Membership
Online Registration Roll Out Continues
Previously, we posted about a training video for online registration.
Now BSA National has rolled out a dedicated webpage for training on the new online registration system. Take a look. Make sure your unit’s ready for the new system.
This will be extremely handy in preparing for rechartering.
Remember all new application that have completed processing prior to October 1, 2016 will be automatically entered into the Internet Rechartering system. That cuts down on a lot of risks of error in the rechartering process. The electronic registration means that the October 1, 2016 deadline is easier to meet with less paper-flow management.
REMINDER: District Committee August 4th
A quick reminder that the District Committee will be meeting August 4th at 7:00 pm at Second Presbyterian Church, 7700 N Meridian St, Rm 407, Indianapolis, IN 46260.
Fall Camporee planning is full swing. Please work on your troop’s event. Some ideas are available on a previous post.
We are also working on finalizing basic information about the Winter and Spring Camporees, so come with your thoughts.
Membership subcommittee is in full swing preparing for Back to School Recruitment. Your packs and troops plans to participate (yes, troops helping packs recruit) is crucial for our success. We already know that some packs are spread thin on manpower. They are small and cover many schools on August 25th. Your help is needed for their success.
Fall also has many special events like a Rocket Launch in support of membership recruitment, Cub Scout leader training, Battle of Belzer, Cub Family Camp and many others. We need your help in planning for their success.
Building Relationships with Chartered Organization
Many scout troops and packs are looking for ways to make their relationships with their Chartered Organizations more meaningful.
Our District’s Troop 73 is hosting an event for its Chartered Organization. Here is how they describe it:
Event: T-73 Hosts St. Paul’s Summer Fellowship
Where: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
When: Jul 24, 2016, 9am – 12pmTroop 73 will host St. Paul’s Summer Fellowship after the 10 am service on July 24th. We will provide hot dogs, bratwurst, buns and toppings, s’mores and the campfire to cook it over as well as several dutch over desserts (bring your favorite recipe!) . Scouts will demonstrate and teach parishioners about: how to load and paddle a canoe (similar to our trip earlier this summer); using tents and hammocks; sawing logs; & tying knots. Please be ready to demonstrate any of these skills. If you have other ideas, please suggest them!
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Your time spent at the Fellowship will count as service to St. Paul’s, our Chartering Organization.
Now imagine you are the minister of that church. Your scout troop offers to host a Fellowship event. What is your estimation of scouting at that church going to be? What would you be willing to do to empower scouting?
District Reminders for next 7 days
1. Thursday, July 14th at 6:30 pm is Roundtable at St Luke’s United Methodist Church (New room assignment Room W-125 (Entry #4) due to scheduling conflict.). The topic will be annual planning and adult staffing. See Church Map (Entry #4 cut off on bottom of map.)
2. Friday, July 15th Membership Kickoff beginning at 7:00 pm at St Paul’s Episcopal Church. Packs and Troops welcome. Food served.
3. Sunday, July 17th is the 50th Anniversary Celebration for Camp Ransburg.
New for Fall Recruitment: Online Registration
The BSA has established a new Online Registration for adults and youth. You can see an overview video of how the system works below. The video describes it as “Coming Soon.” It is already activated in Crossroads of America Council.
This system has many advantages:
- You never run out of paper forms.
- Your applicant will be immediately notified whether data on one of the screens is incomplete, avoiding the need to circulate the form around twice to fill in missing information or signatures.
- There is no physical application that needs to be delivered or sent.
- Necessary signators traveling out of town can fulfill their obligations from anywhere in the world.
- Your applicant can pay their BSA membership dues online with a credit card.
The current weaknesses in the system are being able to find where to access the website to start.
- You must access this from the http://www.BeAScout.org.
- From the main page, the applicant needs to navigate to your unit.
- On the unit page, the applicant needs to correctly choose “Cub,” “Scout,” “Venturing,” or “Volunteering.” Picking a program puts the applicant in “Youth” status. Adults must pick the “Volunteering” choice, then select a unit.
- You can pick the links for your unit and save them for placement on your webpage or emails. This means that you can circumvent some of the problems above.
