit interests them) and younger families learn to camp and become comfortable in the outdoors.

A boy who likes baseball plays everyday - on a team, in the back yard with his friends, he watches the Red Sox on TV, learns the stats and plays catch with dad. The common thinking about Scouting is that we hold archery (or whatever activity he loves) out there as a "carrot" so he "comes to camp." In the fast paced world we live in this current Scouting philosophy is actively disengaging parents and Scouts. 

Please review the three links below - you'll get a pretty good sense of how Scouting is attempting to reverse this trend.

Sayre Master Plan

Sayre Map
CampSayre.org

As part of the strategic plan, during 2014 Boston Minuteman will put $500,000 worth of property improvements into Sayre, (as well as continuing to improve Storer). Please take the survey below to provide your voice to program development and the property improvements - Don't be shy! Don't hold back!

2014 Strategic Plan Feedback 

Thanks, See you around the campfire

Chuck

Scout Update October 2013

Community Service

Scouting for Food new PSA now playing of Fox 25 and the billboards are up all around town and the suburbs! Thanks to all our Media and Corporate Sponsors! The collection is November 2nd.

 Click on the link to watch the PSA

Development

Salute to Scouting has exceeded the 50% mark and is a $210,000 toward our $400,000 goal! Thanks so much to our Honorees Ambassador Chris Egan and his wife Jean, as well as Bill Bacic and all the great folks at Deloitte.
The inaugural Community Event has exceeded its development goal and will be held on October 17th

Sunday’s Globe South Section featured a story about youth non-profit fundraising …. Not surprisingly the Scouts from Pack 42 in Quincy “stole the show” with their winning attitude, courteous Scouts and three great photos!

Child Safety

Thanks to TD Bank for sponsoring our Child Safety Event. And Senator Scott Brown who will deliver the keynote address. And thanks also to Michael Durkin and the United Way for their help and support in promoting the event. Additional thanks to Jetta Bernier, Executive Director for Mass Citizens for Children has agreed to help facilitate the program. We have dozens of enthusiastic participations looking forward to opening a dialogue between organizations and helping protect our youth.  The event will be held on November 6th at the TD Garden.

Properties

Photos of the camp improvement work at our NH camp, TL Storer Scout Reservation and Camp Sayre in Milton!

 

 

 

 

The Conservation Easement funding for TL Storer continues to progress toward goal. We were recently awarded $125,000 from Open Space Institute.  The Bear Paw Foundation continues to stay on target and we can expect the full realization of these funds and the final debt elimination sometime in 2014.

Thanks to everyone for all your help! Looking forward to a great year end!

New Scouting Year - New Energy!

When I "re-opened" my blog it was because I always strive to communicate with the Scouting public and I realized I was getting a lot of feedback through a few longer posts on Face Book. I realize Facebook is NOT a place to put up long posts - so I re-opened this blog. but since I am not a social media expert I am still learning how to express, respond and utilize Social Media to help Scouting.

If you know me you know I am OK with learning (and failing) in the public space. The learning is more important the the embarrassment or the humiliation. Scouting needs to learn - so let me know if these posts, or the new BSABoston web site work (or where they miss the mark).

Facebook Post about the Red Sox and "Fixing what is broken" and "Restoring the faith"

Facebook Post about Innovation and Tradition

Some Regular Scout Updates

Camp Attendance was up this summer - in large part due to STEM Camp. The Camp Norse collaboration was very well received by our Cub Scout families. And we will be working with Annawon Council for 2014 too. Camp and Council management met last week and both parties feel we can make even more improvement in 2014.

Boy Scout Day Camp was also a success 61 boys attended from all over the council. The advancement reports that went home with the boys were VERY well received and we anticipate learning from this model for all our Boy Scout programs. 

TL Storer Boy Scout Camp received the most positive Scout and leader evaluations in over 5 years! The new Food Service was a huge hit and the camp staff energy and moral was noted consistently as a HUGE part of the success.

