Membership Decline Reasons

[emb021]

"I nominate Mike Rowe for Chief Scout, is there a second"

 

SECOND!

[LIBob]

Basementdweller and Packsaddle,

 

I am sorry to hear that your daughers are not getting what they wnat from GSA. I have often suspected that GSA was about creating girl leaders, physically fit girls and girls of good character (all are admirable goals) at the expense of teaching camping, nature and wilderness skills.

 

For example:

 

Our local GSA summer camp touts

- Swimming pools supervised by American Red Cross-certified waterfront staff

- Hikes & nature activities on well-groomed trails

- Basketball and volleyball courts

- Indoor and outdoor sports and games

- Different craft activities every day

- Special events such as talent shows, ice cream socials, water games and more

- Nutritious lunches and tasty snacks

 

By congtrast our local BSA summer camp like most emphasizes such things as pioneering, rock climbing, aquatics etc.

 

It is truly a shame that girls age 8-13 have no equivalent of BSA but it woud be a catastrophe to try to mitigate that by making BSA co-ed.

 

 

Bottom line:

- Cub Scouts have seen a 20-30% membership decline.

- Visits to national parks have seen a 20-30% membership decline.

- The fact that Boy Scout enrollment has declined by (only) 10% during that same period means Boy Scouts does NOT have a membership problem.

- Since Boy Scouts does not have a membership problem we should avoid the kinds of radical changes that have led to the near death of Canadian Scouting.

[Eagle92]

Desert,

I must respectfully disagree, except with the speaks his mind part. He is a cultured man, having performed in the opera, has keen sense of business as evidenced by all the work he has done, and cleans up rather nicely as evidenced by some of his earlier work for History Channel and others.

[LIBob]

Alright well how about Les Stroud (survivorman)

I mean. I know he is Canadian, but I think he'd make a great head of BSA.

 

Or maybe Scott O'Grady (devoutly Christian F-16 pilot shot down over Serbia who survived six days by eating ants and wild plants.)

[desertrat77]

Eagle92, I think we are more in agreement than disagreement--I'm familiar with his resume, and Mike is all the things you mentioned, yet he is still down to earth, etc, as I outlined.

 

If we have a Chief Scout who is comfortable in the business arena, and with the arts, yet can have a genuine appreciation for the working class citizens of America, that would be ideal.

 

All the positive traits that both you and I pointed out would prevent him from being Chief Scout.

 

[RememberSchiff]

Mike Rowe - YES!

 

The BSA definitely needs a respected and recognizable "Follow Me Boys" adventure leader to our movement.

 

In the spirit of July 4 and without regard to the political realities of the cubical encampment at Irving, LDS, etc.

Some suggestions for the new BSA program consultant team (after the Irving Temple is cleansed):

 

Bill Nye, "The Science Guy", I think he is now with NASA. He was a Boy Scout and often gives credit to his former scoutmaster and Astronomy MB counselor. (Develop interest in science)

 

Sally Ride, former girl scout, astronaut, now has her own company specializing in teaching science. (Add women leaders at National, develop interest in science and adventure)

 

Yvon Chouinard - born in MAINE! rock climber, fly fisherman, environmentalist and outdoor industry businessman (founded Patagonia). In 70+ now, as is Royal Robbins (former scout and alpine climber). Need expertise on equipment, hell National can't bring to market a decent scout shirt!

 

Jamie Foxx - former boy scout, athlete, actor, musician, comedian. Scouting could use more creativity.

 

Many more candidates are out there.

 

We need National leaders in the forefront who can say without a script, this is how scouting helped me and others then and now, this is how scouting can help you and other today and tomorrow. Straight-shooting, no BS talk.

 

My $0.02

 

 

[desertrat77]

Schiff, an awesome slate of nominees!

 

Mike Rowe building a BSA team of spokesmen/women like that? Quite exciting to think about.

[Scoutfish]

I was in the shower today when I remembered something I posted to a NASCAR website. Different site, but same point and it applies here just the same:

 

Statistics and numbers do not lie - but they don't tell the whole truth either.

 

In the NASCAR discussion, we were talking about how many people look at a driver's skil based on where he is in the points standings.

 

The problem is, the points are assigned at the ned of the race based entirely on how you finished the race. The exception being bonus points fro leading a lap and for leading the most laps.

 

So, lets say a race of 500 laps starts. A driver just mashes the gas, gets a great start and jumops out ahead of everybody. He gets a great enough lead that he keeps the lead the entire race ..even after pit stops and caution flags.

 

Yet on the next to the last lap, he blows a tire, spins out and totals his car.

 

The final talley: He comes in last place and gets the least amount of awarded points plus 5 bonus points for leading a lap and 5 more for leading the most laps..yet, still comes in as 3 lowest point position for that day.

 

As far as the numbers are concerned...he is the 41st worst driver. The stats do not say he was dominating the entire race and kicking butt and only knocked out by a flat tire...which is entirely not of his own doing. Totally out of his control.

 

So..technically, the numbers are correct, but the numbers are not telling the whole story or the whole truth.

 

Granted, BSA is not NASCAR, but BSA is still using stats. They may not lie, but they may be holding back very important info that nobody at BSA knows.

[BadenP]

I agree with what j hankins said earlier about Mazzuca setting himself up as Chief Scout and having thre ACSE's to do the work he should be doing himself. The BSA really does need an easily recognizable celebrity to bring scouting to the forefront and develop the BSA image as something that is positive and popular and fun.

