Print an address label or envelope 

Often I have to print just one label or envelope for a cubmaster or scoutmaster. But, in order to do so I have to open the person's record, write down the address, open up Word, type the address, and print the label/envelope.

Could there be a button added to the individual's profile page for "Print Label" ? This could feed directly to the print repository or to the printer.

Cub Scout Uniform Revision 

It would be greatly appreciated by the parents I come in contact with every day if the Cub Scout uniform was a simple T-shirt. Besides the "wear factor", meaning a T-shirt is easier to care for, the expense of the traditional uniform is getting to be beyond many folks. The rank advancement emblems, as well as other patches could be worn on a sash designed for the Cub's.

Jersey Shore Council - Motivating Scouts with Incentives = Higher Product Sales 

The Jersey Shore Council has completely revamped its Product Sale (Popcorn). We have motivated our sales force, our Scouts, with additional prizes based on their sales in addition to their normal, created to Sales clubs ($500 and $750) were they will get recognized with a special CSP, a voucher to be used at any one of our camps as well as a special day at our Scout Reservation full of activities for our $750 Club. All Scouts who fill up an order sheet will also get a marshmallow blaster. In addition, we have set the commission structure to be based on the unit’s retail sale; the more they sell the more they earn. To assist in the increase of the sale and help units earn more commission we have also implemented a Spring Sale. The retail sales of the spring will be added to the unit’s fall sales. This allows units to sell more and in markets that are saturated in the fall, allow units to capitalize in the spring. Our spring 2009 sale has increased by over 100% compared to 2008 by doing this and we feel our fall sale will increase as well.

Jersey Shore Council - Getting your entire Team to have ownership of the Budget 

To be able to maximize our revenue and minimize our expenses, the Jersey Shore Council uses an internal Fiscal Management Report which is reviewed once a month at a staff meeting. The report lists all the cost center, who is responsible for the cost center, what is budgeted, what is projected, and what the difference is. This allows every staff member to be accountable for the budget and explain why it is above or under budget. From a management standpoint, it allows us to see where we currently are and where expenses can be cut. Thus far, this has proven to be a very useful tool getting the entire staff to own the budget.

Jersey Shore Council - Getting a Jump on your Council's FOS Goal 

To kick-off our Friends of Scouting Campaign we host a free luncheon, Friends of Scouting Kick-Off Luncheon, in December. We invite all our Community, Leadership, and Family Donors (Units) to attend the event. If folks are unable to attend, we ask if they would consider making an investment and it will be reported at the luncheon. At the event itself, we have a keynote speaker; have our Council President give the State of the Council, and a Scout speaker to share our story and vision for the upcoming year. We ask everyone in attendance to invest in our Council and the Scouting program at a specific giving level. The luncheon is no longer than an hour, pre-printed cards are distributed and within that hour we raised 36.5% of our FOS goal for the upcoming year.

Jersey Shore Council - Telling Your Story to Scout Families 

In an effort to increase our Family FOS, we decided to share our unified story with our parents. We created a script for our presenters to use at Family presentations which shares how the donor’s money is being used to improve the Scouting program at the Jersey Shore Council, make improvements at our camp and other properties, and provide a better experience for their Scout. To accompany the script, we created display boards that are very colorful, full of pictures and have bullet points to accompany the various sections of the script being presented. The display boards are being held by Scouts from the unit and the Scouts are now engaged in the presentation, sharing the story, and collecting the gifts. In addition, we have revised our FOS brochure with the Words to Live By branding which is distributed to every family. There is a tear away card which they fill out and return, but the rest of the brochure has our story along with a breakdown of how their investment is being used. With either the support of a Scout or a Patrol, they get instantly recognized at the presentation with a special, commemorative CSP. Please view attachments to to take a look at the script, display boards, and FOS brochure.

Unit Rosters 

It would be very helpful if the adult emails would print on the unit rosters with the address and phone numbers. Currently you have to look the individual up in the system to get the email adress.

100th Anniversary Celebration at Jamboree 

ACE of Cakes - Chef Duffy could make the biggest cake to celebrate our 100th anniversary at the 2010 Jamboree. He has a TV show and is in Baltimore. Great publicity. Win Win for Ace of Cakes and the BSA.

