BSA Executive Salaries

[ParkMan]

I'd welcome some more Bear Grylls type of people to be ambassadors of the BSA.  Having some people who can enhance the image of the BSA would be outstanding.

I don't think you'd want them to replace the current executive structure though.  I don't think their value is in budget meetings and the other kinds of things a CEO needs to do.  Let those with executive experience do that.  Let the Bear Grylls and Mike Rowes of the world focus on message and influencing the program.

[walk in the woods]

40 minutes ago, ParkMan said:

I'd welcome some more Bear Grylls type of people to be ambassadors of the BSA.  Having some people who can enhance the image of the BSA would be outstanding.

I don't think you'd want them to replace the current executive structure though.  I don't think their value is in budget meetings and the other kinds of things a CEO needs to do.  Let those with executive experience do that.  Let the Bear Grylls and Mike Rowes of the world focus on message and influencing the program.

I mentioned Creek Stewart in another thread but was told he had too much of a midwestern ethic navajo medicine man vibe.  Everybody says we need a Bear Grylls but nobody ever puts a name on this person.  

[CalicoPenn]

Not keen on having a Bear Grylls type as a BSA ambassador - Grylls show is a "realty - yeah right" kind of show - he's made a name for himself on TV faking survival situations.

I think someone like Paul Sereno, a Paleontologist from the University of Chicago would be a much better ambassador. 

Why settle for a fake adventurer when you can have a real adventurer?

[oldbuzzard]

38 minutes ago, CalicoPenn said:

Not keen on having a Bear Grylls type as a BSA ambassador - Grylls show is a "realty - yeah right" kind of show - he's made a name for himself on TV faking survival situations.

I think someone like Paul Sereno, a Paleontologist from the University of Chicago would be a much better ambassador. 

Why settle for a fake adventurer when you can have a real adventurer?

I think this is the whole problem with folks like Mike Rowe. Any media personality has had to whip up controversy. The whole "safe space" thing  is a effort to insult liberals while attracting blue collar conservatives. That's not helpful.

A real adventurer to me would be someone like Cliff Jacobson. Regardless of being a NESA Distinguished  Eagle Scout and all his BWCA and Arctic canoe trips, a scrawny 70yo former high school teacher just isn't mediagenic enough.

48 minutes ago, walk in the woods said:

I mentioned Creek Stewart in another thread but was told he had too much of a midwestern ethic navajo medicine man vibe.  Everybody says we need a Bear Grylls but nobody ever puts a name on this person.  

Navajo's aren't midwestern.... If I  couldn't find mediagenic Scout(er)s., the  the people with little to no scouting background I would choose to represent us would be Andrew Skrurka and Amelia Boone. They could have a  Colin Fletcher/Chip Rawlins "Complete Walker" buddy thing going on and be just as  completely legit.

Edited June 4, 2018 by oldbuzzard

[NJCubScouter]

I don't think the answer (to what question, I am not sure) lies in recruiting someone to be the "face" of the BSA.  For one thing, look at Bear Grylls and the UK.  What I have learned in this thread is that a significant number of people seem to think he's a fraud.  (I have never really paid attention to Bear Grylls, and the only episode of his show I have ever seen was the one with President Obama, which I doubt was representative of his shows as a whole.)  So if he is viewed as a fraud by a significant number of people, how does that help the image of Scouts UK?

I also doubt that the answer lies in recruiting even a "real adventurer" if 99.9 % of people have never heard of him. 

Mike Rowe usually gets mentioned in these conversations, but based on the article he wrote recently, he seems (at best) skeptical of the direction the BSA is going in, so he is probably not what National is looking for.

As for anyone else, well, you have to be careful these days.  You're talking about taking an established organization and putting its public image in the hands of one person.  Presumably that person would have a squeaky-clean image when he (and I am assuming it would be a he) is selected.  Then the next week, the ex-secretary, the ex-wife, the ex-girlfriend-on-the-side, whoever, come forward telling stories that make the man's image not so squeaky-clean anymore.  It's a real risk these days, and it wouldn't help the BSA any.

