District Operations
Recently, the council has started an initiative to attend and listen at all
district committee meetings and roundtables. After the first series it
was clear how passionate and dedicated every district level volunteer is
to enhancing Scouting in our community. THANKS! It was also clear that
we can do a better job supporting and providing guidance and support for
your efforts.
As a follow up to the recent district committee and roundtable
meetings, the executive committee (board) had a fairly lengthy discussion about
the role of district operations and our ability to drive unit support. I
think we are opening a great new chapter in our growth. As we discussed
at each district committee meeting the success the council has enjoyed
over the past few years has been due in large part to the re-focusing of
the board. That re-focusing has enabled us to maximize everyone’s
effort to Scouting and provide great tangible results. The debt
elimination process, re-opening the pool and all the program growth at
Sayre, SOAR and Scouting for Food, improved marketing and PR,
fundraising success and property improvements at Storer, Sayre and a
better facility for Cub Scout summer camp at Norse.
The District Operations side of the council has not enjoyed the same
rapid improvement. The national measurement system is called Journey to
Excellence and functions as a balanced Score Card – an attempt to
measure all the aspects that make Scouting thrive. Our balanced Score
Card results are imbalanced. Our weaknesses revolve mostly around
district operations.
Specifically:
· Four Functions of Program (activities, advancement, camp promotions, training)
· Council / District Campaigns (FOS Family, Membership recruitment, Popcorn)
· Commissioner Service (unit commissioners and roundtables)
· District Key 3’s
I mention Journey to Excellence not as a end unto itself but as a
measurement tool that points out our deficiencies. It’s important as we
start to make improvements in district operations that we do NOT “teach
to the test.” Rather we develop systems that allow everyone’s skills and
talents and time to be maximized for the good of the Scouting.
Our Council President, Mike Jeans is developing a Task Force to work with me, Bruce and Sue Ellen
Over the next two months the task force will ……
· Continue to visit and participate in this conversation at
District committee meetings, roundtables, commissioners meetings.
· Review District Operations with an eye toward unit specific needs and support
· Develop unit by unit specific action / support plan
At the conclusion of the three months the task force will share the
results and the draft plans with the entire Scouting community to ensure
we heard the needs of our unit leaders correctly. Also, to ensure we
developed plans that enable practical solutions for those needs.
Sharing the results will likely look like roundtable discussions, a
Scouters Summit, a blog or two, several emails, and likely a written
document passed out at the annual meeting. (all roughly during late
April / May and early June) Revisions will be made, based on unit level feedback, during that process.
The board will likely roll these actions into the Strategic Plan, the
Task Force will dissolve, and the District Operation actions with an
improved focus on service to units will be adopted (likely our July
meeting).
In September and every month thereafter the board will review the
“District Operations and Unit Service Focus” as part of our board
meetings. Just as we have done with Finance, Development, Properties,
Marketing etc.
I am confident that the plan we will develop together will improve
communications, increase volunteer satisfaction, increase customer
service, increase retention, increase recruitment, and increase parent
involvement. And those actions will compliment all the other successes
of Boston Minuteman. (obviously, we can’t backslide on any of the other
successes we have developed)
Last Comment – please forward this blog to families, unit, district
and council volunteers, link it through Face Book and otherwise share with interested Scouters. The wider we distribute this
initiative the better the results.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Monday, February 10, 2014
Recent Developments - Innovation
Winter Camp SOLD OUT!
This inaugural program provides the Scouts with great
outdoor healthy activities throughout February Vacation including snowboarding,
skating and some creative uses of Scout outdoor skills like “Tracking the Yeti”
and Engineering the “Perfect Snow Ball Catapult.”
Merit Badge University
at Harvard has also SOLD OUT!
Participating Scouts have the opportunity to learn from
Harvard students and professionals in their field of interest for over 35
merit badges including Robotics, Oceanography, and Space Exploration.
Marketing Committee
Check out the three recent stories about the positive impact
of Scouting.
Voice of the Scout –
Positive Feedback from our Volunteers
"Voice of the Scout" is the
national Scouting feedback survey, our 2013 responses are in and tabulated.
Each Scout Family receives an e-mail survey twice a year. The e-mail is sent
from national council, and therefore all responses can be compared so councils
can learn from one another and best practices can evolve. While we still have a
long way to go we did score 100% (Highest in the country) for Cub Scout
Parents.
Development
Thanks to Amica Insurance for kicking off our Friends
of Scouting campaign with a leadership $35,000 annual contribution!
Capital
Improvements- An INNOVATIVE APPROACH
The campaign has raised $440,000 to date! And the
improvements are already underway! Check out the face
book photo album for additional pictures and comments from our volunteers.
The Capital Projects are FAR MORE than simply improvements
to camp that has been run down over the past 75 years. It is innovative
programming……
Ropes Course
One of the only High Course programs with an emphasis on
Team Building Activities. Entire troops and/or patrols (up 16 participants)
will be able to climb, belay and break through their own boundaries as they
work together to achieve goals.
Environmental Education
A series of program elements that will entertain and educate
youth and parents alike. Participants will dig around in the dirt and climb
into the trees to learn about eco-systems, soil, photosynthesis, geology and
bird flight patterns.
Open to Everyone
Starting this summer, due to popular demand, our growing Day
Camp programs will be open siblings and girls between 1st grade and
5th grade.
Cub Scout Canoeing
Each weekend the new van brings our Scouts and their
families down to the boat launch at the Neponset River for the only officially
sanctioned Cub Scout Open Water Canoe program in the country.
ScoutReach (urban
Scouting initiative)
Due to our highly successful Rewards program our ScoutReach
program boasts some of the highest retention rates in the country. All these
great enhancements are made available to our ScoutReach participants as they EARN
THEIR WAY through their good-Scout-like-behavior.
Welcoming Programs
The outdoors can seem intimidating but often folks just need
a guide. However, sometimes people (even parents) are embarrassed to ask for
help. Camp Sayre has 40 educational signs that allow parents the opportunity to
quickly understand a skill and actively participate with their child. The
posters range from how to tie a square knot, shoot a bow and arrow, build a
fire, and navigate by the stars.
More and more …..
For the past 12 months we have developed and launched a
dozen programs, we learn from our mistakes, make improvements, formalize the
procedure and try again. This process encourages all feedback and allows us to
innovate and involve everyone.
Strategic Plan
This whole project began with our Strategic Plan. Each year
our strategic Planning oversight committee reviews and updates the plan. They
are currently in the process of meeting and evaluating the 2013 progress. The
two links below contain the summary information.
http://bsaboston.doubleknot.com/document/strategic-plan/122793
2013
summary of Goals
Thanks for being involved and helping to revitalize Scouting
for families in Greater Boston!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)