Scouting, Volume 63, Number 1, January-February 1975 Page: 58
68 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
SME (from page 6)
activities and is a strong backer of
Explorer posts at Carolina Steel.
Others on the 1974 council SME
steering committee were similarly
busy men — William L. Opdyke, vice-
president of the government systems
division of Western Electric, Inc.; Rob-
ert B. Fox, vice-president of Wachovia
Bank and Trust Company; and Mr. Co-
wan. Charles W. Cheek, president of
Richardson Corporation, also sits in
with the committee as the General
Greene Council's vice-president for
finance.
Even though the 1974 SME kickoff
wasn't until February, the steering
committee began meeting in Septem-
ber 1973 with the council finance
committee. Chairman Hayes and Scout
Executive Ussery were working to-
gether long before that. "We don't
campaign for funds all year," Hayes
says, "but we do plan all year. We
must constantly educate the general
public, including our own volunteer
leaders, about Scouting's financial
needs. Therefore, when we plan, we
include a twofold SME promotion — a
year-round educational program and
an extra push at enrollment time to
arouse interest and build enthusiasm."
In the planning, the council also has
a work schedule for every phase of
Sustaining Membership Enrollment, a
complete job description sheet for all
positions and a detailed agenda for
every meeting. Ben Ussery points out
that there is usually about a two-week
interval between each important step
in the schedule, such as: December
14, district steering committees re-
cruited; January 6, briefing for district
SME chairmen; January 15, briefing for
neighborhood chairmen; January 29,
unit captain's meeting; February 14,
family enrollment kickoff.
"This allows a man time to do his job
a 'bite-size' bit at a time without
crowding him," Ben says. "Too often
when we try a sudden, drop-every-
thing, crash project, things just don't
get done completely right. SME is too
important to do a halfway job, so we
start early and try to fully meet each
deadline as it rolls around."
Throughout the enrollment effort, the
emphasis in the General Greene
Council is on training. More than two-
thirds of the finance workers are
briefed at council or district SME
meetings like those mentioned. Two
special make-up briefings catch the
rest.
"We insist that 100 percent of our
58
SME personnel at the unit chairman
level on up get the regular SME brief-
ing," says Chairman Hayes. "If a man
doesn't get the full 'word,' he can't tell
the true and full story about Sustaining
Membership Enrollment or Scouting.
An uninformed person could actually
hurt what we're trying to accomplish."
Ben agrees. "Many people who
work in SME for the first time are sur-
prised to find out that there's more to
the whole thing than just collecting
funds," he says. "Sure, money may be
a large by-product of the effort, and
we certainly need it. But Sustaining
Membership Enrollment is just that —a
membership enrollment, an enrollment
of friends of Scouting. We find these
friends everywhere, but especially
among parents, registered Scouters,
Scout alumni and people already inter-
ested in Scouting."
Chairman Hayes adds, "Hopefully,
once a person becomes a sustaining
member, he will renew his membership
each year after that."
Like most Scout councils throughout
the nation, the General Greene Coun-
cil has a four-phase SME organization
— council, district, community and
family — with a special team for each
phase. The last phase, actually mean-
ing Scouting families, is a compara-
tively new approach and one greeted
with great enthusiasm by Scouters in
the Greensboro area.
In family enrollment, each Cub Scout
pack, Scout troop and Explorer post
selects its own unit SME captain and
its own enrollers (SME salesmen).
Lloyd D. "Woody" Maxey, a Troop 363
committeeman in the council's South-
ern District, thinks the new method
works so well because it's personal
and close to home.
"We like it because our own people
call on other parents and Scouters
from our own troop," he says. "I've
been an SME enroller before, but this
is the easiest method I've seen. The
people know us when we visit them,
so they give better than if asked by
strangers. I think most people are like
I used to be, they dread asking people
for money. Family enrollment has
changed that a lot. This may sound
crazy, but we actually have fun doing
our SME with Troop 363, and the job
gets easier every year."
One part of the job that makes it
easy is that enrollers in the council
only have to call on four or five pros-
pects. Then, too, the SME kickoffs are
held on Friday nights or on Saturdays.
Over the weekend, most people can
visit their prospects, explain what
Sustaining Membership Enrollment is
and collect the pledges or cash.
"Our council has a 'High Command
Luncheon' report meeting two weeks
or so after the kickoff," says Woody,
"and we try to have everything
wrapped up by March 1 5. That way,
SME doesn't string on forever, and we
can again give full attention to our
regular Scouting program."
You can tell that Troop 363 is a top
unit, by the way, just by looking at its
troop flag. A fancy, green-and-gold
embroidered patch sewn to the flag
says "Sustaining Unit — General
Greene Council." A Cub Scout pack,
Scout troop or Explorer post may be-
come a sustaining unit and earn the
patch either by raising $100 for SME
in the unit or by having at least 50 per-
cent of the unit's parents sign up as
sustaining members. (No set amount is
required to become a sustaining mem-
ber in this council. However, in most
councils the amount is usually from
$20 to $30.)
Using appreciation awards from the
BSA Supply Division, General Greene
Council also gives special recognition
to individuals, businesses and organi-
zations that provide extra financial
support. Century Member certificates
are given for contributions of $100,
and handsome Scouting plaques are
presented to Leadership Members
($250), Patron Members ($500),
Guardian Members ($1,000), Sponsor
Members ($2,500) and Benefactor
Members ($5,000). Hopefully, each
giver who becomes a sustaining mem-
ber will renew the membership each
year.
The actual call by an enroller to ask
a person to give to Scouting is a big
step in the right direction. But there's
more to the job than that — steps that
the general public and many Scouters
aren't fully aware of. Starting with the
council SME steering committee,
there are dates to be set, men and
women to be recruited, meetings to be
held, prospective givers to be listed,
money to be audited. Every job is im-
portant, and in the General Greene
Council this spirit spreads easily to
each district's team.
Rex Anderson, SME chairman for a
"zone" (or section) in Southern Dis-
trict, is a good example. Personnel
manager for Superior Knits in Greens-
boro, he has no children in Scouting
and is not a registered Scouter. "I
guess I'm involved because someone I
respected asked me to help out on a
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 63, Number 1, January-February 1975, periodical, January 1975; New Brunswick, New Jersey. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353656/m1/58/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.