WJ'55 Masthead Scouts Canada

Committee Minutes
September 18, 2005

Attendance

  • Ted Claxton, Co-Chair
  • Tony Roberts, Co-Chair
  • Liam Morland, Secretary
  • Al Agar
  • Bill Connor
  • George Repar
  • Willard Miller

Opening

The meeting opened at 14:00. With the event complete, it was time to evaluate. The meeting was a discussion of what went well and what could have made it better.

Niagara Parks Commission Planting

The Niagara Parks Commission had prepared kits with pins and certificates for those who came to the planting of the memorial oak. Their participation was enthusiastic and much appreciated. Several dignitaries and committee members were present. Unfortunately, fewer then ten youth members of Scouting were in attendance. This is largely a result of the restructuring away from districts. The Area structure was unable to effectively get local Scouters on board with the project, creating an incalculable loss from a public relations standpoint.

Communication

The public relations profile should have been more, better, and earlier. National media coverage would have been very helpful in getting the word out to more participants. This is an area were Scouts Canada could have been helpful. If the committee had received a Trillium grant earlier, early media buys would have been possible. Scouts Canada provided little in the way of information for media kits, etc.

Commemoration Event

Over 2000 people were present for the unveiling ceremony, including 1824 Scouts and Scouters from the Scout Brigade of Fort George. Sixty-eight attended the banquet. About 35 attended the soiree.

George will coordinate sending Thank You cards to the various people who contributed to the event. Bill C. will write personal notes for some people in addition to the main letter.

It was agreed that Scouts Canada had missed a tremendous opportunity to promote itself. The anniversary could have been a way of showing how Scouting has been an important part of Canadian society for many decades.

It would have been helpful to have had a few more committee members. This would have helped to extend the network, allowing more to be done. In the end, the result were phenomenal given the small all-volunteer organizing committee.

Monument

Ted will contact Ron Dale about the next steps towards a National Historic Monument.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 15:15.

—Minutes by Liam Morland.

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