Over the past several years, the Mayflower Council has struggled to achieve measurable gains in many of the initiatives stated in our Long-Range Strategic Plan, which mirrors the four functions of Scouting: Membership; Program; Fundraising; and Unit Service. While some of the obstacles we faced were beyond our control, there were challenges that kept coming up that deserved more analysis.

After much consideration and input from staff members, our district and council leadership, best practices from other councils, and an honest assessment of where the Mayflower Council is today, I am pleased to share some changes to our staff structure that I am convinced will yield greater success in all areas of our council operations, the most significant of which is serving more young people with a high quality Scouting program.

As you all know, membership and units have been falling for many years. We have also struggled to raise the funds necessary to sustain our program and keep our camp properties in top condition. We have continued doing the same thing and expecting a different result. We all know that this isn’t a winning strategy and we are not alone in these struggles. Most councils across the country have had similar experiences, although there are some who have taken a new approach and are seeing some positive movement as a result.

I have compared best practices to the needs of the Mayflower Council and will incorporate some of these methods into a plan specifically designed to take advantage of our resources and strengthen our focus on the areas where we must improve.

While some councils have shifted completely to what they call a “Specialized” model, with staff focused on one function like: Membership development, New Unit development, Unit Service, Program, or Fundraising, I believe a hybrid model seems better suited to our needs where we have some staff focused on one specific function, while others oversee two functions.

We have established four teams and subject matter primary contacts to address specific Council needs: Membership and Unit Service will be one team; Development will be a team; another team will focus on Program; and the final team will handle the Administration process.

Our Membership and Unit Service team will be led by Rick Riopelle and there will be three District Executives assigned to work with our district committees and commissioner corps to focus specifically on membership and unit growth and serving our existing units. Marcella will serve as the support staff for this team, processing all membership and unit service requests. Jack Colamaria, Rob Hillman, and Ian Furst will provide the service in the field to our teams of volunteers.

Our Development team will be led by Jim Corcoran and we will have one Fundraising Executive assigned to this function. In addition, Carlene Covino will be supporting the Development team as they work on Friends of Scouting, Popcorn Sales, Special events, Foundations and Trusts, and seeking new opportunities to increase our direct support funding for Operating, Capital, and Endowment.

The Program team will be led by Hunter McCormick who joined our team on April 1st. He brings a wealth of experience, and a sales mentality to our council and district programs. Hunter will serve as our professional staff member with both Camp Rangers and Nora Scott providing support functions. Their focus will be increasing participation in our camp programs as well as our council and district activities.

I will lead the Administration team and will have Mary, Tyler Ericson, and Lisa supporting fiscal management and the systems and processes of council operations.

While each team will be focused on their specific assignments, they will not operate without interaction and cooperation with each of the other teams. To help volunteers and district leadership know who to contact when they need help, we have created a staff responsibility list with primary contacts available here.

I am looking forward to improved efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability with our new roles and am excited about this new opportunity and the teams we have in place to accomplish growth in each of these areas in the coming months and years.

Yours in Scouting,

Bryan Feather
Scout Executive / CEO

To sort list scroll to the bottom and select by responsibility, by team or by primary contact.

Thank you for your interest in attending Camp Squanto for the 2021 summer season. As you know, the process for determining our exact program continues to be a challenge as we strive to develop a great program, implement the reopening guidelines provided by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and keep all of our Scouts, leaders, and staff healthy and safe.

A new Position Manager tool, found on the Organization Manager page of My.Scouting, will be rolled out in the next few days. This new tool updates and replaces the current Organization Security Manager and gives any currently chartered unit the ability to change leader registrations without having to fill out applications and take them to the council service center.

Position Manager will allow Chartered Organization Representatives and their designees to change any leader positions, except the Chartered Organization Representative, with the drag of the mouse. It will require an overnight sync, and then the new leadership position will be updated in the unit.

The assignment of functional assignments like key 3 delegates and membership chair can be done in Position Manager, too. The below job aid will illustrate the new tool and its features.

Join Hundreds of Other Scouters at the Virtual Little Philmont 2021 Event and Get a Taste of the Philmont Experience

Friday, May 21 from 9pm-10:30pm EDT
Saturday, May 22 from 10:30-2pm EDT

Virtual Little Philmont 2021 provides a unique opportunity to hear from leading Scouters who continue to deliver high-quality programs for our youth. Several topics will be addressed with a variety of focused break-out sessions on subjects like recruiting, involving parents, leading a troop, helping Scouts stay engaged “after Eagle,” utilizing digital tools to reach your Scouting audience, and more. This exciting event can be a catalyst for increased knowledge and energy within the Latter-day Saint Scouting community.

