Most of the program received by our Scouts is delivered by volunteer leaders like you. Thank you! No child would benefit from Scouting without our nearly 4,000 volunteers in the Narragansett Council.
If that’s the case, what do the staff do?
38 full-time staff work hard behind the scenes to coordinate the many details of Scouting SO THAT you and other volunteers can devote your time to delivering a great Scouting program! This reduces dramatically the time required of volunteers to handle program coordination, legal, administrative, facilities management and fundraising requirements to deliver a quality program.
How does this benefit you and your Scouts?
Staff restained the fort at Camp Norse this summer as a service project.
Each of our 5 districts has one or two “District Executives” that work full-time to support units, organize new units, recruit volunteers, promote Scouting, coordinate more than 200 council activities a year (such as camporees, Klondikes, and merit badge workshops) plus coach, coordinate and recognize volunteers. They meet with community leaders and school leaders, distribute flyers, and conduct hundreds of in-school presentations annually
“District Executives and their assistants are exceptionally helpful and very much needed.”
Response on our 2019 Customer Survey
Communication throughout the organization is vital and staff produce videos, e-newsletters and much more.
Your unit has a Unit Service Coordinator assigned to you that assists your unit leaders and parents with questions, problems, orienting new leaders, registering youth and leaders, recharter, Scoutbook, training, coordinating monthly leader roundtable meetings, newsletters and more
Camping and properties staff plan camp programs but also handle maintenance, safety, forest management, improvements, security, insurance and much more
Support staff keep the website and social media up-to-date, track advancements and awards that your Scout(s) earn, conduct criminal background checks on all new volunteers and produce materials for unit leaders
Program staff organize hundreds of activities that your Scout(s) participate in. From Scouting for Food and merit badge clinics, to dozens of camp programs
Communications staff promote Scouting throughout the council, coordinate social media, advertising, video production, and newsletters to Scouting leaders. See this news story or this story that our staff successfully pitched to local media resulting in great coverage
Staff develop and coordinate camp programs that serve 9,000 youth a summer.
Development staff raise funds to support Scouting from businesses, foundations, alumni, and families that fund programs and camps. For example, in 2019, they raised more than $450,000 in new grants to fund additional improvements at Camp Cachalot, Camp Norse, Buck Hill Scout Camp, Camp Champlin, Camp Aquapug, and Camp Yawgoog.
Scoutreach staff organize and deliver Scouting programs in low-income neighborhoods from New Bedford to Taunton to Central Falls to Providence and many other communities. They coordinate financial assistance and camperships for families that need it
Customer Service staff operate our two Scout shops and service centers as well as assist parents and leaders with their questions and requests
6 full-time camp rangers plus 2 caretakers maintain our 9 camp properties, run water systems, waste-treatment systems, remove dead and dying trees, and much more!
Staff work behind the scenes to coordinate hundreds of program activities in partnership with volunteers.
All of these functions are necessary for quality, safety, and legal reasons in order for your Scout to enjoy a safe, challenging, fun and rewarding Scouting program.
On behalf of each of these staff members, thank you! We need YOU now more than ever. We value and appreciate your time, energy and resources that you provide to make Scouting thrive. YOU are preparing the next generation of leaders…leaders with the skills, integrity and values so vital to our nation’s future success.
Our staff thanks YOU for all that you do to make Scouting THRIVE in Southeastern New England!
Council President Lloyd Albert and Council Commissioner Bob DeFelice join me for this special “2019 in Review” edition of the #WickedAwesomeScouts Blog.
We couldn’t be prouder of the accomplishments that our 4,000 volunteers, 3,000 donors and 38 staff made possible to achieve the objectives of our Council Game Plan. The positive impact on thousands of youth and families is awe-inspiring!
A Year of Change
“If you don’t like change, you will like irrelevance even less.”
Gen. Eric Shinseki
A Year of Progress
As Benjamin Franklin said, “When you’re finished changing, you’re finished!” Change is hard but essential to building a thriving Scouting program! Inventor Charles Kettering said, “The world hates change. Yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.” Let’s talk about our progress!
Developing Leaders
The core of Scouting is the development of leadership in youth so that we prepare responsible, ethical, capable leaders for our future. Here’s how we actively developed leaders in 2019 with the Scout Oath and Law as their foundation!
Three National Youth Leadership Training courses directed by Bill Bradford, Michelle Avelar and Rick Hammond trained 120 participants
Eight weeks of our new Yawgoog Leadership Experience were conducted;
Our largest-ever Law Enforcement Exploring Academy, led by Pat McMahon, engaged more than 80 teens
289 youth achieved the Eagle Scout rank
Hands-on, practical leadership experiences for thousands of youth in roles from Den Chiefs, Patrol Leaders, and Webmasters to Senior Patrol Leaders and Crew Presidents
Serving More Youth
Knowing the distinct advantage that the Scouting program gives our youth throughout their lives, we are driven to serve MORE youth!
