Boy Scouts of America

The

Commissioner

a publication for commissioners and professionals

Summer 2021

NatlCommServTeam_4k

Larry Chase
National Commissioner Service Chair 
lhc@chasehome.net

Retention Enables Growth

Growing Scouting isn’t limited to starting new units and attracting new members; retaining units, young people, and unit leaders provides a firm foundation for growth. Scouting’s impact is limited when new units and members serve just to replace losses.

A commissioner’s impact is greater when their work supports starting new units and attracting and retaining new youth members, and unit leaders. It defines their success. Everything commissioners do should be focused on young people, units, and unit leaders.

Consider a simple picture of Unite Service:

There are a few tools we use to enable success: 

  1. Our mission defines our purpose: ‘to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them values of the Scout Oath and Law.’
  2. Our vision shows us what success will look like: every member of the BSA has a great Scouting experience. That enables us to attract and retain both youth and adult volunteers.
  3. Culture is our way of life as a group: it includes our characteristics and skills and defines our approach to achieving our mission and fulfilling our vision. We’ll be talking more about that in the future.
  4. We have just five objectives:
    1. Supporting unit growth and retention
    2. Contacting units 
    3. Linking unit needs to resources 
    4. Supporting timely charter renewals 
    5. Supporting unit leaders 
  5. Our focus today is to support Scouting’s immediate focus:
    1. Ensuring the safety of the young people we serve 
    2. Growing Scouting
    3. Building firm financial foundations for our local and national councils 

There are other details that require our attention: recruiting and developing commissioners, communicating information, and certainly, adapting to change. But this picture helps keep it simple. And it helps us stay focused on Growing Scouting through both adding and retaining units, young people, and unit leaders. 

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Bray Barnes is a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, Silver
Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Learning for Life Distinguished
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serves as a senior fellow for the Global Federation of Competitiveness
Councils, a nonpartisan network of corporate CEOs, university presidents, and
national laboratory directors. He has also served as a senior executive for the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, leading the first-responder program
and has two U.S. presidential appointments

David Alexander

Managing Member Calje

David Alexander is a Baden-Powell Fellow, Summit Bechtel Reserve philanthropist, and recipient of the Silver Buffalo and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is the founder of Caljet, one of the largest independent motor fuels terminals in the U.S. He has served the Arizona Petroleum Marketers Association, Teen Lifeline, and American Heart Association. A triathlete who has completed hundreds of races, Alexander has also mentored the women’s triathlon team at Arizona State University.

Glenn Adams

President, CEO & Managing Director
Stonetex Oil Corp.

Glenn Adams is a recipient of the Silver Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is the former president of the National Eagle Scout Association and established the Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award. He has more than 40 years of experience in the oil, gas, and energy fields, including serving as a president, owner, and CEO. Adams has also received multiple service awards from the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers.