Real Membership Numbers

[Twocubdad]

As many troops do, the front wall of our Scout House has a series of plaques with the names of all the current troop member listed by rank. This was something I started not long after becoming Scoutmaster. Whenever a Scout leaves the troop, we toss his name plaque in a box. Packing for camp next week, I came across the box and rummaged through it. Using the stack of old plaques, I developed some interesting statistics (and keep in mind this system isnt 100% foolproof):

 

There have been 134 Scouts in the troop in the since we began use the plaques

 

60 current members.

 

26 dropped out after being in the troop a reasonable length of time and give the program a legitimate chance. These are the guys who moved on to sports, band, girls, or just lost interest. Everyone has a different story. Some I wish I could have kept, for some Scouting just wasn't going to be their thing.

 

15 dropped out without giving the program a legitimate chance IMHO. Half are boys who were Web2s and whose parents completed applications and maybe paid dues but never actually attended a single troop meeting (which tells me our dues are too low.) Three were experiments in which the boy had already decided he didnt want to join he troop but their parent convinced him to give it a try. Only two stayed long enough to attend summer camp (4 months).

 

15 made Eagle and remained relative active until aging out

 

6 left because their family moved out of town

 

5 transferred to other units (and three of those have made Eagle)

 

5 left due to disciplinary reasons. Only one was removed from the troop. The others read the writing on the wall.

 

2 aged out as Life Scouts -- the rarest of them all!

 

Conclusions? Hmmmm. Did I mention I dropped Statistics after two weeks? Its hard to know what to count, but it looks like our retention rate is in the low-to-mid 60% range. Do the boys who never really joined count? How about boys who moved or transferred? Ive always said I could improve our retention rate tremendously if we waited three months to turn in new Scout applications.

 

On the other hand, were producing Eagles at three times the national average. Not bad for a troop with a Scoutmaster who ignores advancement policy, adds to the requirements and works to keep the Eagle numbers low.

 

No real point to be made -- honestly, it's still a bit of a chin-scratcher -- but an interesting snapshot I thought I'd share.

[Basementdweller]

Hey could you post or link to a picture of that scout plaque?????

 

Sounds like a great idea.

 

 

[Twocubdad]

Ummmm, maybe I can send you a PM. Posting a photo with the troop number, town, first and last names and ranks of every guy in the troop probably isn't a good idea.

 

But next week. Loading for camp this afternoon, leaving in the morning.