From <@tcuavm.is.tcu.edu:owner-scouts-l@TCUBVM.IS.TCU.EDU> Sat Apr 4 12:54:38 1998 Return-Path: <@tcuavm.is.tcu.edu:owner-scouts-l@TCUBVM.IS.TCU.EDU> Received: from tcuavm.is.tcu.edu (TCUAVM.IS.TCU.EDU [138.237.128.148]) by cap1.CapAccess.org (8.6.12/8.6.10) with SMTP id MAA29498 for ; Sat, 4 Apr 1998 12:54:38 -0500 Received: from TCUBVM.IS.TCU.EDU by tcuavm.is.tcu.edu (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 8765; Sat, 04 Apr 98 11:46:50 CDT Received: from TCUBVM.IS.TCU.EDU (NJE origin LISTSERV@TCUBVM) by TCUBVM.IS.TCU.EDU (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with BSMTP id 6193; Sat, 4 Apr 1998 11:48:15 -0500 Received: from TCUBVM.IS.TCU.EDU by TCUBVM.IS.TCU.EDU (LISTSERV release 1.8b) with NJE id 2384 for SCOUTS-L@TCUBVM.IS.TCU.EDU; Sat, 4 Apr 1998 11:47:00 -0500 Received: from TCUBVM (NJE origin SMTP@TCUBVM) by TCUBVM.IS.TCU.EDU (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with BSMTP id 2383; Fri, 3 Apr 1998 09:11:34 -0500 Received: from mail.cha.bellsouth.net by tcubvm.is.tcu.edu (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with TCP; Fri, 03 Apr 98 09:11:30 CDT Received: from user (host-207-53-117-24.cha.bellsouth.net [207.53.117.24]) by mail.cha.bellsouth.net (8.8.8/8.8.5) with SMTP id KAA23277; Fri, 3 Apr 1998 10:09:45 -0500 (EST) X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.01C-BLS20 (Win95; U) MIME-Version: 1.0 References: <3522DD74.6963EFD0@radiks.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-MIME-Autoconverted: from 8bit to quoted-printable by mail.cha.bellsouth.net id KAA23277 Message-ID: <3524FB1E.47D7@Bellsouth.net> Date: Fri, 3 Apr 1998 10:07:10 -0500 Reply-To: eddunn Sender: Scouts-L Youth Group List From: eddunn Subject: Re: Recruiting Problem X-To: David Sanderson IV To: Multiple recipients of list SCOUTS-L Status: RO X-Status: Remember, these ideas are designed for professionals to use, but they can work for you too. Some aids for Boy Scout leaders; Recruiting Scoutmasters: This is one of the toughest jobs you will encounter on the district level. Make a vow right now that you won't become a Scoutmaster to save a Troop! It's a big, big mistake to spend so much time on one unit. Remember your mission! To the truly committed professional though, saving a 50+ year old Troop from extinction is one of the most rewarding accomplishments you will ever have. Allowing one to die is at least equally depressing. =20 I developed this process out of pure stubbornness! Use the six step leader recruiting process as a base for operations, but I've got an additional trick that is borderline rotten-but worked every time! 1) Do you have an insider to help? Get one! In an older Troop there is always somebody. 2) The organization's leadership may not appear to care much, but they won't want the Troop to die on their watch either, so you will get a chance to try a resuscitation. =20 3) Before meeting with anybody, spend some time going through the old unit rosters. List all Eagle Scouts from 15 to 30 years ago. Next to them, write in the Scoutmaster of the time. 4) Call as many of the old Scoutmasters as you can find, and plan a luncheon or meeting at the Troop's meeting place. Explain what you are up to, they'll almost always help out. 5) Share the list of Eagles with them and determine the best 5 or 6 prospects. Favor those with boys of Scouting age. =20 6) Have their old Scoutmaster set up a time to pay them a visit (with their wives?). =20 7) An Eagle Scout will not say NO to their old Scoutmaster! =20 It's almost unfair! =20 8) Get as many of the old-timers on committee as you can. Support is critical! We got so good at this in my last district that we were still in the reference stage when the top prospect walked into the Troop meeting with his 11 year old son and says: "I surrender!" ________________________________________________________________________ Boy Scout age talk: 5 Minute speech. Any veteran Scoutmaster will tell you that only quality unit program will recruit new boys into the program. Believe It! When I first started recruiting youth in 1979, the 8th graders had that dead look in their eyes. By 1993 that look was in the 4th graders faces and eyes.=20 They don't believe anything! Its sad and scary, but who can blame them? Before they can walk there is a purple dinosaur on TV claiming that he truly Loves them! My best success came from building Scout Troops through strong Cub leaders who believe in the Scouting program enough to continue on onto the next level. You can have great success that way, but it takes about 4 years to see the process to full fruition. =20 Ever since it started, the Webelos program has been the source of 90% of the new Boy Scouts. So your field director says "You will do a school recruiting anyway=85" Here's the best 5 minute speech I've been able to manage-and I've tried bunches=85 Ideal: Boys only, separated by grade 5, 6, 7 =20 Wear your uniform Have the Scoutmaster present (let him speak) =20 Do boy talk the day before meeting Have flyers ready =09 Use the boy fact surveys=20 With sincerity; "I've got some questions for you, answer with a show of hands=85 How many of you want to be a pro football star? How many of you want to be a pro basketball star? How many of you would settle for being a rock star? Look around the room. How many pro stars do you know have come from this school? There are over ______ guys who graduate every year from here, that's about _____ in 50 years. Figure it out guys, what are the odds? Let me put it another way, who here believes in the tooth fairy? Now, before your local coach has my head in a basket, let me say that the last thing we want to do is have you give up any sport that you enjoy doing! And you should always do your best at whatever you try.