Executive Board Meeting Wednesday, February 10, 2016 Crowne Plaza Philadelphia West, Bala Cynwyd, PA 8:00am - Meeting Minutes - Board Members Present: Geoff Armstrong, Chuck Bolger, Bob Booth, Patrick Brala, David Chan, Lewis Cyr, Sandy Girifalco, Rod Henkels, Keith Hunt, Walt Livingston, Stephanie Marcinkowski, Jim Papada, Steve Perrone, Ernie Scardecchio, John Severino, Brenda Shepperd, Dave Smeltzer, Sean Stacy, Sherry Sutton, Peter Walts, Brian Wallace, Torpey White. Staff Members Present: Veronica Coyle, Michael Oehmke, Greg Osborn, Mark Saxon, Dan Templar, Chris Tomlin. The meeting was called to order at 8:10am by Jim Papada, Council President. Torpey White, District Operations Chair, delivered the Invocation. Action Items: The charters for the following committees: o Commissioners o Compensation & Benefits o Development o Governance o Membership o Program were approved on a motion by Peter Walts, seconded by Chuck Bolger, and carried unanimously. The minutes of the November 11, 2015 Executive Board Meeting were approved on a motion by Chuck Bolger, seconded by Sandy Girifalco, and carried unanimously. The minutes of the December 9, 2015 Executive Committee Meeting were approved on a motion by Chuck Bolger, seconded by Sandy Girifalco, and carried unanimously. The approval of Brian Wallace as Chair of Northern District was approved on a motion by Chuck Bolger, seconded by Stephanie Marcinkowski, and carried unanimously. The December 2015 Financial Statements were approved on a motion by Chuck Bolger, seconded by Dave Smeltzer, and carried unanimously. The BSA All-Terrain Vehicle Program was approved on a motion by Bob Booth, seconded by Ernie Scardecchio, and carried unanimously.
Commissioner s Report: Chuck Bolger, Council Commissioner, presented the Commissioner s Report. The council achieved Silver in Journey to Excellence (JTE) for the third consecutive year. For the third consecutive year, lack of membership growth prevented the council from achieving Gold. 3 of 11 districts, as well as Exploring, achieved membership growth. The council has targeted 5 criteria for growth in 2016: Fiscal Management, Fundraising, Cub Scout Camping, Community Service, and Voice of the Scout. The commissioner service corps grew from 107 to 133 in 2015, and there continue to be monthly orientation sessions held for new commissioners as well as commissioners who need refreshers. Treasurer s Report: Bob Lux, Council Treasurer, presented the Treasurer s Report. December Financial Statements: o Results improved from earlier year-end forecasts, with the council reporting a $542,076 surplus against a budgeted surplus of $34,446 for a favorable variance to the budget of $507,630. This is primarily driven by expense savings in compensation caused by numerous vacancies throughout the year. o The council has transferred $150,000 of that surplus into the capital fund. o The excess surplus goes into unrestricted net assets: the rainy day fund. The Finance and Audit Committee agree that the amount in unrestricted net assets is appropriate given the scope and size of the council operations. o The council is in a strong cash and liquidity position. The 2016 budget was approved with a $75,000 surplus over expenses. Development Report: Mark Saxon, Director of Development, presented the Development Report on behalf of Al Boris, Development Chair. 2015 Performance: o Four districts achieved growth in Friends of Scouting (FOS). o Special events finished above budget despite transferring the Hospitality Dinner to 2016. 2016 Development Report: o Changes: Community Friends of Scouting is moving from the individual districts to the counties, and will be the responsibility of the Field Directors. The Aqua and Ashburn golf outings are moving from June to May.
o The 6 th Annual Cradle of Liberty Gala will be held on June 16 th, with Joe Caradino of PREIT receiving the Distinguished Citizen Award. 2016 Board Friends of Scouting Campaign: o The annual goal of this campaign is to have 100% board participation. o The campaign is currently at 22% of goal, and there are a large number of board members who have not participated. Foundations: o The Development team conducted a site visit at the Universal Daroff School with members of the Philadelphia Foundation. The Philadelphia Foundation has a strong interest in funding programs where youth are involved in leadership and program development. o The Development team continues to engage individuals and organizations who were not funding us or stopped funding us based on the membership policy. Investment Report: Dave Smeltzer, Investment Committee Member, presented the Investment Report. The Investment Committee is an active, professional, and transparent committee. The council has approximately $12M in unrestricted and restricted funds. The council is currently the victim of the market. The committee is looking at line items for potential small changes, but is sticking with the overall strategy in general. o 2015 performance was down about 1.3%; the overall market was down 1.1%. o Since November 30, 2015, the council s funds are down about 8%, which is consistent with the market. The Investment Committee s strategy is to spread the funds over other options, with 1/3 large cap equities, and the remaining 2/3 spread over a variety of funds to mitigate risk. Membership Report: Greg Osborn, Director of Field Service, presented the Membership Report on behalf of Mark Chilutti, Membership Chair. 2015 year end membership numbers: 13,046 youth in 480 units. This is a 14% decline in membership. o 71% of the decline is due to an intentional reduction in ScoutReach to focus on program delivery. o 4 districts experienced membership growth. o 7 districts recruited either the same or more Scouts than they did in 2014. The recharter process went surprisingly smoothly this year, despite the new PA background check laws and the transfer of all recharters to December 31 due dates. 86% of units turned in paperwork on time.
