Commissioner’s Corner
BeAScout.org- Are your Unit’s pinned on the Map?
As a part of our monthly visits with our 1790 units in Sam Houston Area Council, we often hear the comment, “We’re working to expand our membership, but it seems so difficult to get the word out to prospective Scouting families”. Various units devise recruiting programs that are successful to their particular venue and through that process the annual backfilling of membership is created and those units continue to succeed. However, in today’s society, it’s important that we recognize new tools that can help us maximize our Scouting efforts through reaching as many youth and their families as possible. A great new site for expanding our visibility of each unit in our Council and thus reaching new family involvement is through the BeAScout.org program. Check it out today! Our national marketing team is working hard to maximize this tool….let’s help them expand the vision of Scouting through this program.
With the BeAScout.org program, prospective Scouting families can find a unit anywhere in the Nation! National marketing surveys have found that IF units are participating by “pinning” their unit on the BeAScout.org program, it allows new and relocating families to simply zoom to this website, plug in their family’s zip code and each unit within a specified geographic is displayed on that map, complete with physical address, phone number and meeting details! With today’s electronic media, we know that Moms are spending over 100 hours a month online so the BeAScout.org program is a natural bridge to offering Scouting units in their neighborhoods.
In reality, this becomes “site selection at a glance”.
For BeAScout.org to reach its’ potential and ultimately expand the Scouting opportunity to more families, it does require two things from each unit that we serve.
• Recruit a volunteer to be the media consultant for that Pack, Troop or Crew.
• Charge the media consultant with updating the unit’s contact information on the BeAScout.org site periodically to maximize this electronic recruiting tool to increase membership through family based maximization of the electronic media.
While this is certainly a new venue in recruitment for most units, it’s up to our Commissioner team to help our Packs, Troops and Crews move into this quick and easy tool for unit location recognition for new Scouting families. When you chat with the Troop Committee and unit leader be sure and mention the BeAScout.org program. Have them check it out! Are your units pinned?
Commissioner’s Corner