- The system does not collect your unit’s dues or added costs (like local council insurance). It merely establishes the applicant as a member of the BSA through your unit. I have even used it to promote an existing volunteer to a new position without having to pay dues again.
I have used this system successfully twice. I have not dealt with Youth Protection Training in either case because they were existing volunteers. I cannot offer much feedback on that issue yet.
Please begin using this system immediately, especially before recruiting season and rechartering. The more information that is properly registered in the system before October 1st, the smoother your rechartering will proceed.
Fall membership Kick-off
Using clinical research in recruiting
As the Worldwide Movement of Scouting reaches 110 years old, we need to find new ways to explain ourselves.
We all know that Robert Baden-Powell designed scouting to deal with the transition from childhood in a rural setting to an urban setting. He was not alone. At the same time many different organizations tried to duplicate the same effort. Professor Montessori, Dan Beard, Ernest Thompson Seton and many others who are less renowned in history were trying to do similar things and often corresponded with each other. Each had their own spin on what they thought needed to happen to be successful. each of the persons name above put a heavy emphasis on exposure to nature.
They did not know the mechanical reasons why returning to nature was so important for kids. They just knew from anecdotal experience and observation that it was true.
In the last 20 years, there has been an increase in research about the impact of the environment on our psychological well-being. Many times the focus is on better designing a city to reduce the stress on its inhabitants. Other times it is trying to figure out mechanically why being in nature while doing exercise is so good for psychological health. Most of the studies that I have seen of been focused on adults.
Even from this research, we can reach some conclusions about the effects of Scouting on our youth. Read the rest of this entry »
Fall Membership: Assignments
When Fall Membership efforts begin, school will be starting back into session and other activities will distract.
Now is the time to make sure your Pack has appointed a person to review the literature that you plan on giving your new prospective families. Information and templates are available at the Council Recruitment webpage. Those documents should include:
- Your annual calendar (updated from any summer long-range planning);
- Your information book or parent guide on pack practices and expectations;
- Your annual cost of cub scouts and how popcorn and fundraising offset the out-of-pocket costs (the goal is that they see the value of fund raising to minimize out-of-pocket costs);
- Your BeAScout.org pin needs to have accurate meeting information and contact information for your leadership.
In your information packs, do not forget that we are introducing Lion Cub/kindergartners into the program this Fall. So everyone will need to update their documents for this addition. Con Sullivan is the council coordinator for Lions, so be sure to address questions to him as you need.
If you know how is responsible for each or all of these documents, you then need to set a deadline for these to be submitted to the pack committee for approval. Ideally the committee would approve these before the end of July. Maybe then the documents need to be submitted to the committee a week or two before the meeting that would meet that July deadline. That way the documents can simply be polished and printed for August recruitment.
Do your homework now: committee chairs, make sure you have these assignments done in May. It will make August just that much easier.
For more information on how to update your BeAScout.org pin, watch this video:
Scouts at Speed
Who is quick at the track? The favorite question of May.
The answer is the BSA sponsored car!
Spring Prep for Fall Recruiting
As we wind down on the school year, minds travel to far away places. Well, at least, situations that are far different than the average school day routine for both parents and kids.
Unfortunately, once we leave for summer break, all sorts of planning for Fall go on break, too. Have you ever tried to find a school principle on summer break? They are hard to find if you try during their vacation.
A great way for your Pack to get ahead for the Fall Recruiting season is to talk to the school principle now about Boy Talks and Back to School Nights.
Simply confirming in person that the principle approves Boy Talks and sign up tables is very powerful.
Two more keep steps to avoid Fall problems are to:
- Send a confirmation email today about what you and the principle agree. When back to school time arrives, you simply re-send the confirmation email to inquire if all is still on track.
- Seek permission to distribute our recruitment flyers to the school. Some school districts require at least 30 days notice of any request for distribution. If you start now, the deadline is easier.
If you are in a large school system, coordinate your efforts with the District Membership Committee Chair Sharla Merrick or her committee Jenny Beyers and Mike Yates or you can contact District Executive Con Sullivan for basic information and flyer coordination.
You can see the entire campaign overview here
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Work now so that Fall issues are easy!
CAC North Star Unofficial Website 
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