This past weekend we had our annual recognition dinner at which Council President Bob Confer gave something comparable to a "state of the council" speech. If you could not attend the meeting, here's the transcript from his speech....
There’s an old Greek philosophy that says:
There’s an old Greek philosophy that says:
“the only thing that is constant is change.”
We’ve been living that in the Iroquois Trail Council.
If we went back in time to this dinner last year – the Council would look different than it does now.
Chances are, we’ll look different a year from now.
2015 was exciting and 2016 will be more so.
Let’s start with personnel, where there have been many changes…
Last year, Lin retired from the Lockport scout office and our northtowns scouting families are now greeted by MaryLou at the store.
All of our district chairman changed in the past year. Curt Hall, Bill Fava, and Rich Donegan passed the batons to John Maier, Mike Freeman, and Bill Louvain.
We have a new council commissioner in Paul Fleming, taking over for Alice Barret who served us well for many years.
And, we’ve installed new chairs for various duties in the council, among them is John Beiter, our training chair, who looks to build on the excitement and success of our first University of Scouting in 18 years. We'll be having another one of those events in 2017.
There have been and will be some changes in properties and their uses, too…
Many of you know that the Dittmer dam
was the albatross around our neck.
To appease the DEC we conducted an engineering study of the entire dam system, to satisfy safety requirements and ensure a dam collapse wouldn't destroy the community around us. There were worries that we’d be looking at hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs…not so.The study found that we need to have a means of siphoning water from the lake and we need to remove the trees from the north shoreline.
Those are VERY affordable fixes that ensure the economic and structural vibrancy of Camp for years to come.
Then add to the mix Zion’s Camp, which is coming to Dittmer this year…for the first of many years.
For one week this summer 300 Mormon scouts and 150 Mormon scouters will come to Dittmer to enjoy our facilities and celebrate their faith at the nearby Hill Cummorah pageant.
Think about that…
Over a normal summer, we have 250 to 300 scouts at our camp. This year, we get that many in one week alone.
The excitement is palpable….we already have Zion’s camp booked for 2017 and we already have people signing up for 2018.
For my whole Scouting life – going back to the mid-1980s – there’s always been this rumor, this belief, that Dittmer will be sold.
Throw that away.
Because of Zion’s Camp – and your continued and renewed support – that’s a discussion, a rumor, that can’t be had anymore.
Camp Dittmer is alive….and it’s exciting.
Most councils can’t say that about their camps. Look across New York. Cederlands, which is in the Adirondacks, closed 2 years ago. I visited the camp last fall. It was like a Scouting graveyard. Depressing. Likewise Camp Russell closed last year. You might be familiar with that camp as you enter the Adirondacks on your way to Old Forge.
Our future at Camp looks good.
Once again, that’s because of change. Good change.
We need to capitalize on that. We need our troops to show their love…to realize there are good reasons that scouts from across the entire country are coming to our camp.
You can see much renewed love and attention at Camp.
Jim Tyx’s troop built a lean-to…the first of many that will grace our sites.
We are adding 50 new platforms and tents to the camp this year
….and Dave Hofer and Keith Oliver are creating a detailed plan to coordinate the construction and repair efforts of those who want to adopt our camp and make it better.
So, throw Jess in there as our new camp director and it’s a new era at Camp. An era of change.
It doesn’t end there. There have been countless more changes in the Council…
To appease the DEC we conducted an engineering study of the entire dam system, to satisfy safety requirements and ensure a dam collapse wouldn't destroy the community around us. There were worries that we’d be looking at hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs…not so.The study found that we need to have a means of siphoning water from the lake and we need to remove the trees from the north shoreline.
Those are VERY affordable fixes that ensure the economic and structural vibrancy of Camp for years to come.
Then add to the mix Zion’s Camp, which is coming to Dittmer this year…for the first of many years.
For one week this summer 300 Mormon scouts and 150 Mormon scouters will come to Dittmer to enjoy our facilities and celebrate their faith at the nearby Hill Cummorah pageant.
