ADVISER S GUIDE TO ADVISING THE CAMPING PROMOTION CHAIRMAN

Transcription

1 ADVISER S GUIDE TO ADVISING THE CAMPING PROMOTION CHAIRMAN Preparation The purpose of this outline is to provide a method for advising the camping promotion committee chairman and related lodge leaders who administer camping promotion on:! Their goals and how to achieve them;! The role of camping promotion in fulfilling the purpose of the Order;! The status of camping and camping promotion in the council! The materials used in camping promotion! Working with the council. This session should be conducted after the Lodge Leadership Development event. Obtain and review copies of all of the following material:! Current printing of the Order of the Arrow Handbook and the Guide for! Officers and Advisers! Final camp report for previous summer listing units and number of boys in! attendance.! Previous year's camping promotion committee report.! Current lodge budget and Treasurer's report.! Final Treasurer's report from previous year.! Previous Year's Quality Lodge Results! Current Quality Lodge Results! Goodman Camping Award Application.! Listing of units presently signed up for summer camp.! Lodge roster sorted by unit.! All council Scout camping promotion materials.! All council Cub camping promotion materials.! All council High Adventure promotion materials.! All council year around (weekend) camping promotion materials.! The lodge where to go camping booklet.! All lodge camping promotion materials.! The council's camping promotion plans.! Incentives used to sign up for and pay fees early for camp.! Incentives used to encourage Arrowmen to promote camping in their own troop.! An organization chart for the council camping committee.! A council calendar for the next year.! Previous issues of lodge and council bulletins containing camping promotion material.! Review the material in the Order of the Arrow Handbook on camping promotion especially that deal with the role of the Arrowman in his troop. Ask group to study the Order of the Arrow Handbook before the session. Order of the Arrow 1 Boy Scouts of America

2 ADVISER PREPARATION Adviser s Note: This outline refers to the council camping committee. Some councils use various optional organization plans. Further, Cub camping may not be under the camping committee. Substitute the structure your council uses in this discussion. It is very easy to get side tracked from the main goal - more Scouts camping. Not every committee chairman needs to develop new programs, revise the where to go booklet, create a new slide show etc. Every chairman does need to: encourage all Arrowmen to promote camping in their own troop and build a team to promote camping in troops without Arrowmen. Cub camping does not have the long tradition that Boy Scout camping has. There is a wide diversity in how councils are promoting and doing it. The very structure of Cub Scouting (turn over of adult leadership compared to Scout troops) means that, on the average, Cub Scouters do not get the experience in camping nor have the commitment to camp that Boy Scouters do. If the lodge does not already have a role in Cub camping promotion, it needs to develop one under the guidance of the council camping (or Boy Scouting) committee. Be sure that you are satisfied with your present Scout camp efforts before assuming new responsibilities. Be sure that you can really recruit the needed personnel before making new commitments. Look for ways to help in Cub camping promotion which are not personnel intensive. The most effective youth promoter of camp is a satisfied member of the troop. Next most effective is a youth staff member who was very visible the previous summer and who learned everyone's name. Imagine the impact when one of the heroes from the water front arrives, greets the Senior Patrol Leader by name, and inquires after the Scouts from last summer's life saving class! If you have a lodge representative at summer camp, he can perform many things which promote camping directly: talk about camping promotion with each member, hold a member's only meeting, provide recognition for camping promotion at the closing campfire, etc. One very valuable service would be to gather statistical data. What is the age of the campers? What is the rank of the campers? Why did they come to camp? How many are first year Scout campers? How many had previous years in Cub Camp? How many had previously attended a Scout camp and which camps? How many saw council camping promotion material? What convinced them to come to camp? With the answers to these questions the lodge can focus its efforts in future years where they will do the most good. The majority of summer campers are in Scout summer camp for the first time. Typically, a Scout graduates from a Webelos den and joins a troop in the spring. He goes to camp that summer. Probably more than half of the incoming Webelos are going to camp. However, less than half of the Scouts are coming back for additional years in most councils. This is where your lodge can make a difference. Consider many ways of encouraging Scouts to come back for additional years. (Don't gripe about the absence of programs for older Scouts. If nothing else, their program is giving leadership to the younger Scouts!) Look for and sell the benefits of returning a second year. Look for ways Arrowmen can improve the programs in their own troops so Scouts are around for a second year of camping. Encourage Arrowmen to understand the need for camping traditions in their own troops (see the Handbook.). Another important service that the committee can perform is to provide an outlet for the energies of adult Arrowmen who no longer have a Scouting job that uses them to their fullest. Promoting camping is an excellent use of their energies. Order of the Arrow 2 Boy Scouts of America