Corporate Wellness Program for Professionals and Staff 

I have been thinking that BSA needs a wellness program that encourages all employees to improve their fitness. This could be a great program and National could actually pay for it with all the savings in would see in medical cost reductions on an annual basis. I would strike a deal with a pedometer company to get a good product at cut rate prices and then offer a pedometer to any employee who was willing to follow the 3000 steps in 30 minutes guidelines (new government guidelines for moderate exercise). As an incentive I would offer to give national and local council employees the premium insurance product for the cost of the basic insurance product if they are willing to commit to the program. The national council could then create a website to track compliance, which would be mandatory to update in order to get that cost break on the insurance product. I am even willing to bet the insruance company would be willing to help us with that deal because we are offerring a wellness plan which would lover their liability.

Suggestion for a new Regional Support Position 

Has anyone given consideration to a staff position on the National or Regional level that specializes in unit organization and recruiting to support local councils? Would it be beneficial to all to have a person that can go to individual councils for boots-on-the-ground, one-on-one or small group, hands-on, on-the-job training?
Some councils, especially small ones, are cash strapped and consequently are shorthanded. The SE is not in a position to spend much time training the new field executive(s), especially in the area of recruiting and unit organization. The new professional is handed a book or DVD and told to read it and get after it. We all know this happens, and agree that it is not the best situation but it is reality. It is not what we like or want, but outside conditions force this upon us at times. Yes, CPD teaches recruiting in PDL-1, but they are only able to spend a small amount of time on it, and with a large group at that, so there is not the advantage of one-on-one or small group instruction, hands-on teaching, nor is there the luxury of working out detailed methods suitable for specific areas of a school system, district, council, or even state.
For one reason or another, many councils and/or districts don’t have volunteers who have the time and/or talent to do good boy talks and roundups, and thus the councils are in membership decline. The Regional Recruiting Specialist (or whatever other title you might think appropriate) could come in and spend a few days or a week working with both field staff and volunteers to help get them up to speed, or to help polish their techniques. The Recruiting Specialist could also host cluster/area training seminars from time to time, so that several councils could benefit at one time. These training sessions could be held for either professional or volunteer groups, or both.
In some councils that are missing field staff and cannot afford to hire the needed staff, and are desperately needing membership so that they do not lose United Way or special grant funding, this person could come in for a week or two to boost membership. With the right preparation, in one week this person could generate more than 100 new youth for a council that is short handed, and that could pay big dividends for that council at the end of the year.
The Recruiting Specialist could also be invited to visit councils and audit their recruiting/unit organizing procedures to help them identify ways to improve them. A written report could be generated so that in subsequent months, the local council staff could review the suggested improvements to see if they are following the suggested plan, and if it is working. With feedback, our overall methods utilized in various councils could be compared and maybe would bring about changes for the benefit of all. The Specialist could also work with the other National staff to help plan and develop the recruiting plans that are delivered to the local councils each year.
There are some professionals in our organiation that have a special talent when it comes to recruiting and unit organization. There are some guys out there who can recruit 15 and 20 Boy Scouts in one roundup meeting, who can recruit more than 200 Cub Scouts a month, who can start new packs with 25 and more leaders, and who can start 4-6 new units in a month. It seems a waste of their talent to keep them confined to a district in a local council when they could help many more districts and councils succeed.

100th Anniversary of BSA on Oprah 

Considering the appeal and influence that Oprah Winfrey has, why not contact her producers and see if they might consider the BSA's 100th Anniversary a topic worth showcasing? They can be contacted through oprah.com under Contact Us - The Oprah Winfrey Show - "Send us Your Show Suggestions". Seems like a great platform to get the exposure we desire to a worldwide audience.

South Florida Council #084 - The President's Club 

For each person that raises $5,000 in NEW money in FOS, Special Events, or other direct funding, the Council President welcomes them into the President's Club. Each member is recognized with a distinctive black polo shirt with gold embroidery. In addition, the President's Club List is also updated at each Executive Board Meeting and placed into the packet. The positive peer pressure has had great results in raising new dollars to support the programs of the council.

The club is not exclusive and everyone can join, as soon as they raise $5,000 in NEW money.

South Florida Council, #084 - CAMP CARDS 

The South Florida Council has created and produced the Camp Card. The concept is a $5 card that is sold by the units to generate funds for camp. The commission rate is 50% if closed out on time. In its 3rd year, the sale now produces over $800,000 in gross revenue with only a product cost of $60,000. The total NET to the council is $340,000. In its third year, the CAMP CARD has surpassed all product sales in the council's history. The leading reason for success is the buy-in from the unit level with the commission rate of 50%. The unit participation has grown each year and is now at 300 units participating.

