NEW COUNCIL, NEW NAME, NEW WEBPAGE
It has been an extremely busy, challenging, and productive season. Our Council is less than eight weeks old and together, we are preparing for the 2015-16 Scout Year.
Our mission remains to make Scouting Thrive in our communities. Here are a few announcements to help our scout leaders stay up to date with our progress.
ENHANCED WEB COMMUNICATIONS
Council and district events, meetings and training programs are found HERE.
By the end of next week, all the Council programs will be on the front of the scoutSPIRIT.org webpage. Information for Scout leaders will be listed HERE. A new feature will allow you to see calendar events under activities in list format for age appropriate use.
STAFF ADDITIONS AND RE-ORGANIZATION
If you follow us through Facebook or social media you know we have been hiring staff over the summer. We have gone through a reorganization of staff responsibilities over the past 4 – 5 months. The objective of these changes is designed to effectively and efficiently help Scouting thrive in YOUR community. It is a work in progress and will take some time to work out the kinks, and get everybody acclimated to the new council. We anticipate you will see measurable improvements soon, and we expect everyone to experience a higher level of service.
FACILITIES UPDATES
We continue to make progress with Camps, offices, Scout shops and other facilities. The council is working to assure that every facility has a specific purpose that helps deliver and enhances Scout programs.
This summer we began the linking of Wah Tut Ca and Storer Scout Reservations. We are now developing and implementing strategy to combining the two camp through unique camp programs. We are planning on implementation of adding and expanding programs such mountain biking, equestrian, and sailing. We are developing hiking trails to support inter-camp activities. This will include Parker Mountain. This effort will enable thousands of scouts to participate in unique adventures every summer. Winter operations will be consolidated at Wah Tut Ca and open only to Spirit of Adventure Units.
Lone Tree will remain a year round camping facility. It will continue to host Cub summer camping and Cub family programs. We will secure a summer tenant to utilize excess capacity and keep the property full and active throughout the summer months.
Camp Massasoit is currently on the market to be sold – the ideal buyer would meet the market price, keep the camp green, allow camping and provide space specifically for Scouts.
Camp Sayre will become open to the public and provide full service year round weekend adventures for Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts youth groups, individuals and families. Currently over 17,000 people use Camp Sayre and we are developing programs and facilities to support significant growth this year.
The properties committee is working to consolidate operations at the Haverhill office, North Andover store, and Woburn Store. The vision is to create one large and prominent retail location in the northern suburbs, (128/93 Belt) as well as satellite locations in the Merrimack Valley.
MARKETING UPDATE- THE NAME GAME
Names used by the council can be confusing, particularly to new volunteers and the general public. Is Yankee Clipper a boat company? Is Boston Minuteman a troupe of colonial re-enactors? As part of our efforts to grow Scouting we are simplifying our names to avoid confusion. Camp Sayre is now identified publicly as the New England Base Camp. It is a full service, year round, and program center. When you call the Milton Office the person answering the phone will greet you with, “Boy Scouts of America, home of New England Base Camp, and can I help you?” If your questions or interests are about joining Scouting, outdoor activities, camp programs, the next adventure for your son, or learning more about leadership for yourself – the New England Base Camp support team will provide you information you need.
If you are a member of a district or council committee and the questions are a little more “Scouting Specific”- such as a policy question about a specific activity, a concern about journey to excellence etc.- the call will be routed to the staff advisor for that interest.
YOUR FEEDBACK MAKES THIS WORK
All these changes the results of feedback we got from our community and leaders. We depend on your feedback and to enhance future programs and improve services.
We are moving quickly and a lot of good people are hard at work to improve Scouting for our children and young adults. We will continue to provide plenty of updates and information as we make progress. The Spirit of Adventure council is evolving rapidly. Please follow us through Facebook and be sure to forward all Scout messages to your Scouting community.
Thanks.