=20 And who knows, you might be the lucky one.=20 But for those guys here old enough to think realistically, I've got a few thoughts for you! You are going to have to make a living doing something, and like it or not-money buys freedom, if not happiness. Now you can go on playing games and sports and eventually you'll drift into something-probably.=20 Or you can take control of your own future=85and that's where we can help= .=20 You see, besides the camping and hiking and swimming and all, Scouting has about 120 different merit badges that can provide you with an incredible chance to see a lot of what this world has to offer-both outdoors and indoors. =20 Nowhere else is this available to you, the chance to visit people and places and try on almost any career you can think of. We are welcoming new members tomorrow night, and you are invited to come by and visit.=20 Between now and then though, do yourself a favor. Take a look into the eyes of the people you see on the streets, or in their car, or where ever. You'll find a lot of unhappy faces. As it's been said before: =20 "The majority of the masses live miserable lives of quiet desperation".=20 That's what makes the lottery so big! When your life comes down to a million to one shot. (Personally, I find it pathetic when somebody tells me what they are going to do when they win.) Understand, if you join Scouting, we're not going to give you anything! Except an opportunity to sample some of what this world has to offer. =20 You may even find yourself a real future! I have to go, Thank You for letting me speak to you on this level, and whatever you do, do your very best! Good Luck. Oh, by the way-the camping part is a blast=85sometimes! "Truth is the perfect disguise=85" Kris Kristofferson _______________________________________________________________________ Troop Truths: There are several realities about Scout Troops you should learn early on-and none are "politically correct". If you try them anyway, keep records-so at least you'll learn from it. 1) After about two years, (depending somewhat on training), most Scoutmasters will tend to find their comfort zone of membership in the Troop. Once that level is reached, dropping 10 new Webelos into their "saturated" unit will be the same as throwing them away. =20 2) In a Troop with an average youth age 14 to 15+, Webelos are nothing more than "Blue flu" to be fought off. What do they have in common?=20 Absolutely nothing! I recall as a 12 year old that anybody who shaved was a full grown adult to me. Including the Senior Patrol Leader, whom I was scared to death of, as he fully intended me to be. 3) When a veteran Scoutmaster resigns, the older youth often quit soon afterward. Order of the Arrow or Summer Camp Staff can dissipate this problem somewhat. I used to get them to help with Day camp or on a camporee as staff. The good thing is that having Scouts near Eagle serves to keep a Scoutmaster for awhile longer. 4) A unit will stop growing when it fills the meeting space, know the limitations before recruiting begins. From <@tcuavm.is.tcu.edu:owner-scouts-l@TCUBVM.IS.TCU.EDU> Sat Apr 4 12:56:22 1998 Return-Path: <@tcuavm.is.tcu.edu:owner-scouts-l@TCUBVM.IS.TCU.EDU> Received: from tcuavm.is.tcu.edu (TCUAVM.IS.TCU.EDU [138.237.128.148]) by cap1.CapAccess.org (8.6.12/8.6.10) with SMTP id MAA29551 for ; Sat, 4 Apr 1998 12:56:22 -0500 Received: from TCUBVM.IS.TCU.EDU by tcuavm.is.tcu.edu (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 8767; Sat, 04 Apr 98 11:48:26 CDT Received: from TCUBVM.IS.TCU.EDU (NJE origin LISTSERV@TCUBVM) by TCUBVM.IS.TCU.EDU (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with BSMTP id 6229; Sat, 4 Apr 1998 11:49:51 -0500 Received: from TCUBVM.IS.TCU.EDU by TCUBVM.IS.TCU.EDU (LISTSERV release 1.8b) with NJE id 2380 for SCOUTS-L@TCUBVM.IS.TCU.EDU; Sat, 4 Apr 1998 11:48:37 -0500 Received: from TCUBVM (NJE origin SMTP@TCUBVM) by TCUBVM.IS.TCU.EDU (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with BSMTP id 2379; Fri, 3 Apr 1998 09:09:45 -0500 Received: from mail.cha.bellsouth.net by tcubvm.is.tcu.edu (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with TCP; Fri, 03 Apr 98 09:09:16 CDT Received: from user (host-207-53-117-24.cha.bellsouth.net [207.53.117.24]) by mail.cha.bellsouth.net (8.8.8/8.8.5) with SMTP id KAA23182; Fri, 3 Apr 1998 10:07:01 -0500 (EST) X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.01C-BLS20 (Win95; U) MIME-Version: 1.0 References: <3522DD74.6963EFD0@radiks.