Scout Executive's Blog
October 2011
Fall is here, and with it has come significant change. Perhaps the most welcome change is the weather. Sweltering days with temperatures over 100 have given way to tolerable days and downright pleasant evenings. Our council has experienced some pleasant changes as well.
The most visible change has been the Scout Shop repurposing. Our retail space has expanded quite a bit. We will start selling more high-end outdoor equipment such as backpacks, sleeping bags, climbing gear, etc. Jan Anderson, our Scout Shop manager, had the vision for the new space. We have been blessed that her husband Bobby donated his time working on the space. They used a lot of imagination and the new area is beautiful. It’s not quite finished, but please stop by soon and check it out. Two focal points are wooden sculptures by local artisan
Aurelio Castillo.
Another change is with our professional personnel. On September 1, Senior District Executive Mike Mitchell moved from Greenbelt District to Red River District. Mike brings almost ten years of experience to the district. Taking his place in Greenbelt is Jeff Bryant. Jeff lives in Vernon, TX and comes to us from Vernon ISD. Prior to working with the school system, he worked for over 20 years in the music industry.
The Northwest Texas Council ended September with 1484 youth members. This is a 13.3% increase over September 2010 and represents a great effort by volunteers and professionals alike. Alan Rainey and Mike Taylor, board members from the Council Membership/Marketing Committee, and Mark Swope, Red River District Chairman, helped with Round-ups. Karon McLain, Lynn Finley, Betsy O’Connor, and Donnie and Robin Smith helped with Boy-talks. Of course, Mike, Jeff and Ranger Steve Sells worked the schools with these volunteers and did some on their own. Because of these people and all of the unit level volunteers, Red River made year-end membership by the end of September and Greenbelt and the council should make it before October ends. This is outstanding and will help our council professionals and volunteers plan for the future instead of working primarily on membership until the end of the year. We also have several new units starting this fall. More on those as they charter.
A totally new council website went live September 28. Aimee Davis, who has agreed to be our Council Webmaster, has done a tremendous job on the site. She worked with the National Council to customize their template to our council. Aimee tells me it takes a little time for the website to “populate” throughout the internet, so you may get a placeholder instead of our website when you go to www.nwtcbsa.org. I’ve found sometimes you can click our domain name on the placeholder and get to our site. Please be patient while the new site works its way through the web.
A Strategic Plan is vital to any organization’s future. Our council’s last plan covered the 2003-2006 time frames. I am very pleased to announce that the Honorable Bob Brotherton will lead the Northwest Texas Council’s new Strategic Plan. Warren Ayres will act as vice-chairman for the plan. We are putting the rest of the committee together in the next couple of months. The plan process begins in January and should be completed by September 2012. This plan will give us a road map to improve services and properties to best serve the youth in our communities in the future.
The NWTC Annual Golf Tournament was held in September. Co-Chairmen Charlie Gibson and David Farabee put on another great tourney at River Creek Park. Ralph Perkins and Bill McGuire secured a lot of sponsors for the event. Red River Harley-Davidson provided four motorcycles for a team which had a golfer hit a hole-in-one. Unfortunately, nobody hit one and we had to take the bikes back. The event was budgeted for $11,000 (net) and will be a little above that.
Last year’s 100
th
Anniversary Celebration Fundraiser featuring Rex Tillerson was an amazing night for Scouting. This year’s event, renamed The Annual Council Dinner – A Celebration of Excellence, features Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples. Commissioner Staples embodies the Scout Oath and Law and is excited to bring his patriotic message to our dinner. This celebration will be held at the MPEC on November 9
th
, with a VIP reception at 6 p. m. and dinner at 7 p. m. For sponsorships and tickets, contact VP of Fundraising Charlie Gibson at charlie@cobraogc.com.
As you can see, there have been many good things happening since summer. None of them could have happened without the dedication and commitment of great volunteers. The Northwest Texas Council has been blessed with the best! Thanks for all you do for Scouting.
Yours in Scouting,
Stan Murrow Scout Executive