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SCOUT EXECUTIVE'S MINUTE Dear Friends of Scouting: 
The Northwest Suburban Council, Boy Scouts of America has accomplished a lot over the past year. Many thanks to you and people like you who have supported our efforts with their time, talent, and resources. We could not have done it without you and that support is recognized and deeply appreciated. New council officers and board members were recruited , trained, and placed into service. A new plan for standardizing district operations was formulated to provide better service. A new Council Finance Committee that met monthly was organized. New staff position descriptions were drafted that focused on goal attainment as well as customer service and improved relationships.A new and comprehensive council strategic plan was developed with the direct input of sixty Scouting volunteers and community leaders organized into eight focus groups studying eighteen specific areas of operation plus an officer’s retreat, Latino emphasis workshop, website updates, and operational meetings. An independent feasibility study was conducted that pointed toward a capital development campaign to primarily improve our camp facilities along with some key program elements and upgrades to our volunteer service center. The council converted its local council distributorship into a national Scout Shop that provided more inventory, better product placement, improved customer service, and lowered costs. The Scout Shop was expanded by 400 square feet and totally remodeled to provide a better traffic flow for our customers. Over thirty-five new units were chartered in the council representing a growing diversity of language, faith, background, and culture in the northwest suburbs. Our Learning for Life Educational Program saw a renewed emphasis with the addition of a professional staff member dedicated to serving that program. Our local Latino Scoutreach Soccer Program was replicated by the Boy Scouts of America and rolled out as a new national program in August 2004. Our new unit record for 2004 led the entire Central Region. Our council grew in youth membership, amongst the top one-third in the Central Region. We conducted our largest popcorn sale and wreath sale ever, organized the largest Scout Night for hockey and baseball games in the council’s history, and generated $100,000 more in revenue than last year while cutting expenses. All four of our traditional districts achieved their Friends of Scouting Annual Giving Campaign goal in pledges by June 30th. All but one of our professional staff members earned the Chief Scout Executive’s Winners Circle Award for mid-year production. A wide variety of program opportunities were conducted across the council that were both high quality and well attended including Cub Scout Day Camps, Cub Scout Resident Camp, Boy Scout Summer Camp, High Adventure Programs, Venturing Opportunities, Camporees, First Aid Meets, Goodturn for America Service Projects, and various short term programs at both Camp Napowan and Camp Lakota. Yet there is still much to be done in 2005. Focus points for 2005 must be identified, developed, and the work begun in order to affect positive change. The Northwest Suburban Council recognizes the importance of Cub Scouting in the overall program. As we nationally celebrate Cub Scouting’s 75th Anniversary, we renew our promotional efforts for a year-round quality program, increasing our trained Cub Scout Leaders, providing unit service to Packs, getting kids to Cub Scout Day Camp and Cub Resident Camp, and spreading the word on the exciting world of Cub Scouting so that even more youth join as well as retain those already involved. For early 2005, we will focus on our cultivation efforts regarding the upcoming capital development campaign in order to improve our facilities as well as our overall program for the next few years. At the same time we must strive to continue to operate “in the black” annually by controlling costs and increasing our Friends of Scouting Annual Giving Campaign in the first part of the year and growing our Popcorn/Wreath Sales Campaign later in the year. Finally, we are executing the strategic plan that was developed in 2004 item by item and continue to tell the story of Scouting to our external and internal public markets. As we do these four key focus points, the council, its districts, and our local units (Packs, Troops, Crews, Posts, and Groups) will be successful in providing a growing, high quality, and comprehensive Scouting program to the communities of the northwest suburbs for now and into the future with excellent facilities and program opportunities for local youth that truly changes lives for the better. Get On Board! Stephen J. Taylor, CFRE Scout Executive Northwest Suburban Council |