[Hawkwin]

22 minutes ago, CalicoPenn said:

I think someone like Paul Sereno,

Why settle for a fake adventurer when you can have a real adventurer?

Who? Seriously. I had to google him.

Other than being a field paleontologist, I don't see how his profession would be a strong advocate for Scouts. Does he sleep in a tent? Does he build fires without matches?

 

There is a long list of Eagle celebrities. One of them might be a better fit:

https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2018/02/08/bsa-turning-108-heres-list-108-famous-former-scouts/

I see quite a few on that list that would bring a lot of media attention as well as new applicants. Chris Pratt would be at or near the top of that list.

[oldbuzzard]

16 minutes ago, Hawkwin said:

Who? Seriously. I had to google him.

Other than being a field paleontologist, I don't see how his profession would be a strong advocate for Scouts. Does he sleep in a tent? Does he build fires without matches?

 

There is a long list of Eagle celebrities. One of them might be a better fit:

OK. The best media celebrity  on that list is Steve Fossett(RIP). Maybe there are great scouts that BSA could build into media spokespeople. Maybe we could pull in celebrities like Jon Krakauer  to be spokespeople. But I think using actors who happen to be scouts is a terrible idea.

[NJCubScouter]

27 minutes ago, Hawkwin said:

There is a long list of Eagle celebrities. One of them might be a better fit:

https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2018/02/08/bsa-turning-108-heres-list-108-famous-former-scouts/

I see quite a few on that list that would bring a lot of media attention as well as new applicants. Chris Pratt would be at or near the top of that list.

A lot of people on that list are deceased.  And some are, perhaps, how shall I put this delicately, especially since I am not all that far behind them, perhaps a little TOO "experienced at life" to be a really effective public image for the BSA.

On the other hand, how about "Bill Gates, Chief Scout"?  I hear he's got some free time on his hands these days.  But I can already hear the complaining from some quarters, and I am not actually serious.  

And I still don't think its a good idea in general, but going through the names is still interesting.  I didn't know Jay Leno was a Scout.  But not the Chief Scout. 

Edited June 4, 2018 by NJCubScouter

[ParkMan]

22 minutes ago, Hawkwin said:

Who? Seriously. I had to google him.

Other than being a field paleontologist, I don't see how his profession would be a strong advocate for Scouts. Does he sleep in a tent? Does he build fires without matches?

 

There is a long list of Eagle celebrities. One of them might be a better fit:

https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2018/02/08/bsa-turning-108-heres-list-108-famous-former-scouts/

I see quite a few on that list that would bring a lot of media attention as well as new applicants. Chris Pratt would be at or near the top of that list.

That's my reaction when I see some of the more obscure names.  No offense, but I've never heard of Paul Sereno, Cliff Jacobson, and the others.  My thinking is that for an ambassador, you need someone who will have enough name recognition to change the dynamics of averages person's impression of Scouting.  

I think it makes sense for it to be more than one person.  Recruiting 10--20 different people and having a group sounds like a good idea.  I like Chris Pratt.  In fact, I think it would be cool for the BSA to line up as many Avengers as possible.

Ultimately, what I think the BSA needs to do is get kids excited about Scouting.  My sense is that you do that by tying into kids hopes & dreams for the future.  Great people were Scouts, I want to be great, I should be a Scout.

 

[DuctTape]

Cliff Jacobson is the real deal. He is a well known outdoorsman, focusing on paddling mostly in the BWCA. He is a published author as well. 

Regardless, if the BSA was to go this direction (I highly doubt they will), the person would not just be a name to endorse the brand. To be effective they would need to go all in making videos, etc... showcasing the scouting adventures with and alongside the personality. I would recommend they have multiple personalities. Get "famous" personalities from different regions and with different areas of expertise. Full out media blitz. 

[HashTagScouts]

55 minutes ago, ParkMan said:

That's my reaction when I see some of the more obscure names.  No offense, but I've never heard of Paul Sereno, Cliff Jacobson, and the others.  My thinking is that for an ambassador, you need someone who will have enough name recognition to change the dynamics of averages person's impression of Scouting.  