3 ADVISING METHODS 1. Review lodge leader's motivation for accepting job. Ask 'Why did you accept the job of Camping Promotions Chairman? What do you hope to accomplish? How do you expect to do this? 2. Snap oral quiz - determine how much the lodge leader knows about A. The total council camping program including Cub Camping B. The facts of summer camping - dates, fees, locations, program etc. (Some lodge leaders may never have gone to summer camp at the council camps.) 3. Develop fundamentals of camping promotion. A. Ask: 'What would two more Scouts from your troop in camp next summer mean to the troop?' Develop a long list of benefits. B. Ask: 'What does the Order of the Arrow expect of its members as described in the Handbook?' Most important promotion is what an Arrowman does in his own troop. Camp attendance averages about 50 percent nationally. Average troop size is a little under 20 members. If every Arrowman and his best buddy come back to camp another summer we raise camp attendance by about 20 percent! Consider ways for the lodge to encourage this. C. Ask: 'What programs do we have which encourage an Arrowman to do this? What tool's do we provide besides the Handbook? Do we ever discourage this by sending contrary signals?' Consider use of lodge bulletin, training at lodge and chapter events, incentive programs, etc. D. Adults promote camping to adults; youth promote camping to youth. i. Council and district camping committees get units signed up for camp and ensure that they have trained leadership recruited. Adult Arrowmen who want to promote camping should be a member of their district camping committee. Ask: 'What encouragement and incentives do we give our adult members to work with their district camping committees?' ii. Youth Arrowmen sell camping in troops where there are no Arrowmen. Ask: 'What do we do to encourage Arrowmen to participate on the camping promotions team?' 4. Review status of camping in council. A. Past summer B. Next summer C. On/off council D. Determine which non-camping troops have Arrowmen in them E. Determine which camping troops don't have Arrowmen in them 5. Review the status of camping promotion in the council. A. Existing camping promotion materials B. Existing camping promotion plans and methods. C. Organization of the council camping committee. 6. Review other methods for camping promotion A. Lodge bulletin B. Council bulletin C. Exhibits at council and district events D. Special events for camping promotion E. Participation in training events Order of the Arrow 3 Boy Scouts of America

4 7. Review status of lodge in camping promotion A. Previous year's report B. Previous and current Lodge Achievement Program C. Goodman Camping Award application 8. Review the lodge structure for camping promotion. A. Camping promotion committee membership (those who make the decisions and do the staff work) B. Camping promotion team membership (those who make unit visits, etc) C. Chapter responsibilities in camping promotion 9. Review procedures of working with lodge and council A. Relation to other parts of lodge structure B. Budget and financial C. Use of equipment and facilities D. Contacts with professional staff and rangers E. Calendar planning F. Recruiting manpower 10. Set tentative committee goals A. Review the goals of the key three and council camping committee, if any B. Every Arrowman a Camp Promoter in his own troop C. Every camper back for a second year D. Scout summer camp E. Cub camping F. Weekend camping G. High adventure H. Lodge supplied materials i. Audiovisuals - slide show or video tape ii. Where to go booklet iii. Lodge and council bulletin articles 11. Develop strategy for achieving goals A. Recruiting and training additional committee members (Arrowmen to help do the staff work - not do actual promotion) B. Developing final goals and plans including budget and calendar C. Securing approval of goals and plans including budget and calendar D. Implementation of the plan e. Recognitions and reports APPENDIX: ADVISING THE CAMPING PROMOTIONS TEAM Preparation: The purpose of this outline is to provide a method for coaching camping promotion teams in the skills they need to properly conduct unit visitations. There is another session for lodge leaders who administer the camping promotion function. List all of the knowledge, skills and attitudes that a camping promotion team member requires. Use the Lodge Leader Personal Guidebook as a reference. Complete this outline with the details of your lodge camping promotion plan. Order of the Arrow 4 Boy Scouts of America