Online Bill Payment 

It would be a great advantage to have a BSA version of Doubleknot where scouters could fill out online registration forms and pay for things through a council website.
I realize that councils can purchase the services of a third party vender like Doublenot. I just thought something more taylored to the BSA and done as a national effort would cut the cost and improve the usability and service.

Interactive Boy Scout Handbook 

With all the advancements in technology and the internet I think it would be a great time for an interactive Boy Scout Handbook. I am not suggesting that we do away with the printed version of the handbook, but supplementing and enhancing it with a web based interactive version. This handbook supplement could include things like how-to-videos, interviews with noted outdoors men and women, tutorials from different outdoor gear suppliers, and so on. There are many reasons why this would be beneficial to the overall program.

First: I have seen many new leaders come to Scouting who do not have the background or proficiency in the outdoors. This would be an opportunity for us to offer how-to-videos on things like starting fire, first aid, swimming and life saving skills, lashings, orienteering and map reading, etc. Practically every still photo illustration in the printed version of the handbook could be supplemented with some form of how-to-video or tutorial that could show how it is actually done. This would help improve the program for those scouts and leaders who are visual learners and allow them mimic what they see in the videos. Now, I know that we have Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills, but not everything is covered in that short weekend to fully orient the leader on what to do in the outdoors. Plus these videos could be a great resourse for Roundtables and Universities of Scouting.

Second: This would allow us to partner with national organizations like the Red Cross, North Face, R.E.I., or Kelty (or another gear company) for gear, USDA, Leave No Trace, and other groups that would like to instruct Scouts and leaders in the proper way of performing certain skills. This would also offer the youth special access to these companies/ organizations for special training and insights that would not be available to the average person. I propose something like an online Red Cross first aid certification that each Scout could earn through the enhanced version of the handbook, or something along those lines.

Third: These how-to-videos and tutorials could be produced by Scouts from troops across the country. We could put out a notice for scout troops to shoot videos of them performing certain Scout skills and then have them upload it to a website or Youtube. This could be billed as a national contest and as an opportunity to earn the cinematography merit badge. I would think that Scouts learning from other Scouts would be more entertaining for the youth and get them excited about being like the young men they see on our training videos.

These are just a few of the possibilities that exist by having an enhanced version of the handbook. We could also make the progress tracking sheets in the back of the handbook into savable PDFs that each youth could then track their progress electronically. There is also an opportunity for us to promote this change as the Boy Scouts are “Going Green” by attempting to limit the amount of paper we use. I think the possibilities are endless.

Guide to Safe Scouting 

How about an update that includes a policy on Airsoft guns?

Internet Advancement Reporting 

When the Troops and Packs do not have any advancement, they are supposed to send a NULL report to council saying they had no advancement. IA does not have a way of doing a submission. It would be really easy for them to have a PDF file print out an advancement form with a statement saying No Advancement for this time frame.

Andy

Incorporating Mental Health issues into Boy Scouting 

The H&S Support Committee would like to see mental health issues addressed within the program. They are requesting feedback on the proposal. Their desire is to weave it into the advancement process. SME's are available to support this effort.

While scouting incorporates a good many aspects of physical health maintenance and injury/crisis management in its advancement process, aspects of mental health are not. Yet there are a number of aspects of mental health and illness that could be articulated and incorporated in the scouting education and advancement program.
A colleague talked about this matter with his nephew, who was an active scout. When asked about a scouting program to assess competencies in mental health, that scout suggested it would be a “great idea” to include this in the content of a merit badge. Indeed, he thought that Boy Scouts should be asked to have the following mental health competencies:
1. Have the ability to recognize signs of good and poor mental health in oneself and others
2. Know strategies for helping others with mental health problems
3. Be able to provide first aid for acute stress (“psychological first aid”)
4. Be familiar with different types of mental disorder
5. Recognize drug and alcohol abuse and their complications
This scout agreed that knowledge of drug and alcohol abuse and prevention are important, but he thought that material presently is covered fairly well. He suggested that material about mental health could be learned through a combination of reading and meetings with a mental health professional. He thinks that competency could be demonstrated through the combination of a written test and discussion or demonstration (i.e. role playing).

Technology series merit badge 

Web & Database Development: Grow your knowledge of how websites really happen and how databases support the web and other applications. Learn about programming languages used, development principals and the career opportunities in this field.

Video Game Design: Learn the ins and outs of this fast growing career. Gain an understanding of the game development process and tools used and come to understand how the concepts are used in applications beyond games.

