Boston Minuteman Council
Special UPDATE

Boston Minuteman and Yankee Clipper Serious About Merger

After 9 months of collaboration and several starts and stops it seems the merger between Yankee Clipper Council and Boston Minuteman is on track and set to be formalized on or before June 30, 2015. This is far from a merger for merger's sake, or simply an opportunity to take advantage of a larger economy of scale - quite the opposite.  This move is only gaining traction because it is driving toward greater program support. To that end, we will be actively listening to unit leaders, parents, donors and the entire Scouting community to develop a unification plan based on needs and wants from active unit leaders prior to the formal vote. (read more.....) 

The New Council

The Future of Scouting in Eastern Mass is at a crossroads, as we face the merging of Yankee Clipper Council and Boston Minuteman Council. Be sure that the decisions made over the next few months and years will have the Scouts best interests at heart.  For the greatest probability of success we will start the merger process with a six month active listening process.


 

Active Listening is a communication technique used in training, which requires the listener to feed back what they hear to the speaker, by way of re-stating or paraphrasing what they have heard in their own words, to confirm what they have heard and moreover, to confirm the understanding of both parties.

In conversation, active listening creates a  give- and- take dialogue and typically leads to a common understanding - even if sometimes that understanding is an "agreement to disagree."

In a group setting the conversation takes much more time, so each person can exercise their voice and the listening feedback cycle takes much longer. This process will soon become "The way Scouting does business in Eastern Mass."


1. Listening Sessions

These meetings are open to all Scouters and will be facilitated exercises. There will be no presentation or preconceived ideas about the outcome - only an exercise asking current unit leaders what is needed to help them deliver high quality program.


 

Dates and Locations - addresses will be posted on the council calendar(s)

  • January 21 - Milton
  • January 29 - Chelmsford
  • February 3 - Lexington
  • February 12 - TBD
  • February 24 - Danvers
  • February 26 - Woburn

Each meeting will begin at 7:00 - but if you are late you can jump right in, and we will conclude at or before 9PM.

2. Thinking and Governance

The feedback from the listening sessions along with other feedback and information (camp attendance, membership trends, financial trends, market forces and trends etc) will be reviewed by joint committees populated by unit level Scouters, outsiders, and select current leaders. These joint sub-committees will develop ideas and plans based on feedback. The ideas and plans will need to consider and project oversight, fiduciary responsibility, and strategy. The primary topics to the joint sub-committees will be:

  • Program / Membership
  • Finance / Development
  • Marketing / Public Relations
  • Properties / Real Estate
  • Governance / Talent Management
  • Administration / Customer Service

These initial reports will be presented to a joint Merger Oversight Committee for initial review, on or about April 30, 2015.

2. Speak / Present

During the month of May the joint committee will present the initial plans and direction to the Scouting community for additional feedback and confirmation. Adjustments may still be made to the plan during this month.


 

The final plan and document will be available for late May. We anticipate a final gathering in June for the entire Scouting Community.