Attending:
- Chris Dempsey, District Chair
- Rose Godfrey, District Commissioner
- Jeff Smith, Field Director
- Michael Wrenn, Training Committee Chair
- Ron Ratto, Camping Committee Chair
- Charlie Howard-Gibbon, Nominating Committee Chair
- Nikki Maguire, Advancement Chair
- Linda Owczarz, Special Needs Committee
- Marcin Owczarz, Order of the Arrow Advisor (Wekemnayon)
- Richard Christman, Asst. District Commissioner
- Robin Rees, Unit Commissioner
- Charles Hoffman, Unit Commissioner
- Gary Baysmore, Member-at-Large
Agenda Items
Commissioner Service
- Virtual Meeting – Next Wednesday
- May be able to meet outdoors at the Joaquin Miller Center when weather gets better.
- Need a Friends of Scouting commissioner volunteer
- Chris and Rose shared the overview of District Unit Metrics
- 63% of the units are at risk with only 2 or less metrics being met.
- 22% of the units are meeting 3 of the metrics
- 19% of the units are doing well, meeting 4-5 of the metrics
- Only 14% of the Packs, and 27% of the Troops have both the Committee Chair and Unit Leader fully trained.
Finance
- Chris reviewed the responsibilities of the District Finance Committee
- Chris gave us an overview of his goals for the District Finance Committee
- Recruit Finance Chair, Family and Community FOS leads, Popcorn Kernel
- Friends of Scouting goals, set by the council finance committee
- Family FOS campaign goal is $51,000 by June 30th.
- Community FOS campaign goal is $35,000 by December 31
- Our FOS goals were increased from last year due to our exceeding the 2025 goals.
- We expect lower FOS contributions due to the increase in the Council registration fee and the current DOD issues.
- A signup sheet has been created to track unit presentation scheduling.
- The Community FOS event team has been meeting.
Membership
- Chris reviewed the responsibilities of the District Membership Committee
- Chris gave us an overview of his goals for the District Membership Committee
- Recruit membership chair and team by June 1
- Support peer-to-peer recruitment through promotion of recruiter patches, and support for twice annual unit recruiting events by June 30
- Identify community events to build awareness and visibility
- Help start new Packs, and new Troops
- Identify potential school contacts and charter organizations
- Identify BeAScout coordinator and follow up on leads
- Review of membership totals between 1/31/25 and 1/31/26
- 1326 youth registered, down from 1444. This is a 8.9% decrease (118 youth)
- Retention is low
- 50.7% of Cubs
- 72.2% of Scouts BSA
- 63.6% of Sea Scouts
- 50% of Explorers
- Retention information on Venturers was not available.
- Two active district recruiting efforts are being developed.
- City of Alameda Cub Recruiting – Headed by Mark Hovermale
This is focused on the annual City of Alameda Independence Day parade. - City of San Leandro Cub & Scouts BSA Recruiting – Coordinated by Rose, Lynette Watkins, Louise Shaw
This is focused on the June Cherry Festival where a booth will be manned by local units for community awareness and signups.
- City of Alameda Cub Recruiting – Headed by Mark Hovermale
- Financial Aid is available for individual renewal fees (Council Fees only).
- Discussed the changes from Scouting America and US Government agreement.
- No change to national membership standards
- Waiting on a statement from the Golden Gate Area Council.
- National registration fees are to be waived for the children of active-duty, Guard, and Reserve service members. This does not affect our Council Fees, nor event fees.
Activities
- Chris reviewed the responsibilities of the District Activities Committee
- Chris gave us an overview of his goals for the District Activities Committee
- Plan and execute successful Scouting for Food campaign by November 15th
- Plan and execute successful Fall Alameda Coast Guard Island Webelos Woods event
- Plan and execute successful Peralta Cup in February 2027
- Request that all units enter their service projects and hours in Scoutbook Plus.
- The Peralta Cup Pinewood Derby 2026 was a success.
- 75 racers, up from 68 last year.
- Proceeds are currently scheduled to replace the track and timers which are old and need serious repairs. Some other options to acquire tracks from defunct units were offered by DOC members and will be passed onto the Derby organizers.
- Trophies are being ordered.
- The Coast Guard Island Webelos Woods fall event is currently scheduled for November 15th. The event committee is reaching out to the Sea Scouts as well to assist.
- The Merit Badge Advancement Day on the USS Hornet is being planned for May or June. Richard Christman and Henry Ramos are leading this effort.