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-MIME-Autoconverted: from 8bit to quoted-printable by mail.cha.bellsouth.net id KAA23182 Message-ID: <3524FA79.1F77@Bellsouth.net> Date: Fri, 3 Apr 1998 10:04:25 -0500 Reply-To: eddunn Sender: Scouts-L Youth Group List From: eddunn Subject: Re: Recruiting Problem (Long) X-To: David Sanderson IV To: Multiple recipients of list SCOUTS-L Status: RO X-Status: You are having problems getting access to the boys in school. Here are some tips I learned over 13 years of professional service. Do not attempt to contact the key business leaders of your community without letting the area professional know first. They may know them and can be of help. I will post in two parts, due to length...Good luck. =20 If there are any gaps that I missed let me know, these are not Official Boy Scout publications, and there are always exceptions, but they worked for me. _______________________________________________________________________ The Fall Roundup is won or lost before anyone sets foot inside a school! It begins with the relationship Scouting has fostered with the school board and the District School Superintendent. A growing number of schools will not allow outside groups to speak to the children, regardless of the worthiness of the cause=85Period. Several reasons are cited, from the old standby; "If we let you in, then we'll have to let in everybody" to "Our liability won't allow it" to "You Boy Scouts always promise the world, but never deliver". =20 Perhaps a closer truth often lies in the fact that the NEA is an extremely liberal organization, while Scouting is an extremely conservative one. Or, many times the school's leadership doesn't want any competition for it's adults time and it's own fund raising efforts. Whatever the excuse, I have watched District Executives careers go bye-bye, while they are left wringing their hands in utter frustration. It's a shame, when the solution is often quite simple. Remember when I mentioned that the key business people control the politicians? Now is the time to utilize their power for Scouting's benefit! =20 Here's the speech: 1) Early summer-call and set up a time (15 minutes) for you to speak to them about a problem "only they can solve". They will want to know what, tell them that it is an issue of paramount importance, but you need to explain it in person. You'll get the appointment! If you have no relationship yet, have someone you know that travels in the same circles make the call. Ask the Scout Executive to go with you if it is a major school or system. 2) Flatter them with their importance (It works for anybody). Avoid any mention of the power they possess, it's too direct an approach with some people. =20 3) Sell the mission. Use "the box" speech if you like. (See Chapter 7) 4) Explain that the Scouting program has to be advertised to boys, just like any other product in this age of media blitz. "Look what we're up against!" 5) The liberal media won't help a family values conservative program like this one. The PSA's we send them only run at 2:30am. These age youth don't/can't read the papers much. =20 6) You only need in for 5 minutes at any time during the day, and you will sell the program. *You are aware of the reputation of "rape and run" that others have used, but=85 7) You work for the best interest of the community first, and=85 8) You will not recruit in any school with poor or no leadership, or=85 9) He may have your resignation on demand! (You had better mean it!) * Only if this is the history in your area. If he says there is nothing he can do, ask him who can affect a change. If you have the right man, odds are that you will get one chance. Make it good, you won't get another if you blow it! Example: In one district I had a principal hang up on me when I asked for five minutes. I called the district superintendent and he basically did the same-after chastising me for suggesting that I would ask him to override a principal. I then called a key business leader that I knew, explained the problem in less than 2 minutes, and asked if he could look into it. 12 minutes later the school principal called and apologized, offering his full cooperation. He hadn't understood what I had wanted! His call was interrupted by the superintendent-doing the same. I made a Thank you call immediately! This works! Scouting is in a unique position, but will lose that advantage permanently if the professional executives don't show integrity and character soon. ________________________________________________________________________ Tiger and Cub age boy talk: 5 minute speech. Ideal: All boys alone by grade 1, 2, 3 (4th is optional)=09 Gym or cafeteria =20 The day before the meeting: -Have Cubs wear uniforms that day -Have fliers printed and ready -Have a den or pack leader present -Wear complete