Author: Tim McCandless

Tim McCandless is the Scout Executive & CEO of the Narragansett Council, Boy Scouts of America which serves 13,400 youth in Southeastern New England.  He is an Eagle Scout and the father of three Eagle Scouts who lives in Bristol, Rhode Island.

10 Actions We’re Taking to Improve Volunteer Support

Wicked Awesome Scouts #3

Everyone hates paperwork.  I certainly do.

Effective administration of records and processes is important, but we want those processes to be as painless as possible.

I’d like to share with you 10 actions that we are taking to strengthen our support for you, our volunteers.

  1. Sought your input: Thank you to the many volunteers that completed our survey in September!  Your feedback is helping guide our future steps.
  2. We have assembled a great team to support you!  We have filled several vacancies so that we can better serve you.  Watch for my next blog post to learn who has joined the team…
  3. Reorganized the support staff: On September 1st, we reorganized our support staff to improve processes.  To better serve you, we now have:
    1. Senior Administrative Assistant: Judy Ferrante
    2. Senior Camping & Program Assistant: Kristina Andrews
    3. Registrar: Jennifer Camara
    4. Assistant Registrar: Bridgett Desrosiers
    5. Field Service & Membership Secretary: Chasity Chatham
    6. Development Secretary: Rachel Sowersby
    7. Receptionist & Eagle Scout Processor: Toni Schultheiss
    8. Customer Service Director (West Bay): Joram Northup
    9. Assistant Customer Service Director (East Bay): Erin Lawson
  4. treated_dsc4812
    The Narragansett Council is committed to supporting our volunteers superbly to help you in the delivery of an outstanding Scouting program!

    Overhauled paperwork handling:  In September, we implemented a new tracking system. From the moment you drop off paperwork at the Scout Store until the time it reaches its intended destination, we now know who has it, how long they’ve had it, and where it needs to go.

  5. Added a Unit Service Coordinator.  We redesigned one of our staff roles so that we now have a position whose responsibility is to provide key areas of support to units in the Southeast and Northwest Service Areas.  If successful, we may hire a Unit Service Coordinator to also support units in the Northeast and Southwest service areas in the future. Continue reading “10 Actions We’re Taking to Improve Volunteer Support”

How Pack 7-Slatersville Recruited Nearly 40 New Cub Scouts

Wicked Awesome Scouts #2

In Edition #1 of Wicked Awesome Scouts, I shared the great start to our fall Cub Scout recruitment campaign.  One of several great success stories so far is that Pack 7 Slatersville has recruited nearly 40 new Cub Scouts (so far).  The pack doubled their recruitment compared to last year-with NO distribution of flyers through the school!
How did they do it?
  1. Membership Chair:  They recruited a parent, Dierdre Simpkins, to be the pack membership chair.  This is a vital first step!
  2. Website: They updated their pack website using WordPress.  It includes an excellent leader page with photos of all of the leaders.  Visit the site pack7.com.  Click on “About Pack 7” — this gives interested families confidence that this is a well-run pack!  It has accurate emails and contact info. 
    Pack 7 checked out the canopy and promotion materials from the council.


  3. Facebook:  They have an active Facebook page and group.  See  www.facebook.com/pack7slatersville.  They promoted their activities extensively through Facebook.
  4. Community Advertising:  They advertised in the town newsletter and newspaper.  Many towns will feature info on your pack or troop at no cost. Continue reading “How Pack 7-Slatersville Recruited Nearly 40 New Cub Scouts”

Scouting is Wicked Awesome!

Wicked Awesome Scouts #1

I may be new to Rhode Island, New England and the Narragansett Council, but I am already in love with the people, the communities, the Scouting program, the camps, and the ocean!  My wife Peg and I are super excited to be here!  If you and I haven’t met yet, you can learn more about me here.
One of the first things I learned and latched onto when I arrived is the local colloquialism, “wicked awesome.”  The Urban Dictionary defines “wicked awesome” as, “A term used when other miniscule words cannot describe its awesomeness.”  For me, that’s the perfect description of the Scouting program.  As an Eagle Scout with 3 Eagle Scout brothers and 3 Eagle Scout sons, I can attest that Scouting is “WICKED AWESOME!”
Enter contest to win a $500 L.L. Bean Gift Card: simply post this photo (or your own) on your Facebook page and include the hashtag #wickedawesomescouts!

We are blessed by a terrific Scouting program in the Narragansett Council.  We are fortunate to have the legacy of Scouting dating back to 1910, dedicated volunteers, outstanding staff and our incredible camps.  However, we have a challenge:  our membership has been down each of the last 5 years.  It is time to turn it around and I ask you to help make that happen!

Can it be done?  You bet it can!  Just look at Cub Scout Pack 7-Slatersville that recruited 29 new Cub Scouts last Friday and 5 more this week: that’s 34 new Cub Scouts in 6 days!  Subscribe to my new blog here and I’ll share with you their secrets to success on Monday morning.
2 Things You Can Do to Make Scouting Better:

Continue reading “Scouting is Wicked Awesome!”