Questions About our Camps

A couple weeks a go a re-started my blog. I got away from it about a year and half ago because I figured the most important Scouting information is the stuff that impacts the Scouts at the unit level - where the rubber meets the road. And my stuff will always tend to be a little more about the operation and future of Scouting and the Council. Well, it seems more people want to know about "the big picture" than I may have thought, So I'm back at it :)

The blog will have two basic styles
1. The Update: A series of updates money raised, Scouts recruited and retained, leaders trained, buildings refurbished, etc. 

2. The Answer: An in depth answer to a question I hear from my conversations with leaders and parents.

Today's Blog will be style two - an answer. The specific question comes from Jeff Crump. Jeff asked "Can you please post an update on the Massasoit situation? I can't find any details of the plan online. Maybe I'm not looking in the right place?" In addition to Jeff's question on Face Book I do get a bunch of questions about the strategic plan and where we are going (how fast we are getting there), what can we do to help, and WHAT can we realistically expect!

So, to start, I'll direct everyone to the original strategic plan (adopted unanimously on September 1, 2011). Some times I'm asked what's in the strategic plan? The plan was built by over 400 volunteers, 7 committees, and eventually came up with 39 measurable goals, 3 initiatives and 2 opportunities. The process and the details are summed up in a 16 page booklet.  (feel free to read the link  - the full details of the work is found in two binders full of information - available at the Scout office)
Often I ask volunteers what they have seen us do differently in the past few years - the answers typically include SOAR2012 re-purpose Massasoit / collaborate with Camp Norse, STEM camp, The Inner City Program, added visibility, Changes at Camp Sayre. Those changes are the manifestation of the strategic plan. 

The board and the sub-committees keep the plan out in front to make decisions and set priorities. Each year we summarize the plan here is the 2013 update

We still have a long way to go, however, we have also come a long way in the past few years. The more we all pull together the easier things become and the more positive impact the council can have on Scouting in every community.

Jeff's question -

There are several elements to the decision to re-purpose Massasoit

1. Market Forces - because the council has lost so much membership (as have surrounding councils) over the past 10+ years the sustainability of a 6,500 Scout Council operating 3 camps effectively was no longer viable. We compared our performance % of scouts camped, repeat customers, customer satisfaction and other measurable facts against other New England councils and realized the size of the council could (at best) support two full time camps. Even if our membership doubled we would still not require a 3rd full time camp.

2. Deferred Maintenance - because the council struggled for so long many of our physical assets have fallen into various states of disrepair. In addition to the market forces we knew we would have to sink millions into camp renovations. With 3 primary camps all in tough shape it because clear we wouldn't be able to make an impact on the physical issues for years.

3. Long Term Debt - The ability to renovate our camps was completely out of our grasp as we were paying over $100,000 a year on interest. This created two problems 1. How credible would we be in soliciting funds for renovations while we were still paying for a long term debt and 2 what would our long term plan be to help the camps and the council maintain sustainability. In short - how would anyone have confidence we wouldn't end up in the same place 10 years from now.

4. Competition vs Collaboration - The BSA owns several camps in Plymouth and while one of them thrives the others are all trying to survive on a partially filled camp program. All our Cub Scout leaders were very quick to tell us the quality of the program, facilities and staff were the driving factors for helping their pack thrive and the precise location and features where not nearly as relevant as running a good summer program.

With all this in mind and a complete analysis of the properties (including all our neighboring councils and other scout programs like the Museum of Science and battleship cove)  the decision was made to re-purpose Massasoit in order to increase quality program, re-direct resources to the camps with a sustainable trajectory and collaborate with neighboring councils.

After a few attempts (a solar farm, public camping, gravel and other options we decided to lease the property in the summer and collaborate with Annawon council at Camp Norse. After the first three weeks the collaboration has gone great. parents and leaders are happy with the new location and we believe we have found a great long term partner.

Additionally, we decided to sell eight 3 acre home lots along Little Sandy Pond road (just before and just after the entrance to camp). These lots represent less than 40 acres of a 280 acre property and will have a minimum impact of the integrity of the camp. As of this writing four lots have sold and one more is under agreement. The proceeds from those sales have been applied to pay down the long term debt which, in turn, will clear the way for additional capital improvements in the two remaining camps. (as well as reasonable maintenance and upkeep at Massasoit - this year we spent $8,000 on the roads and the Massasoit kitchen).

the updates at Storer and Sayre are pretty readily visible. everything from re-opening the pool, renovations in the Hayden Lodge the QM and other improvements at Sayre. In addition, the improvements at Storer are undeniable, including the structures in the center of camp, the archery range and the completed chapel!

Sayre is clearly the focus point for many reasons. The program opportunities available today are a direct outcome of the strategic plan and the upcoming capital improvements in the next couple years should put Sayre (and the council) back on sustainable footing.

Camp Sayre Program Opportunities  

Sayre Master Plan (this takes while to download)

 

Whew, :) sorry for the long response Jeff. I hope this helps. Your comments and questions are always welcome. Please continue to ask, comment, share, etc. 

Thanks!