Bill's Blog |
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| 8/01/2009 - Bills Blog-Leaving a Legacy | |
TO: Fellow Scouters FROM: Bill Garrett
This summer, during each of my visits to camp, I have enjoyed the company of volunteers. I would like to thank the brave souls who have made the trips to Cedarlands Russell with me. This Friday, however, I had the pleasure of taking my daughter (Katie) to the Camp Russell BBQ and campfire. She loved it! On Sunday, Sheila, Katie, and I made the trek to Cedarlands for the dedication of the Jerry Schillo challenge area and pavilion. After lunch, Katie took her first ride in a rowboat and caught her first two smallmouth bass! As I was taking the second one off the hook, she turned to me and said…. “This place is so pretty and fun-I want to stay here forever.” I have to thank everyone who was and still is involved in creating the legacies of our camp programs and properties. There are a lot of Scouts who feel the same way as Katie.
Jerry Schillo Challenge Area
For over 25 years, Jerry Schillo served as Scoutmaster of Troop 88 in New Hartford and during his tenure led over 52 young men to the rank of Eagle Scout. That’s quite an accomplishment and an awesome legacy. However, it’s only part of the story. The 52 Eagle Scouts represent about 2% of the young men Jerry gave guided into adulthood. So my math says there were 2,500 other Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, and Life Scouts – not to mention the countless volunteers- that were touched by his leadership and dedication to the Scouting program.
Another part of Jerry’s legacy is the challenge area at Cedarlands Scout Reservation. This past Sunday, a group of 25 family, friends, and Scouters dedicated the area in his memory. We also talked about the future of the area. One that will eventually include several different elements that will “challenge” our young people.
I can only hope to aspire to the legacy of individuals like Jerry Schillo.
 The Shillo family at the Challenge Area
Cathedral Pines
If you haven’t found Cathedral Pines along route 28 between Eighth Lake and Raquette Lake, I would suggest a visit. The area of several acres that includes more than 25 virgin white pines that were missed in the original logging and subsequent fires of the area. It is on the west side of Route 28. It’s a legacy too…..not many people get to see trees that were old when our country was forming.
 One of the "medium" sized trees at Cathedral Pines
TEAM
During my recent travels, I have had more than one conversation about the relationships between camps, districts, and individuals. Here are some phrases from those conversations:
“They (referring to a camp) need to do……………”
“At my camp we do……………..”
“The council needs to…………..”
The uses of the pronouns they, my, them, etc. remind me that we are not a TEAM yet. We are a collection of individual camps, districts, and people. Don’t get me wrong…….I think that all of us, individually, are in the Scouting movement for the right reason. But, I also know that the power of our potential will never be unleashed until we become a TEAM.
What we can do:
· Instead of being negative towards a camp, a person, or a district…….try to offer ideas, guidance, and assistance to that camp, person, or district.
· Become more collaborative in our approach by reaching out to our fellow district committee members and camp staff employees to say: “How can I help?”; “Have you ever thought about trying……..?”; “Great Job!”; “Congratulations!” …… You never know what will result from a few kind words but I guarantee it will be positive.
· Next time you attend a meeting sit by someone you don’t know very well.
· Start using words like: we, us, our to refer to our organization. These simple words remind us that we are one.
· Think about yourself as part of a large team-not just a district, camp, or even council. We are The Boy Scouts of America. I recently read that the Boy Scouts of America “brand” is one of the top 20 most recognized and valuable “brands” in the nation. That’s awesome, if you think about who we are comparing ourselves against. The BSA brand is exponentially more powerful than any local brand we could ever design.
My Legacy
It’s within our nature to think about the legacy we will leave. This is especially true in the Scouting profession since most of us spend 3 to 5 years, on average, in a given assignment and are expected to move our areas forward. With the recent dedications at Russell and Cedarlands and discussions with our Scouters of the Century, I’ve been thinking a lot about legacies. In my position, I have lot of things to choose from: membership growth, fundraising, new buildings at camp, etc. Doing well in these areas usually gets a professional promoted to his/her next assignment. However, I consider them all short-term achievements…..things that can be accomplished with a small professional staff and little volunteer involvement (if that’s how we choose to do it)……they are achievements that do not address the underlying issue in the Boy Scouts of America……..the need to engage, empower, and unleash the awesome potential of our volunteers.
So, my goal for my tenure in our council is to create an organization that is “volunteer driven and professionally guided”…..an organization where volunteers take ownership of the goals, objectives, strategies, and tactics and receive the support and guidance from professional staff members to be successful.
To expand on my last blog, here are some other things we can do to be successful:
· If you are a volunteer-
o Accept the responsibilities of your position. Take a look at your position description to remind yourself of your duties.
o Ask for help if you need it…..involve your professional coach.
o Talk with your counterparts in other districts and councils to share/learn best practices.
o Realize that, every now and them, professional staff members might suggest a “course correction” or alternative plan.
· If you are an employee-
o Let volunteers have the freedom to do their job.
o Support and guide your volunteers without doing it all.
o Check in with your volunteers….ask how they are doing and how you can help.
o Become a teacher, coach, and mentor.
If we are successful in creating this organization, there is no limit to the positive things in the future of our council.
Strategic Plan
I received a comment in the surveys we recently posted that leads me to believe that people are tired of hearing about our strategic plan. Another volunteer, at a recent campfire, asked, jokingly, if we were going to do another presentation. I’m not sure why……..I hope that everyone is as excited as me and other members of the board about the plan for our future. I am reminded of a quote that I read last year from George Bernard Shaw:
“The only man I know who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew each time he sees me.
The rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them.”
The strategic plan is our commitment to do things differently and expect better results…...not to do the same old things and hope somehow, this time, they will produce better results. We want to engage charter partners, recruit and train effective leaders, create a quality program for Scouts, and instill the values of the Scout Oath and Law. I hope everyone is excited about our new council and is eager to play a vital role in our success!
Yours in Scouting,
Bill Garrett
Scout Executive & CEO |
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