uniform=20 Always get there 10 minutes early and check in with the school secretary. Principals come and go, she runs the operation! =20 A box of microwave popcorn is a nice touch. Get the boys seated and quiet using the Scout sign. =20 Explain it's meaning (Quiet!). With enthusiasm: "I've got some questions for you! Answer by raising your hand. How many of you like to shoot B-B guns? (Let 'em holler a little, then use Scout sign) How many of you like to shoot bows and arrows? (sign) How many of you would like to go swimming? (sign) How many of you would like to go camping with your dad? (sign) How many of you would like to go camping=85with mom? (sign) Maybe even find her=85 her very own snake! (sign) We do all this at camp! Plus we have pie eating contests, a squirt gun war (show yours with a shhh=85 sign) and lots of other neat stuff. And that's not the half of it! =20 We have a Cub Scout meeting at ________ tomorrow night at _:__p.m. and you're all invited! Bring a parent or two or three! This flyer will help them remember, but you'll still have to remind them, maybe even put it in the refrigerator when you get home! This is also the official flyer-we'll be having a paper airplane contest, with prizes! We are the Cub Scouts and we'll see you tomorrow night at ________ at _:__p.m.!" Hand out the flyer as they walk out the door, giving a high 5 to each boy as they go by! Don't forget to Thank the key people before you leave and give them some of the extra flyers. _______________________________________________________________________ The Leader Recruiting-5 Minute Speech: Take out the box, now empty and closed. Carry it in your hands while you talk. "Thank You all for coming tonight with your boy to find out about Scouting. Over here we have three different applications; Tiger for the 1st graders, Cub for the rest of them, and Adult Applications for you.=20 (They start to squirm) I spoke to your boys yesterday at school and told them a few of the things that Scouts get to do. The ones they liked best were camping with dad and finding mom her very own snake! (nervous laugh) I am confident that the summer program will provide these opportunities, even if you don't volunteer tonight. I try not to make empty promises. You've all heard about the value system, and the uniforms, and doing your best. But Scouting is even more, let me explain. I know from experience that most schools and teachers are excellent, even on a Friday. I couldn't possibly maintain the enthusiasm they do all week. =20 My hat is off to them, they do a great job! =20 But even the best teacher will tell you that they are severely limited by the walls of this building. (Hold up box) A classroom is four walls, a floor and a ceiling, much like this box here. Perhaps once a year the budget allows them to leave the building and venture out into the world. (Open the box just a little) That's where Scouting comes into play-we open up that box. By parents working together, boys can visit places and see things and learn about the world on a level the best teacher can only dream about! And you'll find discounts and doors opening wide for Scouts almost everywhere. Now, there's no doubt that your boy likes a sport or six. They almost all do. But that activity is limited to a field of play that isn't much larger than the classroom is. And from a career standpoint, its a long-shot at best. (An uneasy father or two) Scouting has the only group activity that offers the world as it's program! Soon the boys are going to bring back a list of places they would like to go see. There's nothing to organizing this group enough to make these wishes come true for them. It's easy as pie. But Scouting is even more. These books are loaded with projects, crafts, challenges, and family activities that will add to the learning process. Packs meet monthly and organize into separate dens that meet weekly, generally in somebody's home. A committee serves to support those folks. Plus there is a wide variety of other opportunities. Pinewood derby's, bike rodeos, Scout Shows, Parades, Lad & Dad and Mom and Me weekends, Blue & Gold banquets, Cub Scout Sports badges, Academic badges, religious awards, the list goes on and on and on.=20 We have over ___ adults already involved in this area, and we have hordes of written materials available as well to help you get started.=20 We have training tapes and classes, program helps, monthly get- togethers, and even a National magazine each month. All aimed at one thing-helping you the parent make the program work for your children. Even more help; I have recruited some of the best local Scouters we have, to work as advisors until you get going good. Please pick up at least one adult application with the boy's, fill it out tonight so we can reach you with the next get-together. I'll be here to chat about the different positions involved, but know that none of them are difficult if everybody works together. =20 I certainly hope I've convinced you that Scouting is worth some of your valuable time!"