Scouting, Volume 61, Number [6], September 1973 Page: 23
122, 64 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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THE WATCHWORD
easy access to Interstate Route 70,
is attractive and functional.
The main section of the Musk-
ingum Valley Council's service cen-
ter is faced with bricks and topped
with a flat stone roof. The windows
are distinctive in a triangular shape
and have one-way glass which looks
dark from the outside. The meeting-
room section is windowless, and
cedar shake shingles angle down
from the peak almost all the way
to the ground.
On one side of the center there is
parking for four staff members'
cars. On the other side, there are 25
parking spaces for the public. The
lot is bordered by a split rail fence
built by a Scout as his Eagle proj-
ect. Since the building was opened,
the council has installed its own
underground gasoline storage tank
for staff cars, with a saving of $400
to $500 a year in gas costs, accord-
ing to Scout Executive C. Kent
Bushong.
"In all our planning," says the
Scout executive, "we utilized the
national Office Planning Service.
They know what they're talking
about. They helped us with a lot of
suggestions about office traffic flow
patterns, storage, and other con-
siderations."
The Muskingum Valley service
center cost $109,000, including fix-
tures and equipment, which was
financed by a capital development
fund for the building and a new
Scout camp. MacDougal says that
this financing method is somewhat
unusual. "Most council offices are
financed by several donors—many
by just one."
Among the new features of the
Muskingum Valley's service center
is a self-service area for sales of
badges, certificates and other spe-
cial supplies. This "supermarket"
approach to sales, which started in
the San Diego Council about six
years ago, has now spread to more
than 150 councils.
The self-service idea has the bene-
fits of enriching program and im-
proving relationships with volun-
teer Scouters because they can
browse through and see all 650
items normally sold in a service
center. Self-service also saves
clerks' time, and it brings increased
sales because many Scouters be-
come aware for the first time of the
wide variety of program tools that
are aimed at helping them.
The Office Planning Service,
which aids councils in shifting to
self-service, says that displays
usually require from 28 to 45 feet
of wall space, depending on cus-
tomer traffic. A salesclerks' counter
is placed where Scouters leave the
display area, turn in their advance-
ment reports, and pay for the
badges, insignia, literature and
awards, they have selected.
Scouters browse in the self-service
literature and equipment sales area in
the Muskingum Valley service center.
Self-service is used in 150 councils.
C. Kent Bushong, Scout executive of
the Muskingum Valley Council, in his
office. The service center provides
ample space for staff and meetings.
In many councils, the results of
self-service have made everybody
happy. Scouters, because they can
shop more easily and with less de-
lay; the council, because handling
sales is easier and volume is up.
Tom Van Griethuysen, business
manager for the Otetiana Council,
Rochester, N.Y., notes that before
his council started self-service in
October, 1970, "it was not un-
common for 20 Scouters to be
standing in line waiting to be served
during the noon hour. Sometimes
the clerk would have to make two
or three trips to the stock room for
a single customer." With self-serv-
ice there is practically no delay.
Van Griethuysen says that sales
have been up almost every month
since self-service began. "We would
never have been able to handle the
volume we have now with the old
stock-room system," he said. "Some
Scoutmasters tell me, 'I hate your
guts! I came in here to spend $2
and spent $10.' But of course, the
reason is that they're just finding
out about all the program aids that
are available to help them."
Scouting is "big business"—in hu-
man relationships. That's why more
and more councils are turning their
attention to the appearance and
efficiency of your focal point—the
Scout service center. ■
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 61, Number [6], September 1973, periodical, September 1973; New Brunswick, New Jersey. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353576/m1/23/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.