Focused on helping units promote Scouting effectively through marketing training for unit leaders, paid social media advertising, geofencing of unit recruitment events, and beefing up our presence at community events with inflatable BB & archery ranges, gaga ball pit, and displays
20 new troops for girls launched beginning on February 1st supporting our initiative to better serve families
55% of our Cub Scout packs became Family Packs that offer dens (grade-based groups) for girls
The BSA’s nation-wide introduction of new program options for girls is the single most successful program launch in BSA history: 88,000 girls joined Cub Scout Family Packs and 30,000 girls joined all-girl troops nationally
Achieved overall youthretention of 75% compared to a national average of 68%
Announced a new partnership with the US Coast Guard to expand Sea Scouts with Jason Oliveira spear-heading the initiative
Delivering Adventure with a Purpose
Adventure Base Camp at Champlin Scout Reservation was launched in the fall to provide outdoor adventure to families, both those in Scouting and to all families in the region. Through Adventure Base Camp we are offering great outdoor programs to strengthen programming to Scouts and to introduce families to Scouting
Yawgoog Scout Reservation, the premiere camp for Scouting in the Eastern United States, attracted 5,800 youth from all over the eastern seaboard as well as Texas, Florida, and spots in-between. We successfully hosted girl troops all eight weeks of 2019! See our new Yawgoog video here!
Scoutreach delivered our proven programs to more than 1,200 youth by removing obstacles often faced by low-income, underserved, and ethnically diverse families. Our council has made a “forever commitment” to the youth in our urban and low-income communities—ALL youth can be Scouts!
Merit badge workshops were conducted on subjects ranging from Welding, American Labor, and Automotive Maintenance to Nuclear Science and Oceanography! Scouts earned more than 10,000 merit badges in 2019 expanding their horizons, learning life skills and introducing them to possible careers and avocations
No year is complete without “trash can turkeys”— hundreds of Scouts baked a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner in the outdoors using trash cans (or other creative devices)
Strengthening Adult Leadership
Volunteer leaders are the lifeblood of Scouting! We have been working to expand our support to volunteers.
Introduced quarterly events for unit leaders (Launch Party, Thrive Drive, University of Scouting, and Boom Event) to provide best practices, sharing of ideas, training, and program updates
Streamlined our monthly roundtable meetings for leaders incorporating video updates and better planned programs under the leadership of Adrien Mercure
Marion Selby directed our Wood Badge Course which is advanced leadership training that benefited 40 adult leaders in a 6-day course
Welcomed new Executive Board members: James O’Brien of the Greater New Bedford Regional Vo-Tech High School, Jesse Kanter of Cintrin Cooperman, Morgan Grefe of the Rhode Island Historical Society, Keith Lavimodiere of Santander Bank, Cliff White of Graystone Consulting, Robert Taylor of Partridge Snow & Hahn, Randy Sacilotto of Navigant Credit Union, Edward Garcia of Northwest District, David Pickering of Southwest District, Ray Murray of Southeast District, and Rick Gariepy of Northeast District. Col. James Manni of the Rhode Island State Police joined the Advisory
Our commissioner team of volunteers logged 1,587 unit contacts and visits during the year to communicate with and support our unit leaders
Building Financial Sustainability
To better support unit fundraising, we selected a new vendor for our popcorn sale: Camp Masters Popcorn. We are pleased with the new products and service which led to an increase in gross sales, increase in average unit sales and increase in average Scout sales! More $ went to our units and to the council to support local Scouting!
Raised a record $515,000 in our annual Friends of Scouting Campaignthanks to our chair Christian Jenner and many volunteer presenters and table hosts!
The Distinguished Citizen Awards Lunch co-chaired by Paul Choquette and Tom Gilbane recognized outstanding citizens Joe Paolino of Paolino Properties and Bob Bolton of Arden Engineering. The event raised more than $300,000 for Scoutreachprograms
The Sporting Clays Tournament was a blast (literally!) and raised more than $22,000 net in its second year thanks to chair Charlie Normand, the committee and sponsors!
Our Scoutreach Awards Lunch recognized George Nee of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, Jack Para of the City of Central Falls, and Mayor Allan Fung of the City of Cranston were recognized for their outstanding support of Scouting in the Narraganset
Marketing Scouting Effectively
Board members Steve Zenofsky and Morgan Grefeconducted marketing training for unit leaders to share best practices to help units market and recruit Scouts and leaders
Archie the Eagle Scout, our new mascot, was introduced to help us up our presence at parades and community events
A new partnership with Providence Mom helped us get the word out to more families about the huge benefit of Scouting!
Dozens of news articles were published in print and digital media highlighting our great Scouts and the tremendous value of the Scouting program
Building for the Future!
Thanks to generous donors, the new Camp Three Point Dining Lodge is under construction with an anticipated opening in June 2020!
Board member Bob Hefron funded the new Flag Plaza at Camp Norse! Additional facility improvements were completed at Camp Cachalot, Camp Norse and Camp Champlin thanks to many donors including the George W. P. Magee Trust, the Maxim Foundation, and The Champlin Foundation!
To improve safety for Scouts and forest health, we started a major forestry project at Camp Norse to remove dead, dying and dangerous trees
We are blessed with an exceptional staff of professional Scouters and support staff that are dedicated to a thriving Scouting program!
Mike Brown received a well-deserved promotion to Connecticut and othersretired after decades of service to Scouting (Kristina Andrews, Judy Ferrante, and Paul Forbes)
Mark Arnold, Joram Northup, Erin Escobar, John Vuono were promoted to new responsibilities
We welcomed Wyndell Walden as the new District Director for Southeast District, Rickie Zabriskie to the Yawgoog Ranger team, Michelle Costa to Scoutreach, Lynn Henault to Executive Assistant and Nicole McNamara to Program and Camp Administration
On top of that, three of our staff members welcomed additions to their homes: Rachel Sowersby, Erin Escobar, and Tiffany Bumgardner-Scheffler!
Together, let’s continue to make Scouting thrive throughout Southeastern New England!
Best wishes to you and your family as you celebrate the arrival of the new year. May 2020 be your (and Scouting’s) best year yet!
