The Southern Crescent District is in the Atlanta Area Council, serving Scouts, Leaders and Parents in Clayton County and South Fulton County. See the BeAScout website for location and contact information for Cub Scout Packs (Kindergarten through 5th Grade are Cub Scouts), Scouts BSA Troops (end of 5th Grade to age 18), and Venturing Crews.
Cub Scouting is Fun, especially when it is fun in the outdoors with family and friends. Cub Scouting’s outdoor fun is needed by youth and families now more than ever. To build that fun, we’ve got tips about successful and sustainable recruiting of families into your Packs and Dens. Recruiting Step Number One is to develop your Calendar of Fun Activities – a program filled with activities that Scouts and parents want to attend, have a great time, and pick up the character-building that lasts a lifetime.
We’ve got ideas about how to build your Pack Program of activities at www.atlantabsa.org/cubcalendarplanning and in the 2024 YouTube about Building Your Best Year in Cub Scouting (a resource page for that video program is found here) – and more in this portal page to hundreds of Fun, Simple, Easy activities for Cub Scouts. Planning can happen in groups large and small, in front yards and on local park trails, at the swimming pool or the bar b que grill – so invite your families to gather, do things, have fun and share ideas for your best year ever.
Once you’ve drawn a Calendar of Fun Activities – jump to Recruiting Step Two: Promote Your Pack Program. The Perfect Pack Program is wasted if your Pack families don’t know the plan or if new families don’t hear about your Plan – and even a “pretty good” plan (like maybe just projecting key activities through the end of the calendar year) is excellent if your families get excited about it. Here’s the Who/What/When/Where/Why about your Pack Program Promotion:
Who Can Promote? Anyone in your Pack Community. Not just Leaders – Leaders should empower Parents to Promote to their friends and fellow parents at school. Kids can call kids. Peer to Peer is the most successful way to recruit – both Parent to Parent and Kid to Kid.
What Can You Use / How Can You Promote? For sure, use BeAScout, plus write up your Pack Program (and other relevant information like calendar and contacts and dues and other Pack policies) in a website or flyer handout you can share easily – maybe have one as your “pack packet” of key information and how to join. Don’t forget pictures and video of your Scouts and Families. Share using methods that work for you, from Facebook to Instagram to Pinterest to emails to websites to local news to U.S. Mail to websites to whatever your families use. A “one page” (two sided) flyer with photos, key dates, contact information and a QR Code/link to your Pack website is a key piece you want to share widely at any time and in many places.
When Can You Promote? For best results, when you have some Pack Program Plan that lets people know what they will do when they can join. And any time you have updates to the plan, winter, spring, summer or fall. Or just to remind of “what’s next” in the next month or two or three.
Where Can You Promote? Neighborhood, Church, School, Community, Restaurants, Stores, Places Kids and Parents Go, Den and Pack Activities, Social Media – and use whatever methods available to share information: website blurbs, flyer handouts, bulletin boards. Got families that like Scouting? Encourage them to promote on social media.
Why Promote Now? When you have a Pack Program Plan, share it! No need to wait until school starts back up, because families can join now (easier if you use BeAScout and Online Registration). If you have a fun, simple, easy and laid-back set of summer activities – like swimming, fishing, hiking, biking, parading, picnicking, games, cookouts, s’mores and more – you can invite families to join you at any and all of these events before the rush of a new program year.
While the "Scouting America" news is getting much coverage and is the lede for the media, also noted at the National Annual Meeting (NAM) on May 7 in Orlando is the announcement of a mixed troop pilot program (that is, mixed gender troop) within the Scouts BSA program. Attendees report that this announcement was made a few minutes before the name change announcement during the general assembly meeting of NAM.
Julie Dalton, National Venturing Chair, posted on Facebook that "An announcement was made today during the BSA National Annual Meeting regarding Scouts BSA. The BSA has received feedback through member surveys, councils, and other sources that have encouraged a third option be made available to serve youth and their families interested in Scouting. This option would be a “combined troop” option to help serve all youth and families that wish to participate in Scouting guided by the Scout Oath and Law. The National Executive Committee (NEC) has authorized the Scouts BSA Committee to conduct a limited pilot from September 1, 2024, through July 2025. The Scouts BSA Committee will collect feedback from participants and make a recommendation based on the data on the program to the NEC in 2025."
