COUNCIL NEWS! MAY-JUNE QUAPAW SCOUTER NEWSLETTER 2018 Scout Executive John Carman to New Program Name and Campaign Retire June 30 Unveiled! On May 2, the Boy Scouts of America announced a After 21 years as our council’s Scout Executive, John new national campaign, “Scout Me In”, that includes Carman will retire June 30th. John is the longest both boys and girls in its iconic Cub Scout program. serving Scout Executive in the history of our council. Starting this summer, all kids are invited to say, John came to our council in 1997 after serving 4 “Scout Me In,” as they join the fun, adventure and years in the council in Louisville, Kentucky followed character-building opportunities found in Cub by 10 years in the Circle Ten Council in Dallas Scouts. The campaign presents an energizing including 5 years as their Director of Field Service. Scouting experience that speaks to kids by putting them in the middle of the action. It also engages During John’s tenure, the Quapaw Area Council parents who are looking for ways to make the most raised $7.4 million for a capital campaign, surpassing of the time they have with their kids and help them a goal of $7 million, secured more than $4.5 million to be Prepared. For Life. in foundation grants and increased the council’s endowment fund from $1.1 million to more than $10.5 million dollars. During this period, the council’s Friends of Scouting revenue increased 173% from $289,268 in 1997 to more than $789,400 in 2017. John also provided leadership through two successful mergers with neighboring councils which were headquartered in Jonesboro and Hot Springs, more than doubling the territory we serve from 16 In addition, the much-anticipated announcement and ½ counties to 39 counties encompassing more was made that “Scouts BSA” would be the name of than half the geography and half the population of the program for both older Boys and Girls to the state of ensure that all youth are welcome and can see Arkansas. In this issue: themselves in Scouting. While more details will be released later, it has been previously • John Carman Retirement After a 35-year revealed that, depending on the preference of • New Program Name and Campaign career as a the chartering organization, these Scouts BSA • Upcoming Events professional Scouter, troops will consist of either boys or girls, • John will be moving Preparing for Join Scouting Night though a single chartering organization can to Louisville, • Tank is Getting Greasy create a “linked troop” of boys and girls under Kentucky and is • National Youth Leadership Training a single Troop Committee if they desire. The looking forward to • Program Preview Coming in June new Scouts BSA program will be available to travelling and • Commissioner’s Corner older girls beginning in February 2019. spending more time • Newest Eagle Scouts with Mary, his wife • Memorials and Honorariums The next page includes an infographic to help of 39 years, and the • Merit Badge University explain how the “Family Scouting” program rest of their family, • OA Corner structure allows individual chartering including their two • Summer Camp Updates organizations to reflect their values and young grandchildren. • Cub Scout Camping preferences while making the TiMeless Values • Wood Badge and Endless Adventure of Scouting available • Camp Cards For Everyone. • FOS Update • Popcorn Unit Commitment • Meeting Attendance • District News Preparing for Join Scouting Night Quapaw Area Council “Join Scouting Night” Thursday, August 23, 2018 6:30pm Plans are already in motion as the Quapaw Area Council begins preparation for “Join Scouting Night 2018”. Several factors promise to make this year’s May 2018 “Join Scouting Night” event the most exciting in 2 Summer Camp Early-Bird council history: Payment Deadline Ø For the first time in program history, girls 4-6 Cub Adventure Weekend will be actively recruited to join Cub 9 Executive Board Meeting Scouting. Ø Parents at “Join Scouting Night” will be 12:00 – Noon able to register on-line using their mobile 12 Merit Badge University devices. 18-20 COPE Weekend Ø Kindergarten students will be able to join for the first time as part of the Lion Cub 23 Camp Card Accounts Settled program. 28 Memorial Day – Office A council-wide “Join Scouting Night Kickoff” was held Closed at the Donald W. Reynolds Scout Training Center located at Gus Blass Scout Reservation on Saturday, June 2018 April 21. The meeting was attended by more than 50 volunteers with all districts represented. 