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SCOUT EXECUTIVE'S MINUTE Dear Scouts: 
The annual Spring thaw is upon us and thoughts of summer camp begin to enter every true Scouter’s mind. Right around the corner on every active unit’s calendar should be plans for a week of Cub Scout Day Camp and/or Resident Camp, Boy Scout Summer Camp, and a Venturing Super Activity.Units that attend a long-term Scout camping experience have significantly higher youth member retention rates, advancement rates, parental involvement, and yes, even better financial support for council programs. Immersing a youth member into a full week of Scouting helps the youth really understand the full scope of the program, builds better teamwork, provides for individual excellence, and encourages earlier leadership development. Having served on BSA camp staffs for over a decade I can personally attest to their worth and outstanding value. Yet when I review our own council’s figures on long-term camp I find that a disappointing rate of only 25% of all Cub Scout Packs and their youth members attend either Cub Scout Day Camp or Cub Scout Resident Camp. Likewise the figure for Boy Scout long-term camp attendance is only 50%. Nationally the average for these figures is 50% and 75% respectively. For a council that has so much potential as well as an excellent track history in nearly everything else these figures are “out of kilter” with the rest of the overall high quality program picture. However there is a correlation. When it comes rechartering time for all of our units we tend to lose more kids than other places I have lived. So does our lack of long-term camping have a negative effect? I believe it does. Any time we make a promise and don’t deliver on that promise --- kids remember. All of our handbooks and manuals promise a long-term camping experience. When our units don’t participate in that experience we have broken a promise and devalued the overall program. It’s not too late for 2005! There are still openings in Cub Scout Day Camp, Cub Scout Resident Camp, and Boy Scout Summer Camp. Call the NWSC Volunteer Service Center TODAY at 847-824-6880 to secure your unit’s spot at long-term camp for this summer. Turn the tide! Deliver the promise! Keep the outing in Scouting! Believe me, it will truly have a positive and long-term effect by your youth members attending long-term camp. Do “whatever it takes” to get them there. Stephen J. Taylor, CFRE Scout Executive Northwest Suburban Council |