Bill's Blog |
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| 8/21/2009 - Bills Blog-A Must Read | |
TO: Fellow Scouters FROM: Bill Garrett
I hope everyone is enjoying the summer weather that finally decided to show up in central New York. Katie and I finally got to go swimming for three straight days and yesterday, she swam without the aid of any flotation. She was amazed at her newfound ability and I was a proud father. After dinner, we made a medal to reward her accomplishment-it was pink with gold letters! Katie is just like the young people we serve…..looking for a challenge, struggling to overcome, and building self-confidence along the way.
Membership
88% of area’s young people are not involved in Scouting! That adds up to a lot of young people missing the fun, the excitement, the values, and the leadership training that we have to offer. I believe those 88% deserve a chance to become involved in our existing units or in a new unit in our underserved neighborhoods.
I hope that all of you realize that, to me, membership growth isn’t just a corporate goal or just something that is expected of me in my job as the Scout Executive. Nothing could be further from the truth. I know first-hand the impact of Scouting. From the economically depressed areas in West Virginia to the suburbs of Columbus, OH to the immigrant populations in Allentown and Utica …….I know that Scouting MAKES A DIFFERENCE! Unfortunately, we cannot make a difference in a young person’s life if they are not in the program!
This fall, and throughout the year, I hope that all of us can join together to give more youth the opportunity to join our ranks.
Fall Family Camp
Our Cub Scout team has barely had time to rest after the summer season but they are already planning a great “Spooky Family Camp” for October 3-4 at Camp Kingsley. To view the registration form, please visit http://www.scoutingcny.org/Upcoming_Activities.cfm See you at camp!
Website-Updates and Help Needed
Please take at look at our website for a few updates…..most notably:
· the Public Relations tab also has information to help your unit with press releases-this has been on for a while.
I have received very little feedback on the website other than a few comments. Unfortunately, the comments I have received do not give me any indication of what is needed. So, please let me know what you would like to see on the site and I will do my best to make it happen.
Speaking of the website, the goal is to allow volunteers and committees to update the site. This will ensure that it’s truly a reflection of what volunteers need. In addition, having the site updated in sections by more than one person will enable updates to be more timely. We need a webmaster from the following committees:
· Each district
· The council camping committee
· The council activities committee
· The council training committee
· The council advancement committee
If you are in charge of one of these committees or would like to serve as a webmaster, please send me an email at william.garrett@scouting.org . I’ll be happy to set-up training for using the website. As we move forward, we are sure to add more webmasters, so please let me know if you have ideas.
Colgate and Boy Scouts-A New Partnership
I thought I would pass along an email from the Assistant Athletic Director at Colgate University. Please take a few minutes to read it and visit http://www.scoutingcny.org/Upcoming_Activities.cfm for more information.
Hi Bill,
We'd really like to include the Boy Scouts in a lot of programs we have this year. We have youth day for each of our sports and would enjoy these troops/scouts (12 and under) as our guest to as many youth days as possible. It would be great to have them wear their uniforms so we can identify them and maybe have a couple of our players stop over and say hello to them either before or after the game. Here are some of the events we have this fall as of right now:
· On Sept. 4th our Field Hockey team (women's) will be hosting a back-to-school game. We will be handing out free notebooks, pens and other school supplies to kids. Admission is free.
· On Sept. 7th our Men's Soccer team will be playing Syracuse University. We do not charge admission to this event, but we'd like to have the boy scouts walk out to the field with both teams and stand next to them during the national anthem.
· On Sept. 26th our football team is hosting a youth day. On this day, kids 12 and under will be admitted free and also given two additional guest passes for their parents/guardians. We have youth football teams coming from all over to watch the game and two teams will scrimmage at half-time. We are attempting to fill the stands with as many youth as possible from as many different organizations as we can get.
· On Oct. 16th our Men's Ice Hockey team is willing to send a bus to a location to pick up boy scouts and transport them to the game. They will provide a small pizza party and have a coach and player speak with the team (if we arrange the timing correctly). They will get free tickets to the game, and once the game is over the bus will return them to the location they were picked up. This will take some additional planning from me and scout leaders if they are interested.
We'd be honored if the Boy Scouts in our surrounding area's (Madison County, Oneida County, Chenango County, Courtland County, Onondaga County, Broome County, Otsego County, etc.) we able to attend one or all of these events. I'm not sure if you are the one who can send this information to these different groups. If not, would you mind passing along email addresses of those scout leaders so I can send them this information and additional information in the future. (editor’s note: we will never give out our address list or email list to third parties….but we will pass along information as requested)
Thanks so much for getting in contact with me. I look forward to starting a Boy Scouts of America and Colgate Athletics partnership to help our local youth learn and grow as people for years to come. We truly believe sports shows leadership and teamwork and our athletes are great role models for today’s youth.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Shaun
Shaun Richard
Assistant Athletic Director
Colgate University - Reid Athletic Center
TRAILBLAZER ADVENTURE PROGRAM - Camp Russell-June 11 and 12, 2010
This program serves as an all-around introduction to the thrill of outdoor sports and the importance of conservation. The Trailblazer Adventure Day features a variety of activities, demonstrations and orientation sessions designed to show youth and their parents what the outdoor lifestyle is all about. Activities include firearm safety, archery, trapping, fishing and much more. All activities are conducted under the supervision of experienced Trail Guides with an emphasis on safety. Best of all it’s FREE. Reserve the dates on your calendars and we hope to see you in 2010!
Yours in Scouting,
Bill Garrett
Scout Executive & CEO
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