I think it makes sense for it to be more than one person.  Recruiting 10--20 different people and having a group sounds like a good idea.  I like Chris Pratt.  In fact, I think it would be cool for the BSA to line up as many Avengers as possible.

Ultimately, what I think the BSA needs to do is get kids excited about Scouting.  My sense is that you do that by tying into kids hopes & dreams for the future.  Great people were Scouts, I want to be great, I should be a Scout.

 

I think would need to be someone that is "relatable" to Scouts. I do think you are on the right track there.

1 hour ago, Hawkwin said:

Who? Seriously. I had to google him.

Other than being a field paleontologist, I don't see how his profession would be a strong advocate for Scouts. Does he sleep in a tent? Does he build fires without matches?

 

There is a long list of Eagle celebrities. One of them might be a better fit:

https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2018/02/08/bsa-turning-108-heres-list-108-famous-former-scouts/

I see quite a few on that list that would bring a lot of media attention as well as new applicants. Chris Pratt would be at or near the top of that list.

Chris Pratt would be relatable to the current generation.  He's actually a pretty decent guy- he's come back to Boston and visited with kids in the hospital and such, and lent his celebrity to some fundraising causes here over the years since he hit fame as Captain America.  I don't think I have read him attribute much to his time in Scouting, so not sure his viewpoint on the organization.

My bias of being a New Englander- Shane Victorino would also be an excellent choice.  World Series champ, Eagle Scout in a decade that the kids of today can at least somewhat relate to as their parents generation.  

Much of what goes into the shows that Bear Grylls is a part of a re staged, but, c'mon, I think 12 year olds can figure that out.  Taking a celebrity out and they state "I've never really spent time in the outdoors", and thinking they are going to eat nothing but grubs and drink filthy water for a 3 day trek is just fantasy.  Not knocking Bear, it's all just entertainment, not actual survival.

 

 

[Hawkwin]

23 minutes ago, HashTagScouts said:

I think would need to be someone that is "relatable" to Scouts. I do think you are on the right track there.

Chris Pratt ... since he hit fame as Captain America.  .

*cough* Wrong Avenger *cough*

Try Star Lord 😎

[NJCubScouter]

Well, I have never heard of Chris Pratt.  I take it that I am in a minority in this regard, but the fact is that I am woefully (but mostly intentionally) deficient in my knowledge of celebrities in general, especially a lot of people who have become movie or tv stars in the last 30 or 40 years.  I take it he has been in one or more of the recent "superhero" movies.  The only one of those that I have ever seen (not counting older incarnations of Superman and Batman) is Iron Man, and I didn't see any of the sequels, if there were any.

There have been a few times in the past few years when the first time I heard of a celebrity, who everybody else seemed to know all about, is when they passed away.  I'm mostly talking about people who did not die of old age.

Edited June 4, 2018 by NJCubScouter

[oldbuzzard]

34 minutes ago, HashTagScouts said:

I think would need to be someone that is "relatable" to Scouts. I do think you are on the right track there.

Maybe our scouts are jaded. We're taking 3 crews into the BWCA including a 12yo crew I'm helping to lead. The only thing I've see inspire them is when our long emeritus SM came to talk. When he started out saying "I was part of this same church and joined Cub Scouts in 1949 and earned Eagle in the the mid-50s and was hired on at the Region X canoe base in the late 50s base solely on my experience in troop xxx." You could see the scouts eyes go wide. The path between 11yo new scouts and 16-17yo(then) charlie guides became clear. I doubt a celebrity could have been more "relatable".

All those Marine Corp ads, including the infamous magma demon ad, weren't about relating to celebraties, but about  doing stuff. Folks who can reflect doing stuff should be better than those who are "famous".

[HashTagScouts]

35 minutes ago, Hawkwin said:

*cough* Wrong Avenger *cough*

Try Star Lord 😎

My bad- you are correct! Star Lord came with Chris evans and they did the Boston celebrity hospital circuit