Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24Camp Development for the 21st Century, Leaders of Tomorrow T he Sam Houston Area Council has the vision to become a leader in camping by having first-class facilities that are well maintained and provide safe, fun and educational outdoor programs for our Scouts. In 2012, the council approved a new Camping Vision Statement: “Exemplary, Sustainable Outdoor Experiences and Creative Learning for 21st Century Youth and Their Leaders.” To achieve this vision, the council has a properties master plan. This plan is modified from time to time based on need and situational events. In developing the plan, the following are key principles that drive decisions: • Exemplary – first-class facilities, maintained to meet today’s standards; • Sustainable – a long-term solution for ongoing operating and maintenance costs and the long-term maintenance of facilities; • Program Impact – delivering high-quality programs associated with quality facilities – driving towards achieving the goals of the Camping Vision Statement; • Impact – maximizing the use and access based on location to our camps by as many Scouts as possible; and • Efficiency – being a good steward of resources and eliminating redundancy. The current plan includes developing new camps, i.e., the new Tellepsen Scout Camp at Bovay Scout Ranch, the new Camp Strake (near Evergreen, Texas), and a new Janis and George Fleming Cub World at Bovay Scout Ranch (the latter two of which are planned to open in a few years). The plan also comprises improvements to Camp Brosig and McNair Cub Adventure Camp at Bovay Scout Ranch and discontinuing operations at camps which have low usage, are not meeting financial plans and/or are not sustainable. In May 2015, flooding caused significant damage and loss to the Cockrell River Camp at El Rancho Cima resulting in its closing. Because of this, in June 2015 the Council’s Board of Directors created a new ad hoc Task Force to develop a program implementation plan for Boy Scout resident camp for 2016 through 2018 and to present a long-term future strategy for Boy Scout resident camp operations to the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for review and consideration. The Task Force carried out extensive analysis and they considered the following criteria for every possible alternative: (1) Affordability, (2) Program, (3) Quality, (4) Impact, and (5) Sustainability. After months of diligent analysis, the Task Force recommended to conduct Boy Scout resident camp at the new Camp Strake instead of continuing to conduct it at El Rancho Cima. The Board of Directors approved plans to eventually close El Rancho Cima and sell the property, although no exact timeline has been established yet. The desire is to continue to conduct Boy Scout summer resident camp there through the summer of 2018 and transition to the new Camp Strake with the Boy Scout summer resident camp in the summer of 2019. However, no firm plan and timeline has been established. There could be reasons that would cause this to happen sooner or later.