The youth retention rate in 2015 was 74%. This is an improvement over last year. The council should achieve gold in 2016. The unit retention rate could be 96% in 2016. The 2016 Membership Growth Plan should be presented to the Membership Committee for approval at the February 22 meeting. o The plan is built on strong, quality programs and recruitment year-round. o The strategy for the city is unique. It is a localized plan involving representatives from each district, but will also involve some council-wide initiatives. Program Report: Patrick Brala, Program Chair, presented the Program Report. The Merit Badge College sold out in 3 hours, with 600 Scouts registering to participate in a two-weekend course to earn a variety of Merit Badges. The council is looking at ways to expand to meet the demand: multiple planning committees, multiple dates, specialty badges/courses, etc. Two new Program Directors with strong Scouting program backgrounds have been hired. ATV Program: o The Guide to Safe Scouting says that Scouts cannot ride ATVs on their own, but the council can offer special programs. o The programs require special training that certifies safety and preserves property. o The program is offered at very little cost to the council thanks to a national agreement with Polaris. The only cost to the council is $2,000 for safety equipment. Cub Scout Summer Camp improvements: o New Bouldering Walls, BMX Bicycles, and Fishing Piers. o These are constructed with mostly volunteer labor; the cost is primarily limited to supplies and materials. Strategic Planning Report: Fairmount Ventures has facilitated meetings with a board steering committee over the past few months, and now is the time to develop tactics to address the strategies. There are now five subcommittees: Finance, Leadership, Marketing, Membership, and Program. Their efforts will be presented to the board at the retreat on Saturday, May 14 th. The council recently enlisted the services of The Melior Group to conduct a focus group and market research study. o The focus group consisted of 10 people from all over Philadelphia from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. They were asked what they looked
for in activities for their children, and what they thought about the Boy Scouts. o The market research study consisted of 300 phone interviews from all over the council territory, contacting adults with Scout-age or about to be Scout-age children. o Main takeaways for both was that the most important thing to get people in the door is word of mouth parents trust other parents they know. The second is that the initial impression from the child and parent is important. Discussion: Unit Health Dan Templar, Scout Executive, led a discussion on Unit Health. Healthy units will provide a positive first impression for children and parents, and will help spread positive word of mouth. How can we make sure that happens? Unit Assessment Program: o Commissioners are tasked with evaluating their units: are Scouts advancing, are the leaders trained, do they have an outdoor program, is there any change in membership (or just the same kids every year)? o Units are measured on a Red/Yellow/Green scale (Green = Healthy Unit). o Assessments will result in follow-up action items personalized for each unit. Role of other committees: o Make sure units have what they need and drive action. o Support difficult decisions regarding leaders who are detrimental to the program. Help the unit identify such issues and develop succession plans. o Align unit health with council program, activities, and training. Scout Executive s Comments: Dan Templar delivered his remarks. The council is almost fully staffed in the field. These people know and understand Scouting and what the council is trying to accomplish. The council is considering expanding the development team. The window of opportunity opened by the membership policy needs to be addressed. Chris Tomlin and Michael Oehmke have agreed to stay with the council through the capital campaign (~3 years). Closing Comments: Jim Papada, Council President, delivered his remarks. The council needs to emphasize continues quality improvement in units. There are many aspects to the BSA in which lean principles could be applied to move bottlenecks. The big question remains: How do we engage the broad community to get our message across, when the community at large doesn t understand Scouting?
o There is a lot of competition from other programs who claim to do the same thing. o What can we offer in the future? What s new that we can do to reach 21 st century families? The meeting was adjourned at 9:45am. Respectfully submitted, Daniel A. Templar Scout Executive Approved: James M. Papada III, Council President