Sunny skies, hot temps, humidity, afternoon thunderstorms…summer is upon us!
Camp season started this week. Initial reports are that things are going well and everyone is enjoying themselves. Huge kudos to the volunteers and staff who have worked tirelessly these past several months to make this happen!
It may be difficult to start thinking about fall, but it’s imperative we all begin to assess how we will approach recruiting, as the summer comes to an end. Those well thought out plans for spring recruiting were not able to be executed, due to COVID-19, and it shows in our numbers. There is still much uncertainty as we look to the fall. Will schools be open? How large a group size will we be able to assemble? How many people may still be out of work?
Staff and volunteer resources are already looking at options to address a very different recruiting picture than we’ve had in the past. You can expect to see a much larger social media presence and perhaps some more virtual events to encourage new youth to experience Scouting. You can all help by beginning discussions in your units about ideas to approach local recruiting differently. Locations, events, advertising, partnerships, etc. Creative ideas can come from anywhere. Get your parents and Scouts involved in helping identify new approaches and share those with your Commissioners, so they can help share them with other units.
Many of you, and those Scouters who came before you, have lauded the impact the Scout Oath, Law, and leadership experiences had in your lives. Let’s all work together to make those same opportunities available to as many of our young folks as we can!
If you have questions, or would like the opportunity to help even more, by serving on one of our teams, just send me an email to rgoldhahn@aol.com!
Rod Goldhahn
Council President
