Merger Recommended O n August 31, 2011 the Executive Steering Committee of the MDSC/SFBAC Consolida- tion Committee met to hear final recommendations from the four sub-committees. The committees’ guiding statement was: “All of our decisions, based on thoughtfully re- searched input, metrics and other data are premised on the answer to the question: ‘what’s best for our customer–youth?’” By an overwhelming majority, the answer appears to be: “Merge our two healthy Councils into one that will keep us vigorous, relevant and in- fluential far into the future.” Although there are many details to be worked out, three of the sub-committees found sig- nificant benefits would derive from combining the two Councils, and the legal committee reported no legal impediments or downside to consolidation. There are no current or pending lawsuits, and the by-laws and general board policies are similar enough that cre- ating a new entity should be relatively straightforward. Read the full article on Page 4 Page I M P O R T A N T DATES Memorials & Tributes In Honor of: OCTOBER Eric Wagner 1 HAT- Wilderness First Aid Dorothy Glaros 2 HAT- Wilderness First Aid In Honor & Loving Memory of 3 Orinda Golf (Cancelled) Ron Carlston Sr. 4 Cub Day Camp Director’s Meeting 5 OA Lodge Executive Committee Meeting “The finest person we’ve ever known & our cherished friend” 7Pm-9Pm Donna & Gene Axelsen 7 Cub Family Camp Autumn 8 Cub Family Camp Autumn / Leave no Trace In Honor & Loving Memory of trainers Training/Shooting Sport Cub Scout Ron Carlston Sr. Marksmanship Day McGuire & Hester Foundation 9 Cub Family Camp Autumn/ Leave No Trace Trainers Training In Honor & Loving Memory of 15 HAT-Cycling Awareness Outdoor Joe Trapani Chris Trapani 21 Cub Family Camp Halloween Fest 22 Cub Family Camp Halloween Fest In Honor & Loving Memory of 23 Cub Family Camp Halloween Fest Robert Borghesani 24 International Committee Meeting Konocti Rod & Gun Club Capitol Plywood Inc Janice Stokes Rob & Dina Roumiguiere Robert Bartley Brian Johnson Margie Witten Douglas Wacker Tom & Laura Schneider In Honor & Loving Memory of Ron Carlston Sr. Barbara Young & Family Smoke Signals is published monthly, with the exception of the Editor: Matthew Lynch combined June/July issue, by: Phone: (925)674-6112 Mt. Diablo Silverado Council Email: [email protected] Boy Scouts of America 800 Ellinwood Way Second Class Postage paid at: Pleasant Hill, CA 94523 Concord, CA 94520-9998 Phone: (925) 674-6100 POSTMASTER - Send address changes to address at left. “E ver Page y Scout Deserves a Trained Leader” Mt. Diablo Silverado Training Opportunities The “Training Continuum” offers many exciting opportunities for program and leadership skills training. If your home District does not have a convenient training session, please consider attending the course in another District. For any training questions, contact your District training representative: Council Chair Michael Peterson 925-837-7074 Iron Horse M J Frith 925-270-8101 Aklan Bill Phelon 925-254-8338 Lake Suisei Heidebrecht 707-994-9613 Chief Solano Lance Elder 707-422-7473 Meridian Ray Chan 925-548-6179 Diablo Sunrise Tim Glennon 925-240-5975 Muir Tom Santos 925-672-5955 Herms Gary Bracken 650-400-9989 Silverado Tony Zarate 707-257-7155 At least one registered leader on every outing [email protected]. DEN CHIEF requiring a Tour Permit must have completed SEA SCOUT LEADER BASIC Sat, Oct 8, LDS Church, Denkinger. Contact Youth Protection Training and Hazardous Sat, Oct 8, LDS Church, Denkinger. Contact Courtney Mizutani, Weather Training. Both of these courses are Terry Thrasher, [email protected]. [email protected]. available online at MyScouting.org. OUTDOOR LEADER SKILLS (OLS) Sat, Nov 5, LDS Church, Crow Canyon Rd. TRAINING REQUIREMENTS Fri-Sat, Oct 7-8, Cordelia. Contact Lance Contact Ray Chan, [email protected]. FOR ALL UNITS Elder, [email protected]. Effective June 1, 2010, all registered adults must HAT (HIGH ADVENTURE complete Youth Protection Training every two Sat-Sun, Oct 22-23, Camp Herms. Contact TRAINING) years. The Top Leader of each unit must be MJ Frith, [email protected], Bill Wilderness First Aid, Oct 1-2, Council Office. Trained for their position or the unit will not Phelon, [email protected], Ray Chan, Contact Keith Gale, 925-672-3592, be allowed to recharter for 2012. Top Leader, [email protected]. [email protected] as defined by the national office, is Cubmaster, Scoutmaster, Varsity Team Coach, Venturing Fri-Sat, Dec 2-3, Camp Fetterman. Contact LEAVE NOTRACE TRAINER Crew Advisor, and Skipper. Tom Santos, [email protected]. Sat-Sun, Oct 8-9. Open to adults and Scouts with First Class rank and at least 14 years old. POSITION-SPECIFIC BALOO Information and registration at http://www. TRAINING (PST) Sat, Oct 8, Cordelia. Contact bsa-mdsc.org/training/lnt.php. Contact Greg Basic training for each position Lance Elder, [email protected]. Gamache, [email protected] Contact your District Training Chair if you need courses at times