We’ll open the event on Friday evening (May 21st) with a fireside chat with Rex Tillerson, former BSA National President, former U.S. Secretary of State and former Chairman/CEO of ExxonMobil.

We’ll continue the event on Saturday morning (May 22nd), addressing various topics necessary to continue Scouting with energy, increased knowledge, and enthusiasm. Come join us!

Chaplain Aide training will be offered to Scouts of ALL FAITHS on Sunday, May 2 from 1:00 – 5:00 PM at the Holy Name of Jesus House of Studies on 51 Illinois Court in Worcester. This in-person training is also open to adult Scouters on a space-available basis (Scouts have first call on space). The course, offered by the Diocesan Catholic Committee on Scouting (DCCS), will be conducted following all current COVID safety protocol, with masks required and temperature checks conducted. The course should be of interest to Scouts BSA troops who are interested in enhancing their use of this youth leadership position within their troop structure and will assist in strengthening the Duty to God component, which is crucial within the advancement and programming activities spelled out by the BSA in cooperation with local and national youth ministry leaders of all faiths. Please pre-register by sending an email to John Atlas, Chairman of the DCCS.

Congratulations to the nine recipients of the 2021 National Venturing Leadership Award.

Two of the 9 award recipients are from the Mayflower Council. We could not be more proud of your accomplishments.

Two shining examples of leadership.

Last week, we communicated that the Webelos uniform will undergo a rolling change for fourth and fifth grade Webelos (effective for the 2021-2022 Scouting year).

Please note the decision has been made to hold off on this planned change until further notice. Any updates (if any) to uniform requirements will be communicated in future newsletters.

The BSA offers numerous awards to recognize the accomplishments of Scouts and Scouters. Some are much better known than others. Some of the lesser known awards include:

Founders Bar: Worn by youth and adults who are founding members of a new unit.
National Den Award: Recognizes Cub Scout dens for having a quality, year-round program.
National Medal for Outdoor Achievement: Earned by members of Scouts BSA, Sea Scouting, and Venturing who excel in high-level outdoor activities. There are six areas of emphasis: camping, aquatics, hiking, riding, adventure, and conservation.
Spirit of the Eagle: An honorary posthumous award to recognize the contributions of a youth Scout who lost his or her life.

There was a recent purge of merit badge counselors from Scoutbook because many had not renewed their registration last year. With virtual merit badge events happening in the Mayflower Council, we are looking for volunteers who would be interested in renewing their counselor registration or becoming a new merit badge counselor. We do have plans to hold more virtual merit badge classes this year and need resources for class leads and assistants.

GETTING STARTED

First step for those who believe they are registered merit badge counselors, log into my.scouting or Scoutbook to confirm you are still registered for the badges you are willing to teach. If you were able to confirm, you do not need to continue with this application.

BECOME A NEW MERIT BADGE COUNSELOR

If you are a first-time counselor, or a former counselor no longer registered as a counselor, visit this site www.mayflowerbsa.org/merit-badge-counselors. You will need an adult application (yes, even if you are registered as a leader with a unit), CORI form, (you do not need a CORI form is you are currently registered in another Scouting position) and complete the online Merit Badge Counselor Information Form to apply for the badges you wish to teach. It will ask you for your qualifications for the badges and those are reviewed by the advancement committee for approval.

ADDING BADGES TO YOUR APPROVED LIST

If you confirmed that you are registered as a counselor but want to add more badges to your approved list, you can do so by completing the online Merit Badge Counselor Information Form.

If you no longer wish to be a merit badge counselor, you can use the online form and request to be removed.

WHILE YOU ARE WAITING FOR APPROVAL

We utilize Google Classroom for virtual merit badge sessions. We will set up the mayflowerbsa.org emails and classrooms as well as provide an orientation on the tools. If you don’t have experience using Google Classroom, we do recommend that you create your own account and practice using it to add students, assignments, document uploads, etc. Then you will be ready when we launch the next event.

Be sure to subscribe to Mayflower Today, our Mayflower Council Facebook page and visit our website for details as they become available.