16 June 2009
Boy Scout Councils Merge Separately
Posted by admin under: council news .
Two councils in New York are merging, but aren’t closing anything which begs the question. What was the point of the merger? Bennett Loudon brings the news, but doesn’t elucidate.
The Otetiana and Finger Lakes councils of the Boy Scouts of America voted unanimously Monday to merge.
The new council will cover Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne, and Yates counties.
Leaders of the Finger Lakes Council approved the merger at a meeting at its Geneva headquarters. The Otetiana Council approved the merger at a meeting at its Rochester office.
The new combined organization will continue to maintain both offices.
In 2008, the Finger Lakes Council provided programs for about 2,800 scouts in Ontario, Seneca, Wayne and Yates counties, while Otetiana Council served about 13,000 scouts in Monroe County.
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One Comment so far...
settummanque Says:
18 June 2009 at 9:29 am.
“What was the point of the merger?” the question was posed.
The simple answer is to provide services on a larger basis which the two were having problems providing by themselves. By maintaining both Council service centers (”council offices”), the Scouting program continues with little disruption; funding for the new consolidated Council can continue (there are some wills and other documents which state that the funding stops if the Council ends — so there’s some legalities involved), and most importantly the records of the Scouts from ages back can be safely maintained, stored and at a later time transferred to the new Council’s building.
This is one of several consolidations (it’s not really a merger yet — consolidation of program is what the BSA calls them) that have went on around the country. Many of them are “make sense” type deals like this one — two adjacent Councils, with two small programs, two small staffs and lots of bills and expenses like it’s a larger one. By pooling together resources, the new Council can better provide services (like improved Venturing programs; better and specialized camping programs; and improved public awareness of Scouting).
As time goes onward, you will see that the two Councils will meld into a new Council, although the two offices will continue to operate for another three or four years before a new Council service center is built or purchased (and be looking for it to perhaps be at one of the two camping facilities) to serve the expanded territory.
Settummanque!
