A Scoutmaster's Blog

I saw this new (?) poster online today to promote Cub Scouting. I thought it was fantastic! With all the hype this past year about the Dark Knight (Batman) and the Avengers, and the new Superman movie due out soon, I think it would work well with today’s youth.

From the look of the writing on the bottom it looks like it is a B.S.A. poster, but I could not find it on the Scouting.org website. Has anyone used this poster this fall? How has the response been?

This image came from http://davehepp.com/ .

I found this promotional video on Youtube. It is time to “Be A Scout”. Be a Cub Scout. Be a Boy Scout. Be a Venturer. Serve your community. Learn new things. And just have fun. This video was posted to Youtube by BSA100Years in July 2011.

Boy Scout Troop 68 and Cub Scout Pack 68 held an open house on Monday, April 18, at St. Mary’s School gym. Flyers were sent to the schools. Posters were hung around town. An article was printed in the newspaper. We were set to welcome new boys into the Scouting program.

I had set up three tables of troop pictures and memorabilia. The Cub Pack had set up one table. The Boy Scouts had four activities planned for new boys to play. We had a fire truck in the parking lot. Most of the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts were in attendance. Even the district executive had come to our open house. All we needed was some new boys and families.

Unfortunately, no one showed up. No new boys. No new parents. No new families. The only people who stopped by was a gentleman who was the troop’s committee chairman in the early 1980’s, and his wife. Needless to say, I was very disappointed. I was hoping to see at least a few Cub Scout age boys stop by. But nope. No one. Notta. Zilch.

It was time for plan B. We sent the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts out to the parking lot to check out the fire department’s ladder truck. The boys had a great time climbing on it, sitting in it, and looking over the equipment. We were able to get some great photos and video (which I hope to post to the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast.)

By 7:20 we realized that no one was probably going to show up so I had the Cub Scouts go through the four activities planned by the Boy Scouts. The Cub Scouts had fun, and the Boy Scouts had a chance to work with and get to know the younger boys. I guess you could say it was a win/win situation for both groups. The Cub Pack committee used the time to meet and plan for this summer’s activities. The district executive walked around with my camera taking pictures while I used my iPod to record video of the stations. Parents took some time to look through the troop photo albums I had brought along.

Even though we did not get any new boys join the pack or troop we were able to fun evening for the boys. I guess you could call that our silver lining. But I am still very disappointed with the turnout.

100 Days of Scouting: Day #75.

I am beginning to panic. Just a little. Boy Scout Troop 68, along with Cub Scout Pack 68 of Melrose, are planning to hold a Scouting Open House on Monday, April 18th. That is only a little over a week away! And hardly anything has been done yet. We are running out of time to promote this event.

The council has printed flyers to hand out to the public elementary school students and those at St. Mary’s elementary school. Our committee chairperson picked those up today and I have already delivered them to our committee member who teaches at St. Mary’s School. She will also get the flyers to the public school.

We have ten 16″ x 20″ posters from the council to place around town. (See the picture.) One will be going to each elementary school. Our chairperson has taken a few to bring to Burger King, Dairy Queen, and the two convenience stores in town. That leaves four posters to try to place in windows of Main Street businesses. Hopefully, we will find good spots for them.

The banks and credit union will allow us to place table displays in their lobbies. The problem is finding time and people to set them up. I do not know if anyone has asked them yet to post a notice on their electronic marquees. We did not plan very well at the last committee committee meeting to decide who would be in charge of doing the things that need to be done.

Our local newspaper, the Melrose Beacon, is being very supportive. In next week’s edition they will be printing an article about the 100th anniversary of the first Boy Scout Troops formed in Melrose. I have proofread a rough draft of the article and I like it. They have contacted some of the former committee members and a couple troop alumni about their Scouting experiences. The writer, Herman, asked a few of us to meet him at the local historical museum for some pictures next to the Scouting display. He also asked for current pictures of the Cub Scout Pack and the Boy Scout Troop. He was at Dakota’s Eagle court of honor last Saturday so I wonder if that article will also be in this next edition.

We want to get yard signs set up around town. I have kept the signs from several years ago. There are two kinds from two different years. It would be great to find ten good yards in town, preferably on Main Street and a couple other well traveling streets.

On the day of the event, the troop and pack will each have a table of information. The pack will have one activity for Cub Scout age boys. The troop is planning four activities for possible new Boy Scouts, but the activities will also be Cub Scout friendly. Those activities will be knot tying (square knot, two half hitches, taut line hitch), frisbee golf, flag and Pledge knowledge, and the human knot untying. We are hoping to be able to tell any Boy Scout age boys that they will already have a few requirements done for awards if they complete these stations.

What have you done for your open house? What was successful, or not successful? This is new to us so we could use your ideas.

100 Days of Scouting: Day 59.

I recently wrote an article about recruiting parents to become involved in the pack and troop. I posted an interesting talk I found called the “adding machine tape presentation”. I decided to use it during the Pack’s recruitment drive and recorded it. I was surprised to see how well it worked to get the parents to think about their time with their boys. Click HERE if you would like to read the presentation.

As today’s post to the Melrose Scout Production Podcast, I submit the “Adding Machine Tape Presentation”. Have you used this in your own Pack or Troop? If you have, how did parents receive it?

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Thursday evening the pack (and troop) are holding a Night To Join Scouting at the local elementary school. The pack currently only has three members so this will be a critical meeting for the future of the pack. Our district commissioner has been to the schools to talk to the boys, and we have placed an ad about the meeting in the newspaper. A couple of the banks/credit unions are also promoting the meeting on their outdoor marquees.