Mike Matzinger, Vice Chair of the Scouting Alumni Association, also posted that "The Boy Scouts of America National Annual Meeting opened this morning, announcing the first of a series of historic changes. In the afternoon, more history was made when a founding member and current assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 219 (Oak Ridge, NC), Selby Chipman, became the first female Eagle Scout to deliver a keynote address during a BSA annual meeting -- here is an interview done with Selby immediately afterwards. Selby shared her experiences as a Scout and as a member of Troop 219, in particular, to make the case that Scouting is for all. And, for that to become a reality, change is required. The following is a portion of her speech that speaks to change:
‘Our Groundbreaker patrol believed the sky was the limit. We thought it would be easy to get moving. Everyone would be so excited to support us. After all… my brother’s troop celebrated us in a ceremony that included us in a slideshow about important women in history. In reality….we caused a bit of a stir. Especially among people firmly rooted in scouting’s all-male tradition.
Change can be hard…especially changing course of a hundred-year-old scouting tradition…that’s been heading in one direction for so long. While some girls…who joined Boys Scouts in those early days…may have second guessed themselves or caved into the naysayers…our troop’s founders believed history has taught us valuable lessons.
When you are among the first, there are challenges for sure….but you also have an opportunity to heed the call. We groundbreakers decided to dig in…and lead by example. We would undertake every requirement toward our journey to Eagle knowing we were leading the way as trailblazers.”
Mike added: "Today, a new opportunity beckons, a call to step up and lead as trailblazers. Will you join me in shaping the future of Scouting, in making it truly inclusive and diverse?"
From a Press Release as announced at the National Annual Meeting of our program:
IRVING, Tex. (May 7, 2024) – The Boy Scouts of America today announced that it will rebrand to Scouting America, reflecting the organization’s ongoing commitment to welcome every youth and family in America to experience the benefits of Scouting. The change will go into effect on February 8, 2025, the organization’s 115th anniversary.
This announcement also comes as the organization celebrates the fifth anniversary of welcoming girls into Cub Scouting and Scouts BSA programs. Scouting America currently serves more than 176,000 girls and young women across all programs, including over 6,000 who have earned the rank of Eagle Scout.
“Though our name will be new, our mission remains unchanged: we are committed to teaching young people to be Prepared. For Life,” said Roger A. Krone, president and chief executive officer of Scouting America. “This will be a simple but very important evolution as we seek to ensure that everyone feels welcome in Scouting.”
New Handbooks are evidently appearing in Scout Shops and at scoutshop.org (beware - they are still selling the Handbooks that will be out of date.)
Things you Might do if you want:
Buy and browse one or more of the New Handbooks. (The "Adventure Resource" QR Codes and Links evidently don't go "live" until June 1.) They are available at the Atlanta Scout Shop and online.
For more detail, a volunteer from New York has posted at the Cub Scout Volunteers Facebook page a "by category" list of the Requirements for the various Adventures. See the attached PDF if you are interested.
This doesn't take effect until the new "program year", which for most everyone except the overly ambitious (lighten up!) is the start of the School Year. So even though "June 1" is the "start date", summer is still a time to "finish up under the old program", plus (again, lighten up!), Summer should be a time for pure fun activities. Spring too!
Things You Should NOT Do Related To This:
Don't "over-stock" loops and pins and Handbooks, because the Handbooks will change for sure, and many -- maybe all -- of the loops and pins will change next year for the 2024-25 School Year/Program Year.
Don't expect to see any "Den Leader Guides" ... evidently, those will be completely online, Adventure by Adventure, through QR codes that are printed in each Handbook (but that don't go "live" until June 1).
Don't "hand down" your 2023 "Rank Meeting Plans" to next year's den leaders ... the Advancement Plan for the 2024-25 School Year/Program Year will be significantly different.
The Southern Crescent District is in the Atlanta Area Council, serving Scouts, Leaders and Parents in Clayton County and South Fulton County. See the BeAScout website for location and contact information for Cub Scout Packs (Kindergarten through 5th Grade are Cub Scouts), Scouts BSA Troops (end of 5th Grade to age 18), and Venturing Crews. 
