Information, Observation, and Inspiration for Scouters
I’m back with a look at some topics that you may find of interest.
Registration is now live for the 2023 National Scout Jamboree, to be held again at the Summit Bechtel Family Reserve in West Virginia July 19-28, 2023. As that is only fifteen months away, councils are assembling contingents and making travel arrangements. Jamboree is the adventure of a lifetime for Scouts. Continue reading “News & notes – April 2022”
A few items for this month:
The requirements for the new Citizenship in Society merit badge have been released, along with guidelines for counselors for the badge.
There is great concern that counselors for this badge have the correct understanding about how the badge is to be facilitated (not taught), and that they have a temperament that will foster discussions without promoting particular views. Â Continue reading “News & Notes, December 2021”
This month’s Scouting topics to be aware of:
It’s easy to invite new members to join. You can send them a link to follow, which will take them directly to register for your pack or troop. Just sign in to my.scouting.org, click Menu, then your unit number. Click Invitation Manager, then Copy URL. Paste this URL into your invitation email, and the prospective member will be taken to your registration page where the national (and, in most councils, local) registration fees will be collected. Note that starting in October, fees are also collected for the following year so you won’t need to collect again when you recharter.
And don’t forget to promptly follow up on leads that are generated from your “pin”. The unit Key 3 will get daily reminder e-mails when unanswered inquiries are pending. Continue reading “News & Notes, November 2021”
This fall, we’ll be joined by families new to Scouting. Curious about the flyer they might have picked up at a school assembly or by what their excited son or daughter told them about Cub Scouts, they’ll be walking through our doors into what – for them – is a great unknown.
Think back to when you were brand new to Scouting. Was there someone who welcomed you in and showed you what our program is all about?
If not, there should have been, and now we have that someone who can help your new families feel welcome and get them into the swing of things. Continue reading “Roll out the welcome mat!”
It’s already mid-August, which means school will be starting very soon for most, and with it the Cub Scout program year. Packs should have been planning their recruiting activities – Boy (and Girl!) Talks, exhibits and demonstrations at school activity nights, School Nights for Scouting (evening presentations and orientation for new Scouts and families) and the first whiz-bang pack meeting.
But there are three things you need to do as soon as possible. Continue reading “Three things you must do now”