Think about that…
Over a normal summer, we have 250 to 300 scouts at our camp. This year, we get that many in one week alone.
The excitement is palpable….we already have Zion’s camp booked for 2017 and we already have people signing up for 2018.
For my whole Scouting life – going back to the mid-1980s – there’s always been this rumor, this belief, that Dittmer will be sold.
Throw that away.
Because of Zion’s Camp – and your continued and renewed support – that’s a discussion, a rumor, that can’t be had anymore.
Camp Dittmer is alive….and it’s exciting.
Most councils can’t say that about their camps. Look across New York. Cederlands, which is in the Adirondacks, closed 2 years ago. I visited the camp last fall. It was like a Scouting graveyard. Depressing. Likewise Camp Russell closed last year. You might be familiar with that camp as you enter the Adirondacks on your way to Old Forge.
Our future at Camp looks good.
Once again, that’s because of change. Good change.
We need to capitalize on that. We need our troops to show their love…to realize there are good reasons that scouts from across the entire country are coming to our camp.
You can see much renewed love and attention at Camp.
Jim Tyx’s troop built a lean-to…the first of many that will grace our sites.
We are adding 50 new platforms and tents to the camp this year
….and Dave Hofer and Keith Oliver are creating a detailed plan to coordinate the construction and repair efforts of those who want to adopt our camp and make it better.
So, throw Jess in there as our new camp director and it’s a new era at Camp. An era of change.
It doesn’t end there. There have been countless more changes in the Council…
Jim Tyx will be our cub scout camp
manager at Sam Wood.
We had an Eagle alumni get together last year, and we hope to launch that organization in earnest this year, with an Eagle alumni campout.
The endowment campaign run by Dr. Madejski has taken off.
And, we got a new home. Our central office has moved from Liberty Street in Batavia, to the corner of Main and Bank in the city.
It’s an awesome office – centrally located, accessible, attention-grabbing.
And, it’s one shared with Go Art, with whom we will be entering into great partnerships with.
Our ultimate vision is to have a gallery event showcasing nothing but the works of our scouts.
We had an Eagle alumni get together last year, and we hope to launch that organization in earnest this year, with an Eagle alumni campout.
The endowment campaign run by Dr. Madejski has taken off.
And, we got a new home. Our central office has moved from Liberty Street in Batavia, to the corner of Main and Bank in the city.
It’s an awesome office – centrally located, accessible, attention-grabbing.
And, it’s one shared with Go Art, with whom we will be entering into great partnerships with.
Our ultimate vision is to have a gallery event showcasing nothing but the works of our scouts.
All of you in this room have given of yourselves to help change the lives of 2,500 young men in our communities.
You’ve given them hope.
You’ve given them an education.
You’ve given them memories.
You’ve given them the ideals and character they need to change the worlds of others.
You can see that in what they’ve done in the past year. Over 50 Eagle projects. Impressive food drives.
Our scouts helped out with the Vietnam Wall that paid a visit to Lockport last year. Whether on the radio, in the newspapers, or people who came up to me in Niagara County…the community raved about the scouts’ amazing respect for those who gave all.
Scouts cleared out the fire hydrants in Livonia last winter…and we remember how brutal that winter was. They made lives and property safer.
Our scouts do amazing things.
They do amazing things because you do amazing things for them….you are changing them for the better.
There’s change underway in our council…there’s change underway in our boys. Change is a good thing.
As I close…
This past week, National issued their final rankings for Journey to Excellence for 2015 and we are a silver council. We were so close to being gold! Such a high ranking is a testament to the hard work of our staff, executives, and countless volunteers.
Of the 10 councils in Northeast region 3, we were 3rd in market share, 2nd in retention, and #1 in Cub Scout advancement.
Overall, our Journey to Excellence score is the second highest in the region.
Truly awesome.
Thank you, everyone, for delivering such a high quality program to all of our scouts. You really make me proud….our humble, little rural Council is hanging with the big dogs.
It's great to know we have so many people contributing -- and contributing well -- to the betterment of local youth and America's future!
I can’t say enough about how important you are.
Thank you for all you do.