The initial responses about Cub Scout recruitment and Popcorn Sales seem to have re-bounded after a difficult 2012. We will keep a finger on the pulse of both campaigns every day and make adjustments as quickly as possible to ensure that all packs have a thriving new tiger den and the funds required to run a quality program for the 2013 - 2014 Scouting year.

The new Web Site contains all the training classes a troop, Pack or Crew could ever need to enhance their outdoor programs! Life Guard BSA course, Climbing instructor courses and Into to Outdoor Skills and many many more! Those training classes are linked to discounts for the pool, rock climbing and other "high cost" programs through the apprentice program.

Not only did we get a great piece in the Boston Herald this week. But we also got a nice ringing endorsement from the letters to the editor!

NEXT Edition for "Discussions around the campfire" will focus on "Sustainability is NOT the goal - it's a transitional step toward thriving!"

See you around the campfire.
Chuck

Scout Update

Development

This fall our development committee will conduct two very exciting events. Our annual Salute to Scouting will be held this November. The awards will be presented to Bill Bacic, on behalf of Deloitte who will receive the Second Century of Scouting Award, and Chris and Jean Egan who will receive the Ralph Lowell, Good Scout Award.

New this fall the development committee will launch a Good Scout Event specific to the hospitality industry. The steering committee is comprised of Jim Dina, Tom Kershaw and Jim Carmody and the award recipient is Peter Christie, President and CEO of the MA Restaurant Association. The event will be held at the Seaport Hotel.

Two great initiatives!

1.     Scouting for Food: All five councils in Eastern MA have combined our energy to create a large scale community service effort. This November 2nd in partnership with Fox25 Television, Clear Channel Outdoor 30,000 Scouts will canvas every community from Plymouth to Portsmouth NH and aim to collect over 500,000 food items for the needy in eastern MA

2.       Child Safety: The BSA is hosting a best practices workshop this fall for all youth serving agencies in Eastern MA.  Former US Senator and First Class Scout, Scott Brown has agreed to chair the event and will be inviting leaders from child protective services, youth serving agencies, law enforcement and other government agencies to share and improve our child safety practices.

Camp

More and more Scouts continue to attend each year!  As we wrap up our camp season we can look back and take pride in the quality and safety of our camps and for the third year in a row camp attendance has grown. This year’s growth was just under 10% and the total increase in campers in the past three summers is almost 600 additional campers spread across three camps. 

Properties and Partnerships

As part of our strategic plan we sought to find likeminded partners to help utilize the expansive property assets of the BSA and provide additional support for programs and properties that service scouting exclusively.

·         Shamrock Pools – re-opened our Egan Center pool this past January and the program has been wonderful. Our Scouts use the pool on weekends and during camp, while Shamrock uses it weekdays and evenings.

·         Camp Inter Action – A program for visually impaired children, rented Camp Massasoit this summer

·         Camp Beam – our long term tenant at Parker Mountain camp enjoyed their fifth year in partnership with the BSA

·         Annawon Council – by combining our family camp with Annawon’s property and their day camp all the Scouts benefited from the efficiency and program!

By partnering with these organizations Boston Minuteman Council can better focus on our core competencies and core programs. As part of that focus we have several board members along with the Staff alumni have raised $150,000 to be invested in Camp Sayre and Storer Scout Reservation.  We have been steadily improving our camping facilities over the past two years – however, this support will dramatically increase rate and scope of the improvement projects. 

Here We Go!

After a decade of struggles Boston Minuteman Council is about to enter a new and final phase of re-vitalization. As this final chapter opens we can already see it's conclusion on the horizon.

We have been talking about the revitalization for the past few years, and we see it in different terms, Urban Scouting, SOAR, the balanced budget, the strategic plan etc. The basic premise of the revitalization has been for more than a series of projects. It's been a cultural shift and a change in how we see Scouting's future.

