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.