2-5 Cub Resident Camp 3-9 Summer Camp Staff Week A successful “Join Scouting Night” event requires a tremendous amount of volunteer effort and 5 FOS Victory Celebration organization and the additional responsibility of 8 Camp Card Prize Drawing recruiting girls and kindergarten students makes this 10-16 Summer Camp Week I year’s effort vastly different from any that we have experienced in the past. We have the right plan, the 14 Unit Popcorn Sign-Up right people, and we have the desire. Last year Begins resulted in more than 3,000 new Cub Scouts. Can you imagine how exciting it will be to meet the next 17-23 Summer Camp Week II generation of Cub Scouts and their families? Let’s 20 Commissioner Staff Meeting Make the Most of Right Now. Scouting Works! 24-30 Summer Camp Week III CHECK OUT THE ONLINE EVENTS CALENDAR AT: www.quapawbsa.org FOR THE LATEST UPDATES TANK IS GETTING GREASY We all love Tank, the white buffalo mascot for the QAC. But, let’s face it: sometimes he’s a bit rough around the edges. Tank tries to be gentle, but trying to do things like register for an event or sign up a new Scout can be rough, with lots of friction at times. So, Tank is getting a bit of a makeover. “Operation Greasy Tank” was launched to help reduce friction that parents and volunteers experience when trying to work with the council office both online and in person. Operation Greasy Tank will involve several stages, some of which are already underway. For example, the new Online Application system is already available! It allows youth and adults to fill out an application without a single oval to fill or carbon copy to separate. Youth applications can be completed by a parent and accepted by the unit leadership immediately, without paper or data entry by the council registrar. Adult applications can also be submitted electronically, with proper approvals, training and background checks happening in a much simpler fashion. And best of all, there are no more back and forth trips because a piece of information was missing or a step was skipped. Everything is completely validated upfront. But the process of joining isn’t the only friction being reduced. Soon, a new online donation capability will be available that will allow you to support scouting with one time and recurring donations and manage it all yourself. And a team of volunteers and professional staff is currently evaluating a replacement for online camp and training registration that will be easier to use and accessible from mobile devices. The website homepage is also getting a makeover to make the most common functions more easy to find. Other changes are to follow, but these steps online are in the works already so keep your eye out for Greasy Tank. And watch your step – things may be slippery! NATIONAL YOUTH LEADERSHIP TRAINING (NYLT) The Quapaw Area Council hosted its annual National Youth Leadership Training course this spring. There were 48 youth participants in attendance from all over the Council. Special thanks go to James Barr, this course’s Scoutmaster, for assembling a fantastic staff and conducting an outstanding program. National Youth Leadership Training is an exciting, action-packed program designed for councils to provide youth members with leadership skills and experience they can use in their home troops and in other situations demanding leadership of self and others. The NYLT course centers around the concepts of what a leader must BE, what they must KNOW, and what they must DO. The key elements are then taught with a clear focus on HOW TO. The skills come alive during the week as the patrol goes on a Quest for the Meaning of Leadership. If you were unable to attend this year, make plans to attend Spring 2019! Program Preview Coming in June In response to feedback from unit leaders, the Roundtable for June in each district will be dedicated to Annual Program Planning. It has been shown countless times that a well-planned and active year will keep youth engaged in the program and help them have a positive experience, while a poorly planned program with few activities will cause them to leave. This is why the Program Planning Roundtable is so important. During the meeting, leaders from every unit will receive a USB drive with significant resources loaded on it, including a full calendar of council and district activities for the coming scouting year. These resources will allow the unit leaders to gather during the summer and plan out an annual program for their unit. The Program Planning Chart provides unit leaders with a template for planning their weekly program and monthly activities and the budget template can help determine estimated costs. These two items alone, if utilized, will help a unit have a very successful year. By planning a year in advance, you can provide parents with helpful, accurate information, excite the youth, give leaders direction and ample time to prepare, increase advancement, and build momentum within the unit. By estimating costs for the coming year, the unit can better encourage families to sell popcorn, camp cards, and participate in other approved fundraisers knowing all the adventures that are in store.