1. People want Scouting to thrive we simply have shift our paradigm to create an environment that brings new people and talent into the program.

2. Program First! While it took a little while to get things organized, shifted and re-purposed we can now look back and see SOAR, April STEM Camp, Boy Scout Day Camp, the improvements for Family Camp and all the weekend Programs at Sayre.

3.  Tough decisions - transparent and well thought out. From the strategic plan and the debt elimination through all the smaller decisions about when, why and who takes on each initiative each decision was upfront and designed to leverage the next step. You can see the forward thinking at Norse when you use the catapults, or the tomahawk range at Sayre, or the archery range at Storer and the BB range at Sayre. Each project is linked and grows from the previous project. By having a long range plan and sticking with it - everyone benefits.

4. Optimism and Enthusiasm - everyone in this program believes in the power of Scouting! By focusing on our positive common ground, each step in the process brings out the best in all of us

5. No one is perfect, but everyone is human. Everyone does the best they can. However, things still get dropped and sometimes we end up on the short end of the stick. Rather than falling to the blame trap of that person or entity chooses to do a poor job - we rise above it figure out the situation. As it turns out we often realize that the person is in the wrong spot, or the process needs to be updated. 

All this positivism spreads, and we can appreciate where we have come from. The battle to revitalize Scouting throughout Boston was not a battle over the debt (that's only part of it) it is a battle over the culture that caused the debt. It required a whole new way of looking at Scouting. We are not done yet - but we are close!

Look for lots of updates prior to Labor Day

1. Scouting for Food - a massive five council initiative to help eliminate hunger (at least temporarily) in our communities (Nov 2)

2. Outdoor Apprentice - look for program benefits and discounts for all units and year round outdoor adventures for all ages

3. Membership Growth - Back on track, 2012 was difficult let's regain those families and more than never joined in 2012

4. Leader in Child Safety - Scott Brown, past US Senator (and First Class Scout) has agreed to chair a state-wide child safety symposium for all youth serving non-profits and youth serving agencies. Boston Minuteman will serve as the host organization.

5. Winter Camp and Vacation Camp at Camp Sayre!

6. and more .... but we'll save a few announcements :)

Final Comment - there is a lot of work still to be done, I have no delusions about that. Each stumble is a learning exercise, and each learning exercise helps us get stronger. With our thin staff, I alternate between a 30,000 foot view and a deep-in-the-weeds view - so I can see the errors CLEAR AS DAY! I can also see the horizon, between both view points I thought I'd share the realistic / optimistic "heads up" about our future. See you around the campfire!

Michelle's Eulogy (I was too sad to post when she passed)

My thoughts about Boston Minuteman Council’s First Family of Scouting, words cannot express my sorrow for your loss. Scouting in Boston Minuteman was better because of Michelle. She brightened the life of every Scout she helped. Being a camp director isn’t easy. It requires long hours, tough decisions, silly skits, personal sacrifice, and great support. 

My practical and spiritual observation does not permit me to believe she is truly gone. In fact, quite the opposite, she made an indelible impression on each of us. That impression becomes part of us. You see, Scouting lives primarily through oral tradition. There are countless examples of generational traditions passed from one Scouter to another, stories told around the campfire, roundtables, training programs, ceremonies, and legacies that still teach. I earned my Environmental Science merit badge from Buell Fuller, spoke with Howie about my decision to join the profession, and I pass along “camp director wisdom” to Nikki that was passed on to me, that originated from Tony Toto. In these ways our past leaders are always with us. 

Michelle has helped countless Scouts and guided hundreds of Cub leaders and parents. Her impact on the Scouting community has only just begun. 20 years from now a Cub Camp Director will strive to run camp “as well as Michelle Theberge did.” It’s more than a legacy, it’s a living breathing spirit that continues to guide and inspire Scouters. 

