Summary

The philosophy that has defined our camping program for decades has been one of “open a camp and the Scouts will come.” And while many of our camps are still open, they are not self-supporting. The resources we do have are sprinkled over the entire program. Overall, the camps do not create the excitement and yearly reinvestment income needed to add the improvements that increase attendance. This makes our efforts at promotion often sound like “begging.” The successes we do have need to be supported and expanded while the marginal programs ended. We need to create a long term vision for our camps. This vision would include the ability to add new as well as improve existing programs to the extent that our camps have full attendance. We’ll know we’ve reached our goal when units become worried about signing up on time or risk losing out.

Recommendation

For the reasons explained below, it is recommended to the Cradle of Liberty Council Executive Committee that Treasure Island be closed as of October 1, 2008. Treasure Island would be closed for both weekend and summer camping. The Council’s Camping Committee will investigate the future use of Treasure Island and make a presentation at a date to be determined.