I plan to attend the meeting in case any Boy Scout age boys show up. I also want to talk to the parents about accepting a leadership role in the pack. One of the favorite talks I have come across is the Adding Machine Tape Demonstration for adult recruiting. I plan to use it this year. Here is how it goes:

You need an 8-10 foot long piece of adding machine or calculator tape. Mark off the tape in ten year increments with 0 at the left end and 100 at the right. Use large numbers so parents can see from the audience. Roll the tape back up, so that the 100 is in the center of the roll. For the presentation you will need two helpers to hold the tape in front of you so you can point at various points on the tape.

Start out saying:
With the current advances in medical technology it’s very likely that your son will live about 100 years. (Have your helpers unroll the tape in front of you, so the whole time line is visible.) “Here’s a time line of his life.”

If you’re 35 now, statistically, you’ll likely live until you’re 75 or so, when your son will be about 50.(Rip the tape off at the 1/2 way point and hand the end to your helper. Let the other half fall to the floor — very important dramatic effect). “This represents the years you and your son will have together in his lifetime.”

“And he’s probably about 8 or 9 now.” (Rip of the tape slightly below 10 and let that piece fall to the floor. Hand the end to your helper). So here’s the time you have left together.

How old do you suppose your son will be when he goes away to college (or you decide its time for him to be out on his own)? 18 – 20? (Rip off the tape someplace in this vicinity. Let that chunk fall to the floor. Hand the end to your helper). This is the amount of time you have left with him at home.

When he’s about 13 – middle school age – his friends start to become a much bigger, maybe the major, influence in his life.” (If you can – assuming you have teenager – make a comment about how you know this from experience.) (Rip off the tape someplace in this vicinity. Let that chunk fall to the floor. Hand the end to your helper).

(Take the very short piece of tape from your helpers and hold in it front of you, and thank your helpers.)

“This is the time you have left to be the major shaping force in your son’s life. You can show him how important he is to you by becoming involved in Scouting with him. Scouting is a remarkable opportunity for you and your son to share a great variety of fun, exciting and positive experiences.
Experiences that give you that opportunity to help him grow into an adult that you’ll be proud to point to and say: ‘That’s my son – he’s a good person.'”

(Go on to talk about volunteer opportunities in your unit and how parents can participate in them.)

So, what do you think about this presentation?

Melrose Boy Scout Troop 68 held a recruitment drive in the city park last Saturday, May 9th. We had a model campsite set up, dutch oven deserts prepared, and the council’s bouldering wall for the boys to climb. Seven of our nine Boy Scouts where on hand to assist. Even the Cub Scout Pack had a couple parents and Cubs on hand.

The troop had advertised the event. We handed out flyers at the schools, set up displays and posters around town, and listed the event in the local newspapers and the local television stations. The cities banks and credit union even placed a note about it on the outdoor marquees. We thought we had done a good job of covering all the bases to get the word out…

But no one showed up. Well, let me rephrase that. There was one first grader who checked things out, but not one boy of Boy Scout age choose to check out the program.

The troop has nine Boy Scouts. One will be leaving in August when he turns 18 years old. Another is thinking about dropping out of Scouting. Currently, our youngest Scout is 13 years old.

The Pack is in even worse shape with only seven members. Only one of them is a second year Webelos Scout. If something does not change soon, the Cub Pack will die out. And the troop will soon follow.

We have tried many ideas over the last several years to get boys and families involved in Scouting with minimal success. It is very frustrating, especially considering that ten years ago we had a strong troop with nearly 40 members.

Oh well, this recruitment drive is over, and it was a bust. The troop will now concentrate on its summer program. Hopefully, we will have better luck in the fall or Scouts in Melrose will become an endangered species.

That is the slogan Boy Scout Troop 68 will be using during a spring recruitment drive to be held on Saturday, May 9th. The Boy Scouts, troop leadership, and committee are planning an afternoon of fun at the city park to introduce new boys and their parents to the adventure of Scouting.

The troop plans to have five areas of activity, four for the boys and one for the parents. The parents’ area is actually a place for the committee to talk to parents about the Scouting program and what it has to offer their families.

The four boy areas are designed to introduce the new boys to the fun Scouting has to offer. One area will be a model campsite at which boys will have the chance to set up a tent. The second area will feature fire building and fire safety. (What boy doesn’t like to sit near a fire?) The third area will feature dutch oven cooking. Boys will be able to help make various dishes and then eat them.

The fourth station is the biggest. We will be setting up the council’s bouldering wall on which the boys will climb horizontally instead of vertically. We expect this to be the big draw that brings the boys down to the park.

The Cub Pack is also hoping to organize a station to talk to boys and their parents about the Cub Scout program. We are hoping they are able to get their leadership together for this event. The Pack could use more Scouts just as much as the troop does.

The troop plans to advertise the event pretty heavily through all the free ways we can think of. We have created our own flyers which will be going to the three elementary schools in the area. The flyers were sketched by me and feature pictures of the four activities. (See the picture with this article.) A local business created the final version and printed 300 copies for us at a very reasonable price.

The troop also plans to get press releases out to the local weekly newspapers and the local television stations. We will also contact the banks and credit unions to get a notice run on their outdoor marquees. Posters will be placed around town and we hope to get a few large banners to place across the school, at the local grocery store, and on the fence along the park.

I really hope all this effort will pay off. I would hate to see all this work being done and then only see a couple boys show up. I will keep you posted to how things turn out.