The Spirit of Cub Scouts

Last Saturday night, I had the opportunity to witness a new chapter begin in the story of one of our local Cub Scout Packs. As young Scouts began new paths on the Trail to Eagle, and their uniforms populated with pins, badges and lanyards during an elaborate tribal and ritualistic ceremony, I was able to bear witness to the very threads of a Pack coming alive.

With the orange skies over the Citta Lake painting the backdrop, parents and siblings looked on as their Cub Scouts performed classic skits of yesteryear and humored the audience with timeless gaffe whose delivery could only be perfected by voice of a 6-year-old. And then, as each rank took to the stage, and their achievements recognized, the true meaning of Scouting shown bright in the dim light of dusk.

But what caught my attention the most was in the background; behind the scenes and out of sight. As a Pack wrought in tradition, the execution of the ceremony almost seemed effortless. The hours of planning and preparation; Memorizing scripts, and buying food and supplies. And even as a brand new Cubmaster would perform his first acts in his new role on the stage, and as he rehearsed his lines for a final time, a dead battery on a wireless mic nearly jeopardized the whole operation. Would it not have been for the preparedness of a fellow Scout leader, and a last second switch, the ceremony might have lost an edge to its impact.

During the ceremony, complete with tiki torches, campfires, tepees and Native American costuming, a small group of onlookers passed by the campfire ring. The small visiting pack took in the spectacle in awe as they were quietly escorted away from the event. I walked with them for a few minutes and listened to the comments and fascination. They asked what it took to bring that into their own unit. The answer came from one of their own; the Commissioner for their unit. “Adult participation.”

Two words and very impacting. And a truth that resonates through the culture of the Pack in everything they do.

When a boy makes Eagle, we make it a point to recognize that the success of that Scout is a direct representation of the success of the adults he surrounds himself with. The same can be said, but rarely is, for the Tiger who advances to Wolves, or the Bear that advances to Webelos. This is a Pack that recognizes this fact and empowers its people to make a difference. It’s a culture that evolves and becomes viral and spreads to Packs, Troops and Crews that surround it.

That night, I saw a new chapter begin for this Pack and a shift towards new and exciting leadership. And with every action came evidence of long time traditions established by the leaders of the past, and yet an excited anticipation for the innovations and progress of the future.

In one year from now, we will bear witness once again, to the product of a culture of excellence and the adults who make it happen.

Fighting Global Economy on the Arms of a Community

In an era of economic turmoil and the bulk of people and businesses heavily assessing their financial integrity, it becomes very apparent that we as a community begin tightening our belts and prioritizing where our dollars are spent and what the outcome of those investment will be.

In recent weeks, I have noticed that a small sliver of media coverage has been dedicated to gracious byproducts of communities that have come together to share in such priorities. In one case, town finances forced a commission to shut down the local little league program. Recognizing the importance and value of the sport, the community bonded together and raised the funds necessary to continue the game.

In a similar fashion, just last week, a police department was forced to cut its lone K9 drug dog from the force. While it required a mere $6,000 to keep the dog in the program, the community recognized its importance and today that dog is still in service.

Scouting defines itself on just such community integrity.

We have seen that when the belt tightens and priorities align, Scouting prevails. Scouting is as much an integral part of the function of community as the roads, public works, and mass transit. And people and businesses recognize that.

Country wide, we are feeling that the value of our dollar is dwindling and becoming less impacting in our daily lives. At the gas pump, the grocery store, and the shopping malls, we struggle more and more to stretch our finances across an ever widening cavern of commerce.

Scouting is much the same, and from the perspective of professional Scouting, we work diligently to ensure that every dollar is valued when it comes in and valued when it is spent. The important role of the community in that equation is that the need for those dollars is recognized. We receive direct contributions from community members as large as Wal-Mart and Verizon, and as small as Joe’s Pizzeria.

While they may view their own donations in different ways and with differing perceptions of value, the bottom line is that they are part of a community rally; a surge in support of the philosophies and values of Scouting. The communities behind Friendship District, Jersey Shore Council, and Scouting nationwide, are amidst a movement and a collaboration that will guarantee the sustainability of Scouting for another 100 years beyond our upcoming anniversary.

This is a rally that, just like the little league team or the law enforcement canine; the people recognize the importance, and find ways to circumvent their own financial hardships to express support. And to give.

Sensationalist of today like to use words and phrases like ‘unprecedented’ and ‘never before seen,’ to describe what it’s like when a community bonds around a single cause to make a difference. In actuality, our Scouting community has been here before.

As an organization who has survived 100 years of world wars, great depressions, political shifts, and economic unrests, we have learned that our roots run deep in the ground we stand on. When critics begin to question relevance and unknown futures, we turn to the communities we know and trust and it has never failed that Scouting prevails.

Google Wave: Follow Up

Here is a great write up on the previous post and video for Google Wave. I find the discussions at the bottom of the page to be a great look into how people are perceiving this concept and the barriers they may encounter.

