Posts Tagged ‘Promotion’


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.

Today, for Youtube Tuesday, we are leaving the USA and the BSA. The UK Scout Association has produced a great video that does a great job of promoting Scouting and asking adults to volunteer in their local units. What I find fascinating is most of the information in the video could apply to the Boy Scouts of America. This video was uploaded in October 2010. Check it out and let me know what you think about it.

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100 Days of Scouting: Day 57.

Wow! I never expected to see something like this posted to Youtube by the BSA. But I think it is very well done. Welcome to Patrol Z, an action comic strip to promote the next Jamboree at The Summit. This video kicks off a program by the BSA to recruit Scouts with tech savvy skills. According to the Patrol Z website:

“WANTED:MULTIMEDIA, WEB-SAVVY SCOUTS

The Summit needs campfire stories. Digital ones. And we need you to tell them online. Scouts with skills – making videos, producing quality photos, writing blog posts. Designers and web developers, too.

We’re putting together a team. That’s Patrol Z.”

Do you have what it takes to be a member of Patrol Z? For more information check out the site at https://summit.scouting.org/en/PatrolZ/Pages/default.aspx
But in the meantime watch the video below. (As I write this the video has received 338 views.)

What do you think about this idea?

100 Days Of Scouting: Day 24

I just wanted to take a moment and congratulate Alex Lloyd and the Dale Coyne Racing team for taking third place at the 2010 Indianapolis 500. Great job guys! To start in the ninth line and move up and take third place was simply awesome! I just wish the telecast would have given you some air time during the race and after the race. I got the feeling that ABC and ESPN were avoiding you.

Keep up the good work, and thanks for helping to celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America.

The Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 were a little nervous when they arrived at the Melrose City Council meeting. They really did not know what to expect, and neither did I as their scoutmaster. The troop was at the meeting because the city council was going to pass a proclamation recognizing the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America and the 30th anniversary of Boy Scout Troop 68.

When the time came for the city council to pass the proclamation, the city’s mayor, Eric Seanger, spoke a few words about how the city appreciates the hard work of the Boy Scout troop. He then invited a member of the troop to come forward to accept the proclamation. Our senior patrol leader received that honor. I took a couple of pictures, one which ended up in the local paper.

Unfortunately, because the council had to attend another meeting with the local township boards, they did not have time to read the proclamation. Since we had an outing the following weekend I recruited a few Boy Scouts to read it in front of the video camera. I received a copy of the city council meeting from Mel-TV, our community access television station, and went to work editing everything together to make this video for the Melrose Scouting Production Podcast.

The proclamation can be read at http://www.melrosetroop68.org/blog/?p=667

Click here to DOWNLOAD this Podcast
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Last week the Melrose City Council passed a proclamation recognizing the one hundred year anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America and the thirty year anniversary of Boy Scout Troop 68. Five Boy Scouts, and the scoutmaster and assistant scoutmaster, attended the meeting. It was great to see the council support Scouting within our community. After the council unanimously passed the proclamation the senior patrol leader stepped forward to accept a copy from the mayor. It made for a nice photo opportunity.

Here is what the proclamation states:

WHEREAS, the Boy Scouts of America has served our youth since 1910. Thanks to dedicated adult volunteers, more than 100 million young people have learned Scouting’s lessons of patriotism, courage, and self-reliance over the past 100 years, and millions more have benefited from the service, inspiration, and leadership of the Boy Scouts.

WHEREAS, former Scouts have gone on to become leaders in all fields, including business, education, and government. The values they have learned through Scouting have given them the confidence to make ethical choices and to realize their full potential as active and responsible citizens.

WHEREAS, America’s young people have always been treasured as our most precious resource. Since Scouting has had a strong positive influence on young people, it has played a vital role in shaping America’s future.

WHEREAS, The Boy Scouts have clearly shown that it is possible to be innovative while remaining faithful to their principles.

WHEREAS, the Melrose Boy Scout Troop No. 68 and Cub Pack No. 68 are celebrating their 30th Anniversary.

WHEREAS, this national youth movement has made serving others through its values-based program its mission.

THEREFORE, I, Eric Seanger, Mayor of the City of Melrose, Stearns County, Minnesota, do hereby recognize February 8, 2010 as the 100th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America. The Council urges all citizens to join them in recognizing the dedication and hard work of the members of this organization.

FURTHERMORE, I, Eric Seanger, along with the entire City Council and citizens of Melrose, commend the dedicated volunteer Scout leaders and institutions that assist the Boy Scouts in benefiting the youth in our community.

IN OFFICIAL RECOGNITION WHEREOF, I hereby affix my signature and caused to be affixed the official seal of the City of Melrose this 18th day of February, 2010.

Last week I wrote about the displays I planned to place around town for Scouting Week. Three of the four were set up. I have not got around to the fourth one yet. I thought you may enjoy seeing pictures of the exhibits so here they are: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevejb68/sets/72157623361768222/

Let me know what you think about them.

February 8, 2010, marks the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America. This year is also the 30th anniversary of Melrose Boy Scout Troop 68, of which I am the scoutmaster. We usually set up displays around town during Scout week so I have some serious work to do in the next couple of days.

Four local businesses have given us permission to place exhibits about Scouting in their lobbies: Central Minnesota Credit Union, Freeport State Bank, US Bank, and the City of Melrose. Each display is designed to fit on an eight foot long table. The displays include literature, books, patches, memorabilia, and photographs.

During the last patrol leader council, we discussed themes for each of the four exhibits. We wanted a different one for each place so people would get to discover more about Scouting. Besides, I do not have enough stuff to do four displays of the same theme. This year’s themes are:

High Adventure – This will highlight the BSA’s high adventure bases but will concentrate on Philmont Scout Ranch. It will include mugs, plaques, posters, and photo albums.

National Jamboree – Since this is the year of the National Jamboree we added this as a theme for one location. I attended the 2001 Jamboree as the scoutmaster for Central Minnesota Troop 1417 so most of the display will feature items from that trip, including the uniform and tee shirt, photo albums, patch collection, and a new shadow box with various memorabilia.

Scouting History – I have collected quite a bit of Scouting memorabilia during the last thirty years and some of it will find its way into this display, including a 1932 Boy Scout handbook and fictional novels from 1911. Last night I put together a shadowbox featuring Boy Scout rank patches from the 1980’s, the current patches, and the special 2010 anniversary rank patches. (See the picture above.)

Boy Scout Troop 68 – This will probably be the largest of the exhibits since I have collected the most on this subject. The hardest part will be deciding which of the thirty photo albums will be a part of the arrangement.

The displays will be set up this Friday and Saturday. Each of the businesses is allowing the exhibits to be in place for two weeks. I have been told that past displays have been popular, especially the photo albums. I will take photos of each of the displays and post them online for you to see. Check back to this blog for an update with the link.