 

Mike and Bear would be good candidates or maybe a sports star or movie star who was a scout as a kid. With the right kind of marketing I bet we would see a significant rise in numbers.

[sherminator505]

I wonder if we shouldn't be looking at this less as marketing and more as messaging. Consider Norman Rockwell. He didn't just present "images representing Scouts." He conveyed the feeling of adventure, the sense of values, and the sharpness of Scouting. Compare that to the imagery that accompanies our current literature. By comparison it is flat and contrived, and is reminiscient of snapshots from scoutshop.org, or the old Supply Service catalog.

 

It shouldn't be about what we're selling. It should be about what we are presenting to the youth of America.

[OldGreyEagle]

Lets not forget there is a BSA Indy racing car running around tracks this year. Yes, would have been better if it was on the NASCAR, but it is something. And no, it didnt cost the BSA anything

 

I have to do this least someone not of our own comes in, sees the error and then castigates everyone for a simple error.

 

There is no such thing as the GSA, not that I know of leastwise.

 

There is the GSUSA, which is the acronym of the Girl Scouts of the USA

 

 

[BadenP]

sherm

 

While I agree with you without a solid marketing plan in place to show off how fun scouting can be you will never get your message off the ground, the two are interlinked.

[CalicoPenn]

I think the problem is that we're all trying to find that one big thing to point the finger of blame at, and it just doesn't exist. Any declines in membership should be likened to a death by a thousand papercuts, rather than a single traumatic event.

 

In the 70's, the BSA started seeing a decline in membership and many were quick to blame the changes in the program while ignoring such things as a decline in birth numbers in the mid-60's and a very real change in the way American's thought of the military after the Vietnam War (and true or not - let's not argue that point - the American Public has always had an image of the BSA as a junior military style organization). There were plenty of other issues at play as well.

 

The membership of the BSA has risen and fallen since - it appears to be a cyclical pattern, but no one has come up with any reason why the membership numbers are cycling the way they are. If there was a single explanation, it should be apparent. I'm guessing that there are a number of factors involved at any one time. Society is changing all the time - the traditional is being looked on as the moribund - the radical is being looked on as traditional - the off the wall is being looked on as radical - the just plain nuts is being looked on as off the wall. Who could have predicted in the 1970's that 5 year olds would be carrying phones to school? Anyone who said that back then would have been figuratively patted on the head and told they had an active imagination.

 

As for Scouts Canada - again, we're quick to point to external policies such as going co-ed and then trying to use the data we know to bolster our case, yet there is no definitive proof that Scouts Canada membership numbers dropped because of going co-ed. Some have suggested the real issue is a problem of membership retention - that Scouts in Canada stay for an average of one year, and that affects recruitment. Some suggest that the number of small units in Canada have a major impact - if you have a unit of 11 people with one dedicated leader and that leader moves to a new job, etc., what happens to those 11 Scouts? They're likely out of the program. We also have to consider that Canada has a separate, though affiliated, French-speaking Scout association. Like in the US, there may be a number of different reasons - and there is no single smoking gun. Trying to compare Canadian numbers to US numbers is folly anyways. The entirety of Prince Edward Island has less Scouts than a good size District in a good size Council in the US. As for the BP Scouts - there may have been a vocal group of folks that left Scouts Canada for BP Scouts but the BP Service Association (they can't use the Scout's name) has only 13 units nationwide - being generous and saying they each have 100 members, that's only 1,300 members - that doesn't explain a drop from over 200,000 to under 100,000.

 

I know some are calling for Mazzuca's head for making the statements he has made, but I think that is short-sighted. I've mentioned many times that for the BSA to survive in the long-term, it has to take into account what's happening on a societal basis and adjust as needed to remain relevant. Society is changing - and the Boy Scouts of America is not anchor enough to stop it and not tiller enough to change the course. It's time to stop resisting and time to start going with the flow.

[sherminator505]

I agree that marketing is important; I also believe that how the BSA markets itself is at least as important as the act itself, as it contributes to the ethos of Scouting.

 

How does our nation see us right now? What comes to mind when the average American thinks of Scouting? Does anyone outside the Scouting loop know who Anthony Thomas is? Are we going to see news reports later this month about our National Jamboree? Are the news outlets going to follow the piece with a story about the Cradle of Liberty and/or Oregon lawsuits out of some distorted sense of "fairness?" I sincerely hope Mr. Mazzuca is paying attention to this stuff, but somehow I doubt it.

 

I think we have a long row to hoe not only in advertizing program but in the image we present.

[Horizon]

Celebrity Spokesmen could be very helpful for Scouting. The NRA has used Charlton Heston and now Tom Selleck to help sell their brand, and we could benefit from the same.

 

The second issue to pursue is get Scouts into the public eye. We had the local paper at our Memorial day activities, and it made for a nice photo story. My next thought is to get one of the reporters signed up as an adult volunteer with our Venture Crew and start taking them on our backpacking trips in the local area.

 

For a really good marketing program, the Sea Scouts did a "What did you do this weekend" video competition of some sort. These were GREAT, and used a lot of footage from the Ancient Mariner Regatta among other things. The videos were put up on YouTube. I could see a similar video contest for the Boy Scouts working well with the You Tube generation.