Proposed Merger Information
Dear Burlington County Scouting Family:
What a truly exciting time for Scouting in Burlington County! Back in May of this year, the Executive Board approved a resolution to appoint five members of the Council’s Executive Board to serve on a committee with five counterparts from the Southern New Jersey Council to explore the risks and rewards of a merger between the two Councils. Through this process, our representatives were charged with investigating all aspects of Council operations to ultimately determine if a merged Council represented a reasonable opportunity to better support the Scouting programs throughout the six county area of Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Salem, Cumberland, and Cape May.
After over three months of study, hundreds of emails, hours of teleconferences, meetings, tours, visits and other interactions, the full merger study committee for the Burlington County and Southern New Jersey Councils unanimously recommended that in the name of serving more youth with a stronger program, the Burlington and Southern New Jersey Councils should be merged creating one Boy Scout Council charged with supporting Scouting programs throughout Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Salem, Cumberland, and Cape May counties.
Having reviewed the reports, asking many questions, examining all aspects and discussing in separate closed meetings, the Executive Boards of both Councils have overwhelmingly voted in support of a merger between the two Councils. The strong consensus of both groups was that a merged Council will have the capacity to reach larger numbers of youth with more and stronger program opportunities in every county of the six county area, with a stronger Scouting program.
Moving forward, the voting members of both Councils will be asked to cast a vote either in favor of, or opposed to the merger of the Burlington County Council and the Southern New Jersey Council. Consistent with the By Laws of both Councils, the voting membership consists of registered Chartered Organization Representatives and registered Council Members at Large. Each of these people have received a full packet of information in the mail.
In an effort to answer questions and to make sure that the correct information is available to our entire Scouting family, the Burlington County Council will be hosting two “fireside chats” to allow for open question and answer sessions regarding the proposed merger:
- Thursday November 1, 2012 at Pine Tree Education and Environmental Center in Tabernacle (located at 110 Butterworth Bogs Road) in the Conference Center.
- Monday November 5, 2012 at the Rowan Scout Resource Center (located at 693 Rancocas Road in Westampton).
Both forums will begin promptly at 7:00 and are schedule to conclude by 9:00, but will last as long as there are still unanswered questions. In addition, we will also be available at the November Roundtable on Wednesday November 7, 2012 from 7:00 to 9:00 at the Rowan Scout Resource Center (located at 693 Rancocas Road in Westampton). If you can not attend any of these, and/or would prefer a personal face to face to discuss your questions or thoughts, please feel free to contact any one of us to schedule a time.
We hope you share our excitement at the positive impact this potential decision may have on the young people throughout the six county area, including here in Burlington County. We fully believe that, if approved, this merger offers a tremendous opportunity for us to provide better service to our Burlington County Scouting units and dedicated volunteers, as well as increased program support.
To View the Merger Study Team Consolidated Report please click here
Click here for the Merger Frequently Asked Questions
Most Sincerely Yours in Scouting,
Robert Gray Jr. Christine A. Mohan Daniel A. Templar
Council President Council Commissioner Scout Executive
bobgray@graytrucking.org council.commissioner@bccbsa.org daniel.templar@scouting.org
(609)261-5850