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_wave_our_first_hands-on_impressions.php

Google Wave: Might just change everything

This is more for my techno-savvy viewers and those who are really finding some of the Web 2.0 conversations to be exciting. Recently, the gods of Google have launched a preview of the new Google Wave. If you think the concept of Twitter is a little off, wait until you see the microblog and SMS type communication redesign your email.

MS Outlook, this could be your demise!

If you don't have 2 hours of your life to dedicate to this, I would recommend minutes 5 through 25

Upcoming Topics to be discussed!

• Designing Scouting (Miniseries)


• The Mind of Venturing


• Scouting at 30,000 feet; Supporting your District


• Fighting Global Economy on the Arms of a Community


• Why Twitter? (As promised!)

Thanks to all those who have taken an interest in this page. As the conversations continue, so shall the flow of new and exciting topics!

Designing Scouting: Part 1

The bulk of my topics thus far have been about placing the ideas, culture, and concepts of Scouting in the mind of new audiences in a way that is stimulating, energizing, and most importantly, relevant. Commonly referred to as Positioning in the industry, this is a process that requires creativity, skill, timing, concpet, and craft.

Since my arrival in 2008, I have been given the latitude necessary to help impact our movement by working on a collaborative effort know as "words to live by." If you are reading this as a member of the Jersey Shore Council, you have probably already noticed changes as we advance towards an already proven design concept.

This miniseries will be dedicated to how these advancements are occurring and where we may be headed n the future.

The initial landmark that has turned a lot of heads and gotten a lot of attention has been www.BeAScout.org. This was the brain child of Chuck Eaton out of Cradle of Liberty Council and spearheaded by Todd Lamison of Patriot's Path. As a collaborative project, I have never worked with a better team.

The concept was to combine the elegance and simplicity of the "words to live by" campaign with the functionality of a one-stop-shop recruitment tool where parents could get the core information necessary to register and get in touch with unit leaders. Since its late August inception, this site has been used to connect more than 500 new Scouts with area Packs and Troops.

Future installments of this series will discuss what makes the new look and feel a success and what could and does potentially harm the message. Keep this page book marked and share with your friends as we dig into this new and innovative campaign.

As a resources, if your unit is not utilizing this tool to its maximum potential, I assure you, your unit is missing out. If you would like to know more about how to utilize this, contact me directly at JKnight@JerseyShore-BSA.org or visit www.JerseyShore-BSA.org

The Renaissance in a Relevance of Scouting

Thanks to @craigshelley of www.Twitter.com for this article on Disney’s expansive investigation of boys ages 6-14.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/14/arts/television/14boys.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1

Brooks Barnes does an excellent job conveying that the media giant has for the most part lost touched with a market that they once owned the lions share without contest. Disney and its team of anthropologists and psychologist has identified many difficult obstacles in reaching this age group, many of which are already clearly understood by the Scouting community.

Day in and day out, we reach out to this precise audience, but any Scouter in any color uniform can tell you that with each graduating year, it becomes more and more difficult to draw an unfamiliar boy into the culture of Scouting.

I believe the solution, may already exists.

The games portion of the Disney XD Web site now features prominent trophy cases. (It’s less about the level reached in the game and more about sharing small achievements, research showed.)

I found this to be a fascinating realization. In almost every conversation I have about why Scouting doesn’t work in one way or another, or what pulls boys away from the program, it is almost always the draw to sports and competition. Perhaps that pressure is external or parent driven. Even now, Disney has shown that a method for socially displaying ones small achievements can drive and retain an audience. Scouting does this. We garner advancements and achievements in almost every feasible category.

With the age of adulthood, we as leaders and as professionals view these ranks and achievements with a long-term message. I have heard many leaders say that if they could just get the boys to understand “how important these things will be when they are older,” or “what this will mean for college.”

I can simply state that message will fall on deaf ears. The meaning of each and every advancement is greater in and at that moment to individual boys than any long term view of the future. The boys of today live for the now and the current and have little regard for the future.

I think that line of thinking, a message of immediacy and instant gratification, falls right line with the overall tone of the messages on this page.

So, if Scouting defines the model of personal identity and achievement that Disney has spent millions in research to understand, why is our message missed? The mind of a boy is a complicated arena. Probably best described in a reader review of the article:

Boys are complicated - just like girls are. Some boys do indeed like action, video games, and sports; other do not. Some boys are voluble while others are quiet. So attempts to pick up one or two key traits (or "boy secrets") inevitably fail and risk extending hackneyed gender ideologies.

Can we make the connection? Can we break the barriers of preadolescence with tools that have proven rock solid for 100 years? I’d say it sure beats the alternative if we can:

Ben, a 12-year-old friend who had come over to hang out, responded, “After a long day of doing nothing, we do nothing.” –interviewee on the definition of the word “crash.”