Be A Scout

[Scoutfish]

Do any of you use the be a scout web search that BSA provides?

 

I have been thinking about why we do so much better during roundups and sign ups that the other local packs.

 

Maybe we are goofier? Maybe we have a better program? MMaybe kids or parents just like us more?

 

I mean, during school signup nights, I do act a little different than the other CubMasters in that I talk to the boys and let the parents listen in instead of talking to the parents and letting the boys listen in like the other leaders do.

 

I also act a bit more goofy and I walk around and ask questions while the other leaders tend to sit at a table and wait for people to sign up.

 

BUt then we have parents who avoid the school sign up and come straight to our pack. Some are word oif mouth because of friends ands neighbors. Others ...well...I don't know why.

 

But then I thought about the Be A Scout search.

I typed in my area code ( 28443 if you want to try it) and I noticed that under my packs listing,it lists my CO's address, my name listed as contact and a link to e-mail me in the same manner that scouter,com lets you send messages, and we also have a link to our website.

 

But all the other local units list Cape fear Council as an address and scouting.org as contact info.

 

Makes you wonder in this day and age of people looking things up on their own- how many people might have joined or sealed their decidion because of this?

 

So, what are your experiences with this?

Does the Be a scout help your unit or do you even know?

 

[sailingpj]

That ties in with what my mom started saying years ago, if you aren't on the internet you don't exist.

 

I know that I joined the ships I've been a part of because of their internet presence. If they didn't have a website with pictures of scouts having fun, a calender, and contact information, I didn't contact them.

[Basementdweller]

scoutfish.

 

You can edit your pin information by going to myscouting, left side of the screen under unit tools you will see "be a Scout" you can change your contact info, picture and such.

 

a year ago we got 3 contacts and one recruit. Nothing since. I think it is too cumbersome to request info. try putting in your own info and see what happens.

[Scoutfish]

Nah,. I don't need to edit my pin...I did that when it came out.

 

Our pin lists my name and does have me as a contact. It just doesn't give my e-mail adress when people opt to contact me. Kinda like messages in this site. It sends it to me, it just doesn't give you mt e-mail address when it does.

 

My unit lists it address and website.

 

It's the other 3 local units that have a generic pin that lists our council as info and adress and has bsa.org as a contact.

 

JUst wondering if this gives us an advantge even though I have onbly had one or two e-maiuls from it.

 

 

I wonder if people choose us because they can actually read about or see our pack instead of just default BSA or council info.

[Scoutfish]

Oh....after these past two weeks.....I'd trade my cell phone for a goat if I could. It has rung off the hgook and I have been charging it at least 2 or 3 times a day.

 

Of course, that is pretty much over until roundup next year.

 

[OwntheNight]

I have ours set up the same way you do. Our CO address, my name, our pack website, my contact info. When I set ours up, I checked around to find a lot of other packs are being directed to the council and the generic info on the site or they have bare bones information or because they are a " Parents of Pack xxx" they have a residential address listed . I even added on ours a personal note that we have been serving the boys of x,y, and z schools for over 30 years in hopes that somebody might think, gee a pack that's been around for 30 years? Maybe we should check it out. I've even updated our district website that lists all the units with my name, contact info, and link to our website. Have I gotten a hit from it? Nope, not a one, but I still keep up with it in case I do get that one. I've actually gotten more hits from our website than the Be a Scout site.

 

Our big problem is, we may have those three schools as our designated schools. Half of our boys attend those schools, the other half go to other schools and we can't recruit there as a pack since their designated for other units. Our boys are constantly working their friends to come visit us, but it's usually one to three boys trying to sell the program to all the boys, not good odds.

 

I've asked our district why they don't do a Roundup type activity with all the Packs present, kind of a Meet the Pack night. They do a Meet the Troop for the Webelos to go to one location and talk to all the Troops. The answer I get, is the district is to large and to spread out to be able to coordinate it effectively. Their solution, let's break up the district into 4 new districts in January (that's for another thread...)If I could get that kind of exposure, I could sell the program to the parents.

 

From your previous posts, you are working the room and selling the program to the boys, parents see that. They also see the organization and effort you put into it. that helps.

I envy your position of growth, it's a good problem to have.Keep up the great work, and share those secrets with us about bringing more boys into the pack.

[Scoutfish]

OwntheNight,

 

" serving the boys of x,y, and z schools for over 30 years "

 

WOW! That's a GREAT idea! I put in something along the lines of saying that even though we were chartered to a United Methodist Church, we were a non denominational pack.

 

 

I am glad we have the growth as it shows we must be doing something right, but I hope we don't outgrow what we are able to do and handle.

 

So...do you own a tutu by any chance?

 

 

[OwntheNight]

Fish,

 

I'm thinking about it!!! I'm all for self depreciating humor if it helps. I've offered to have the boys let the boys use the washable spray paint to color my hair for popcorn sales.

 

I might have to throw that out there, for adding boys, I'll wear the tutu!

[Scoutfish]

The scouts had a blast when I did it ......and as far as I know, the scouts have all finished their therapy and the 3 lawsuits have been dropped!

(This message has been edited by scoutfish)

[skeptic]

Yep, I have had a couple of contacts from the site. I went in and fixed it to come to me, gave our troop site, and so on. We need everything we can, as we are the smallest troop, as well as oldest in the city. Where once we "were" the unit to come to, now we are on the "wrong end" of town, so to speak, and they tend to go to the other end where all the other units are. Have put out the info on how to edit the site, but we are still the only Boy Scout unit to have done it. Fine with me, even if it only gets a few to us. I have my troop email, and so I get the direct contact.

 

Now I have to get the pack we are working on to get signed up. Like the idea of schools served; will work with them to do that. We are merging our almost defunct pack with another small one that started meeting at our church after they lost their meeting site. We have convinced them to come to our church as sponsor, and simply choose one or the other number, since they are meeting together now.

[Austinole]

Our pack is listed in the same location as 3 other packs. None of which are in the location the pin is at.

[The Blancmange]

>>>>Our pack is listed in the same location as 3 other packs. None of which are in the location the pin is at.

[SeattlePioneer]

The idea of listing schools you recruit from is an interesting idea. The only trouble is that my pack can recruit from about eight different near by schools.

 

We're chartered by a Catholic Church, but only a few pack members are church members and anyone is welcome. I ten to say that the pack meets at the church to be inclusive, but there's probably a better way of doing that.

 

 

I spent a good deal of time designing the pack pin, and it's the best I've seen (in my opinion) when I cruised the BeAScout.Org website.

 

Take a look ---- zip code 98116 look for pack 240.

 

Any suggestions welcome....

 

 

[Scoutfish]

"Our pack is listed in the same location as 3 other packs. None of which are in the location the pin is at "

 

You need to add more info for your packs address. Ours used to be shown about 3 miles away from wher our pack really was and on a completely different hiway.

 

Problem was our pack's location was listed as Hampstead, NC...not as 12345 Hiway 17 N. Hampstead, NC, 28443.

 

AS soon as I listed a numerical adress with actual street - our pin moved to where it was supposed to be.

 

[sheilab]

Our troop just signed up for Be A Scout and we are having problems with getting the correct unit website to show. I copied and pasted our website in this place but it always reverts back to the council office. Anyone else have this problem?