Security & Networks: Develop an understanding of how digital networks are created and how they support the world wide web and private networks. Learn how security is established to protect the network from spam, viruses, and hacking.

Crypography Merit Badge 

Learn about the ancient and modern history of cryptography and codes and how they have been used in government, politics and business. Learn how to build and codes and how they are used in modern-day security.

Kite Flying Merit Badge 

Baden-Powell had a patent on a kite?? Was he having fun or putting it to work? You can do both in this merit badge for Kiting. Design, build and fly your own kites. Learn about the concepts of flight, the many types of kites (indoor, giant, miniature, and modern sport kites) and new uses for kites like kite surfing and kites used as a “green” power source.

Disk Sports Merit Badge 

Learn about the history of disk sports and how to participate in the various disk sport disciplines of Disk Golf, Ultimate, and Freestyle.

Internet Skills Merit Badge 

Learn the skills necessary to effectively and safely use the internet. This badge would cover internet safety, internet terms, online shopping, email usage, the basics of web development, social networks and blogs.

Winter Sports Safety 

Currently the Winter Sports Safety section in the Guide to Safe Scouting states that "suitable clothing for the activity and environment should be worn at all times, and equipment should include gloves and helmets when appropriate.
The following change is being considered: Appropriate personal protective equipment is required for all activities. This includes the recommended use of helmets for all participants engaged in winter sports such as sledding and other sliding devices. The use of helmets is required for the following activities: downhill skiing, snowboarding and operation of snowmobiles (full face helmets).

Your feedback and comments to this change are desired.

One Charter to Rule Them All 

Our unit structure and leadership requirements create artificial barriers to providing the most effective Scouting programs in many settings, particularly in rural communities and at small churches or organizations with small to mid-sized units. Let’s build on one of our greatest strengths: the chartered organization concept.

Recommendation: Issue organizations one charter for all of their Scouting units and each organization has one Scouting Committee that oversees and supports all units they have.

1) A chartering organization has one “Scouting Committee” regardless of the number of units it operates. The single Scouting Committee is authorized to operate Cubs, Scouts, Varsity and Venturing units (just like a pack can and should operate Tigers, Bears, Wolves, and Webelos). If they have large, complex units, they can have sub-committees for the pack, troop and crew.
2) The chartering organization completes one charter per year that includes all youth in all of their units: Cubs through Venturing.
3) When the chartering organization completes the annual charter renewal, they indicate which programs they will offer (Cubs, Scouts, Varsity, Venturing), must meet the direct-contact leadership requirements for each, and must pay $20 per unit they charter. The fees do not change.
4) A boy joins Cub Scouts as a Tiger and can continue seamlessly through the various Scouting programs at his chartering organization until he leaves. He completes an application only one time during his entire Scouting career, unless he moves to a unit at a different chartering organization, in which case he transfers.
5) The various programs meet separately as they do now with separate direct-contact leaders. The program does not change.
6) Reduce the major barriers between our programs so that it is easy to transition from one program without dealing with paperwork and process. Make it natural and easy for a youth to progress from Cubs to Scouts to Venturing (and Varsity for LDS units).

Our unit structure is overwhelming in rural communities and at small churches or organizations, particularly if they want to offer multiple units (a pack, troop, and crew, for example). Our system requires us to recruit a committee and leadership for every unit. Every unit needs a CC, MC’s, COR, unit leader, asst. unit leader, etc. In many settings (rural, small town, central cities, LDS wards, etc.) it is difficult to recruit the necessary persons for single units, let alone multiple units. Many end up serving in name only.

You can have the same person registered as CC of 2 or more units, but this gets complex requiring multiple applications, approvals, multiple mailings, etc.

Are these systems necessary for a quality Scouting program? In many settings they add nothing to the integrity or quality of the program and, in fact, keep us from expanding the program. We are constantly attempting to work around our own system by having leaders carry multiple registrations, etc.

For example, why should a small LDS ward with 10 Cub Scouts, 8 Boy Scouts 6 Varsity Scouts and 6 Venturers be required to have 4 CC’s, 4 advancement chairs, 4 treasurers, etc., etc. Why not have one committee for their entire Scouting program? Then a volunteer can fill out one application and be the advancement chair for their entire Scouting program within their organization? You CAN work around our system to do this, but our system does not easily support the volunteer, the commissioner or district executive in doing this.

Why do we put our charter partner and their volunteers (and our commissioner and district executive) through the torture of completing 4 separate charter renewal processes? It should be one charter and one committee for all of a chartering organization’s units.

One Charter to Rule Them All!