other than those listed. Sat, Oct 22, Camp Herms. Contact Ray Chan, COURSES COMING IN 2012 [email protected]. LEAD CUB SCOUT LEADERS (Leader Education and Discovery) All Position-Specific training for Cub Scout The following courses are supplemental. Sat, Jan 21, 2012. adults can be found online at MyScouting. Premier Leadership Training org. Contact your District Training Chair for OUTDOOR LEADER SKILLS www.bsa-mdsc.org/training information. FOR WEBELOS LEADERS Fri-Sat, Oct 7-8, Cordelia. Contact NATIONAL YOUTH OPTIONAL Lance Elder, [email protected]. LEADERSHIP TRAINING Cub Scout Leader Forum: Sat, Oct 8, LDS (NYLT) Church, Denkinger. Contact Tom Santos, Sat, Oct 22, Camp Herms. Contact Ray Chan, Feb 18-20 AND Feb 24-26, 2012. Attendance [email protected]. [email protected]. at both sessions required. Contact Carol Wilson, [email protected], Bruce Arms, BOY SCOUT AND VENTURE Fri-Sat, Dec 2-3, Camp Fetterman. Contact [email protected]. LEADERS Tom Santos, [email protected]. Sat, Oct 8, LDS Church, Denkinger. Contact June 18-23 – June NYLT Tom Santos, [email protected] July – July NYLT Aug, Sep – Wood Badge Sat, Mar 24, 2012, Palmer School, Walnut Creek. Contact Ray Chan, [email protected], MJ Frith, [email protected], Bill Phelon, Merger Recommended On August 31, 2011 the Executive Steering Committee of the MDSC/SFBAC Consolidation Committee met to hear final recommendations from the four sub-committees. The committees’ guiding statement was: “All of our decisions, based on thoughtfully researched input, metrics and other data are premised on the answer to the question: ‘what’s best for our customer–youth?’” By an overwhelming majority, the answer appears to be: “Merge our two healthy Councils into one that will keep us vigorous, relevant and influential far into the future.” Although there are many details to be worked out, three of the sub-committees found significant benefits would derive from combining the two Councils, and the legal committee reported no legal impediments or downside to consolidation. There are no current or pending lawsuits, and the by-laws and general board policies are similar enough that creating a new entity should be relatively straightforward. When first approaching the possibility of consolidation, the main consideration was that it provide more opportunities for our youth. One plus one had to equal at least three. The sub-committees provided that equation. Our consolidated Council will serve over 23,000 youth in both traditional and non-traditional programs with a cadre of over 9,000 volunteers. Each Council currently has a unique slate of activities that upon consolidation will be available to the youth of both Councils. Training opportunities will increase for both youth and adults. By combining properties, youth will have more opportunity to attend Summer Camp in diverse environments. Since the largest source of revenue for both Councils is Summer Camp, increased availability would likely lead to increased revenue. The combined Councils would benefit from the ability to use facilities nearer to populations they now serve and money earmarked for property improvements could be used, along with volunteer resources, to deal with deferred maintenance and to provide for additional facilities that directly benefit our youth. The Financial sub-committee provided models of current and projected fiscal outcomes for the individual Councils as well as the merged Councils. In the worst-case scenario (no growth), the merged Council’s projected income and expenditures were on par over the short term. Best case scenario (modest growth) showed the merged Councils would realize a substantial savings. Over the long-term, the merged Councils’ income met or exceeded expenses while the individual Councils, using the same forecasting assumptions and assuming each Council’s Board did nothing to prevent it, project an imbalance. Additional savings and revenue may well be realized by combining purchasing power, additional attendance at summer camp and increased percentage revenue from the combined Scout shops. Details of these projections will be provided to both Boards. The Administrative/Membership Sub-Committee concluded that, because of office-space availability, the San Leandro location should be the main administrative office with the Pleasant Hill location serving as a satellite office, service center and Scout Shop. For now, the current districts would remain intact but non-traditional programs might best be served by direct Council support. There was a great deal of discussion and concern about displacement of current staff under a merged Council. The Administrative/ Membership committee determined that most of the job consolidation would be in higher- compensated management positions and that the estimated $600K savings should be used to hire more “direct- contact” personnel to better serve our youth. The final transition plan would include support for displaced staff with assistance from the Area and Region.