But Michelle is so much more than a great camp director. She is a great wife and mother. Let’s think about her and Ray for a moment. Here we have two wonderfully talented, hard-working, deep feeling, and charismatic leaders.  They are a couple that make marriage look easy. Ray gives to Scouting while Michelle supports, later that same day Michelle takes the lead while Ray supports her. It’s a dance that transcends ego. Each is visibly proud of the others accomplishments. Not because of what the other did – but because of what the other gave.

Giving is a significant part of Michelle. In fact it’s a significant part of the entire Theberge family. Jon, Cece and Luke are clearly their mom’s children. At such a young age they each exhibit her grace and sunny disposition. As camp staffers and the children of the Scout Master they learn quickly to give of themselves and to share their parents with the rest of the camp staff or the troop. This is never easy. Teens often want (and need) to distance themselves from their parents. However, to get a real sense of these kids - watch how they interact with each other and their peers.  They exhibit leadership and a genuine care for each other. Not the type of leadership that comes from barking orders, they show their servant leadership.

And that’s Michelle living through her children. She knew that leadership wasn’t about being in charge – well, sometimes she liked to be in charge. I guess that’s part of the human condition. But, it’s always easy to see that her desire to accomplish, achieve or strive to run a better camp comes from a pure altruistic place.

In Scouting it’s true that you shouldn’t need to wear your uniform for people to know you are a scout, people should know it by how you act. Let’s go back to the human condition – the need to be in charge – and let’s think about the wonderful balance that she and Ray exhibit through their marriage. The only way two people, under the same roof,  with such talent and drive, don’t allow their egos to clash is by allowing the Grace of God to flow through them.   

In some faith traditions during the “baptism” in addition to being dedicated to the church the congregation dedicates itself – all the individuals – to the child. In this way all the parishioners are bound to the welfare of the baby. They all become a community of parents. This gives license for experienced moms to offer help to new moms, and for every parent to enforce commonly held rules and behaviors. It is the oral tradition. This idea of working together for the common good of all the children was something Michelle showed us every day. This is what drives the success of Girl Scout Troop 74107, Camp Massasoit and the entire Theberge family.   

Michelle allowed God to flow through her and into each one of us. She is alive in each of us. And as such we are bound to each other, as community parents, and we are bound Jon, Cece, Luke and Ray

My love, prayers and gratitude are with your whole family today and every day.

Amen

Summer 2012 - a great start!

PR and Marketing

Eagle Scout, Shane Victorino invited several of our scouts to the ballpark last week and spent time with them talking about Scouts, and the perseverance it takes to be an Eagle and a professional ball player. Read the article from Boston.com

Scout Hero! Joe Ford a 19 year old life guard in Lowell recently saved a young boy’s life. What the article didn’t mention is Joe is an Eagle Scout from Troop 502 in Woburn. Check out the article in the Boston Globe

Great coverage in the Boston Business Journal!  

Thanks to all the Eagle Scout - Business leaders who continue to support Scouting!

Summer Camp

All three camps are up and running and the initial reviews are great. The new food service at T.L. Storer Scout Reservation is receiving GREAT reviews, the Boy Scout Day Camp is exceeding everyone’s expectation and the new location (Camp Norse) for Family Camp has all our parents excited and pleased with the move! All this combined with the success of our April vacation STEM camp and the growth of the weekend program at Sayre add up to a great camping year. 

National Jamboree Continent  heading to West Virginia!

Development – Salute to Scouting

The Salute to Scouting steering committee knows that every year the event carries a critical percentage of the long term trajectory and success of Scouting. We are glad to announce this year’s corporate honoree is Deloitte. Their managing partner is Bill Bacic. Bill is a Silver Beaver, Life Scout past Council Treasurer and champion of the Boy Scouts of America. Bill is a true Scout who does his best for our community every day. He has a long history of service throughout Boston and currently serves as the Chairman of the United Way. Bill has been recognized as one of the most influential Bostonians.  As Deloitte’s Managing Partner, Bill inspires the entire firm to give back to the community. The event will be held in mid-November.