5 Schedule a date, time, and place convenient to the trainer, the chairman (if he is not the trainer), the adviser, and the team members. Arrange for the committee adviser to be present. Send invitations to all members of the camping promotion team at least thirty days before training session. Include date, time, location, what to bring, cost, if any, contact phone number for questions. Include the Lodge Leader Personal Guidebook and suggested list of sections to read. If possible, follow up with phone contacts the week before. Obtain and review copies of all of the following material as appropriate to the goals of the training session:! All council Scout camping promotion materials.! All council Cub camping promotion materials.! All council High Adventure promotion materials.! All council year around (weekend) camping promotion materials! The lodge where to go camping booklet.! All lodge camping promotion materials.! Campmaster schedule and program (if used by the council.)! Incentives used to sign up for and pay fees early for camp if used by the council.! Incentives used to encourage Arrowmen to promote camping in their own troop. Reserve and pick up any audio-visual materials required. Make sure that all the equipment works. Have extra bulbs, extension cords, etc. Arrange for light refreshments. Review the material in the Order of the Arrow Handbook and the Guide for Officers and Advisers on camping promotion especially that in the Handbook dealing with the role of the Arrowman in his troop. Ask team members to study the Order of the Arrow Handbook before the coaching session. ADVISING METHODS 1. Open the meeting with the Obligation. Set the example with a perfect Scout Sign. 2. Using the 'MT Pause Method' ask 'why are you here?' Get team members to discuss what they hope to accomplish personally and as a team. 3. Review the lodge camping promotion plan as it applies to this team. A. First, emphasize members selling in their own units. B. Youth sell youth, adults sell adults. The job of this team is to sell more youth on going to camp; to prepare them better for the camp experience; to answer potential campers' questions and allay their fears. C. We start summer camp promotion in September. The earlier a Scout is committed to go to camp (and starts paying for it), the more likely he is to attend. 4. Review good sales techniques. A. Sell benefits not features B. Be a good listener C. Supply information to answer questions 5. Review the facts about camp. A. Benefits of attending camp. Its fun! B. Program highlights C. Fees D. Requirements (medical form, etc) E. Location F. Practices ensuring a safe and healthy experience. Order of the Arrow 5 Boy Scouts of America

6 6. Review the mechanics of the unit contact. A. How a unit leader is contacted and an appointment made. B. How a team member learns of an appointment. C. Confirmation of the appointment with the unit leader. i. Date, time and directions to meeting place. ii. Review good phone techniques. (Check with your local telephone company for materials and techniques to support this review.) iii. Use role playing to practice the unit leader contact. D. Reservation and pickup of equipment, flyers etc. E. Arranging transportation. F. Follow up report. Number of scouts, leaders and parents present. What was done. What problems were encountered. How many additional commitments to attend camp. 7. Review the mechanics of the unit visit. A. Put on a neat, clean uniform and a smile. B. Arrive with plenty of time to set up. C. Introduce yourself to the unit leader. D. Set up as quietly as possible. E. Complete your presentation within the time limit allowed. F. With unit leader's permission, remain to answer questions after the meeting. G. Avoid smoking and any other un-scout like behavior. 8. Demonstrate a unit visit. 9. Demonstrate the use of the equipment. Give everyone an opportunity to practice. 10. Review good public speaking techniques. Use role playing to give everyone an opportunity for a brief practice at introducing the presentation and at answering questions. 11. After fifty minutes take a break and serve refreshments. After another fifty minutes schedule another meeting to complete the practice and go home. 12. At the close of the meeting ask for an Adviser's Minute. (Use a success story.) Thank everyone for being present. Form circle and sing the Order of the Arrow Song. 13. After meeting, clean up, return equipment, send thank you notes. APPENDIX: SOURCE MATERIALS AND RESOURCES Order of the Arrow Handbook #34996C, Revised 2002* Guide for Officers and Advisers #34997B, Revised 2002* *Available from the BSA National Supply Division, must be ordered through your local council. Order of the Arrow 6 Boy Scouts of America