Advancement and Recognition
- Chris reviewed the responsibilities of the District Advancement Committee
- Chris gave us an overview of his goals for the District Advancement Committee
- District Recognition Dinner.
- Advancement Day @ USS Hornet
- Citizenship in Society merit badge is no longer offered.
- If started before 2/27/26, it can be earned by 12/31/26
- if a Scout’s 18th birthday was between 7/1/22 and 2/26/26, they must have earned Citizenship in Society, unless they turned in their app before 7/1/22
- Merit badge requirements revert to 13 previously required, plus 8 optional
- Citizenship in Society is not required, but can count as an optional merit badge
- New Eagle application is available, Parent names were added back in to reference section. Advancement Committee requesting clarity from National on this change.
- Merit badge pamphlets are getting a modern upgrade. Instead of printed requirement lists inside each pamphlet, Scouts and counselors will now find a QR code and URL that link directly to the latest requirements and information in the Merit Badge Hub on scouting.org.
- Competitive Gaming Badge enters Scouts BSA Test Lab in March 2026. This will be focused on Digital Gaming and will only be available till June 1, 2026
- NorCal Advance-o-Rama gearing for 2026, date TBD
District Recognition Dinner
- .The District Recognition event is scheduled for May 23 at the Alameda Elks Lodge.
- Black Pug is now live.
- Online nomination form, to nominate worthy Volunteers, is active (training info will be taken from My.Scouting). Nomination must be received by April 15th.
- The District Dinner website page is up and contains links for registration, nomination forms, and various self-submitted forms.
- Units are encouraged to help Scouters apply for Veteran Awards, available for years of registration as adults and as youth. The form link is on the web page.
- Email and flyer will go out to units soon.
Camping and Outdoor
- Chris reviewed the responsibilities of the District Camping and Outdoor Committee
- Chris gave us an overview of his goals for the District Camping and Outdoor Committee
- Lead Cub Scout Day Camp
- Promote attendance at summer camp for Cub and Scouts BSA
- Grow the local OA chapters
- 2025 Super Activities
- Of the 62 Packs and Troops in our District, only 7 have updated their “Super Activity” for 2025.
- All are requested to update their Summer Camp, High Adventure, Day Camp, Long Cruise, and other extended activities in 2025.
- Enter this in My.Scouting by the unit leader, committee chair, or key 3 delegate:
- My.Scouting / Organization Manager / Unit Data Metric Entry
- Day Camp
- Need to finalize the program and staff.
- Camporee 2026
- Wekemnayon and Kaweah chapters of the OA are working on the details of the events and program.
- Staff positions are mostly assigned.
- Medic and Staff cook team are covered.
- Range positions: Rifle rangemaster is confirmed, Tomahawk and Archery rangemasters are in contact, but not yet confirmed.
- Need to choose a date for the 2027 Camporee
Day Camp
- Theme is “Invention Convention”
- July 6–10, 2026 Drop-off: 8:30 AM | Program: 9:00 AM–4:00 PM
- Robert W. Crown Memorial State Beach, Alameda
- Registration includes T-shirt, patch, and all supplies
- Cost is $225 till May 22, $250 afterwards.
Training
- Chris reviewed the responsibilities of the District Camping and Outdoor Committee
- Chris gave us an overview of his goals for the District Camping and Outdoor Committee
- Communicate missing training to leaders
- Promote attendance at council and district level training
- Lead SLS/IOLS training
- Recruit new training chair by June. Mike is stepping down.
- Training levels are low
- Only 13 of the 62 units have both the unit leader and committee chair trained.
- A majority of the Unit Leaders, and Committee Members are untrained.
- IOLS will be running on March 14, and April 4-5th.
- Currently 18 Scouters have signed up. 22 open opportunities are available
- Twin Valley and Mission Peak are also doing IOLS training, though they usually sell out.
- For more information see the IOLS page on the council website.
- BALOO training will be held in March and April. Sessions are scheduled for Fremont, Camp Royaneh, and Napa
- For more information see the BALOO page on the council website
Ad Hoc Discussion
- Michael Wrenn pointed out the need for a council wide planning and scheduling coordination to ensure better coordination of all activities.
District Executive Representative
- Council is still interviewing for a District Executive for Alameda Area District.
- Council has received a donation to cover the salary of two part time positions with a focus on building membership.