How to Have a successful Join Scouting Night

1. 1
Michelle Holcomb
Assistant Scoutmaster Troop 874
Carrollton, Texas
Cub Scout Recruiting Events

2. 2
Why
• Join Scout Night creates a time and place
where families can come to learn more
about scouting
• Opportunity to meet new scout families, but
more importantly for them to meet YOU
• Place to get everybody together at one
time!

3. 3
Don’t Reinvent
• Your council office and district executive
should serve as your first resource
– Make use of the materials they have available
– Circle 10 had very nice packets this year and they
plan to continue this
• There are many other resources
– Videos
– Powerpoints
– Handouts
– Scripts
– Booklets

4. 4
Plan Ahead
• Try to hold join scouting within the first
month of school in the fall
– Unless your pack meeting falls early in the
month, avoid pushing the first pack meeting for
the year into October
• JTE Numbers
• Families already committed to other things
• Who needs to know about your event and
how are you going to get the word out?
• Start planning your JSE in JULY!

5. 5
Plan Ahead
• Meet with your membership committee or
pack leaders to plan event in July
• Contact Principal or designated contact
before school starts and set a date for event
• Find out from DE or council when packet
materials will be ready
• Make sure you have enough adult and youth
applications on hand
• Start spreading the word

6. 6
Plan Ahead
• Attend your district’s Join Scouting Training
• Arrange pick up of materials such as signs,
banners, posters and packets from your DE
or designated scouter.
• Recruit unit members to show up and help!
• Let your DE or district membership chair
know when your event is and how they can
help

7. 7
Get the Word Out
• School newsletter, or email blast, website
• Church bulletin and newsletter, website
• Local business newsletters and websites
• Press release to community newspapers
– Carrollton Leader for example
• TALK to people! We are flattered most by a
personal invitation!

8. 8
Show Them Scouting
• Have a couple of pack “Wear your uniform to
school” days in the weeks leading up to the
event
• Have the kids wear their uniforms to school
on the day of the event
• When you come for the rally or boy talks,
bring some fun stuff! A favorite fishing pole,
a backpack with some gear.

9. 9
Invite Families
• Get them excited!
• Get the kids so excited that they will beg
their parents to bring them!
• Their enthusiasm will only be as big as yours
so make yours big!

10. 10
Make it Fun
• Games – award a belt loop on the spot,
kickball for instance
• A special treat such as hot dogs, home made
root beer floats, cookies, or pizza
• A quick and easy craft – something very
simple without glue or glitter or mess
• Display pack items such as pinewood derby
cars, uniforms, awards, photos from events
and camping gear

11. 11
Keep it Simple
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVERWHELM!
• The amount of info available is already
overwhelming enough.
• Power point keep it to less than 10 slides!
• Stick to the topic of this is what scouting is and
what it offers, and how it accomplishes that
• There is no need to do a full parent orientation
for your unit – save it for a separate new parent
orientation meeting
• Handouts are great and people will generally
read them

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Circle 10
• Provides packets assembled at the district level
– Applications
– New Parent handbook
– Council and district event flyers
– Sample BOYSLIFE magazine
– Envelope with pictures and graphics
• Unit can add own materials
– Unit specific parent information
– Den and family info sheets
– Leader contact information
– Unit event flyers

13. 13
Circle 10
• Make it easy!
– 25.00 buys (Pro-rated) buys membership,
book and boys life
• Nice round number so accounting is easy
• Increases unit Boys Life numbers without
effort
– If paid on spot, child gets to take the book
home with them that night

14. 14
The Boy Talk or Rally
• What does a boy talk look like?
• How long should it last?
• Lets try one!

15. 15
Lets Do a Walk Through
• Sample Agenda
• 6:30 Leaders arrive and begin setting up
• 6:50 Families begin to arrive
– Display viewing
– Hand out packets
– Seat families at den tables
• 7:00 Introduction of pack leaders
• 7:05 Kids out for games or crafts, bobcat
• 7:10 Parents view video or presentation

16. 16
• 7:15 Talk a little bit about what scouting
means to you personally
• 7:20 Den leaders to den tables to answer
questions and help with applications.
Cubmaster and Chair to Tiger table to
recruit tiger den leaders, help with
applications and answer questions
• Tiger leaders should be selected and
registered prior to leaving for the evening

17. 17
• 7:45 Bring kids back in to recite the
Bobcat requirements or sing a song
Serve refreshments
• 8:00 Dismiss with a big welcome and a
Thank You to your new leaders
• 8:15 Finish cleanup and report to your DE
or district membership chair by phone

18. 18
Perfect Example!
• A 5 to 6 minute video can explain it all
• Consider using something like this instead of
doing all the talking
BSA Recruiting Video

19. 19
Followup
• Be sure to have someone follow up with
families who were not sure about joining
• Follow up with families who did join and
make sure they know when they are to meet
with dens, pack and upcoming activities

20. 20
When?
• Although a unit may hold only one or two
join scouting events recruiting is ALL YEAR
ROUND!!!
• ongoing activity and should be continuous.
• It is ok for kids to join mid-year!

21. 21
Year Round
• www.BeAScout.Org
• Be sure your unit information is up to date!
If you are a new cub master, committee
chair or charter org rep you have the ability
to change the contact information
• This information should be updated annually
at the time of recharter or if changes to
your unit leadership are made.
• Any registered leader can be designated as a
unit contact

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Year Round
• Remind your scouts to invite their friends to
attend a pack meeting with a parent if they
think they might be interested
• Don’t forget to award recruiter strips!