Over the past several weeks, I have attended Investment in Character & Leadership (ICL) events in Bozeman, Missoula, and Great Falls. It is a busy time of year and so critically important. It’s refreshing to see many local community leaders investing in what we do. I believe they do it for two reasons:
- Someone they know and respect has asked them to help.
- They strongly believe in what Scouting is, what we do, and the impact that we have on the youth in our communities.
And boy did it work! We have raised over half the dollars needed to support our districts to date. That, combined with strong follow-up, should put us in a good place to generate the time and effort it takes to build the organization moving forward. We owe a debt of gratitude to all those who helped us get to this place early in the year.
More than the financial win, there is a significant win in that more people know what is going on in Scouting and that Scouting is still alive and well. I also believe these events provide opportunities to find people willing to help in other ways.
Lastly, it is an opportunity to recruit members too. “If you know a young person who should be involved, let us know.” This is important. We must continue to push and grow the organization. Many of our problems are solved with more people in the mix.
Quality is often defined as the standard of something as measured against things of a similar kind. Keeping this in mind, I compare Scouting in Montana Council to other youth programs and to where we are and where we have been.
We are doing good in Montana, but I want us to do great. That means more kids, more volunteers, more donors, safer programs, and best-in-class programs.
Knowing that we are building is what motivates me every day. We can be proud of two consecutive years of membership growth, better facilities, better staffing, better training, and, yes, a much safer program. We can not, however, stand idly by. We must continue to make our mark on this point in history where we make the organization great again.
As always, you all have my appreciation for what you do in Scouting! Thank you for taking the time to read this note. And again, thank you so much for your time, energy, and dedication to Scouting!
Sincerely
Jory A. Dellinger
Scout Executive & CEO
