Happy New Year!
It was good to say ‘so long’ to 2020, although 2021 will look similar until vaccines are in greater distribution. Thank you for all you have done, and are doing, to keep Scouting alive through these trying times. As noted in previous articles, our immediate focus will be on membership and financial health. On the financial front, Alex Behrend’s Development team is ready to hit the new year running. Kristin Ely-Bluemke becomes a Senior Development Manager, focusing on major gifts and our capital campaign, and Kori Coffeen will begin next week as our new Development Director. The continued generosity of our Scouting families and community friends is critical to our ability to offer engaging program and attractive facilities.
**Continued**
The challenge on the membership side is to retain our current youth and attract many more to overcome the declines of the past few years. To do that we will need new ideas and new approaches to both recruiting and programming. The Council Board is actively working on an updated strategic plan to deliver our mission of Scouting. What has worked well in the past is no longer sufficient to attract and retain today’s families and keep us viable into the future. At present, we are reaching less than 5% of our available youth. That’s a lot of upward potential, provided we put together an effective plan to meet our customers’ needs! We will keep you posted on progress and how we can all work together to grow that number.
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 at rgoldhahn@aol.com.
Rod Goldhahn
Council President
