How do you choose a person of the Century?

Well if you're developing a fund raiser to celebrate the first century of Scouting, then first and foremost, you need an outstanding Scout.  No problem there.  You have an incredible abundance of folks to choose from. Eagle Scouts alone have become presidents, governors, war heroes, Supreme Court Justices, and astronauts including 11 of the 12 men who walked on the moon. 

So the Boy Scouts Los Angeles Area Council tried to find a person who exemplified the spirit of scouting.  Someone with a wide breadth of knowledge and experience in a variety of fields.  How better to represent the many areas of achievement rewarded by Scouting with merit badges and advancement in rank. 

The person they decided on was University of Southern California president Steven B. Sample.  As our CEO and Boy Scouts Los Angeles Area Council Board member, Suzanne Marks explained, "He best personified the variety of skills that Scouting has taught for over a hundred years.  Steven Sample is an inventor, an educator, a business leader, an author and a Boy Scout.” 

To develop her campaign, a mix of traditional and electronic media, Suzanne relied on two of her own Scouts at Pasadena Advertising, Life Scout and V.P. Creative Tony Nino, and Eagle Scout, Creative Director, David Ensz.  “I wanted a design a basic look with a balanced focus to honor Dr. Sample and also pay homage to the first century of Scouting,” explained David Ensz, “the muted earth tones were a reminder that camping is an essential part of the Scouting experience.”  “Although crimson and gold seemed to be more prominently displayed among the USC alumni,” laughed Tony Nino.

Dr. Sample is the esteemed author of the Los Angeles Times Best selling book, “The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership,” and a highly regarded professor of “The Art and Adventure of Leadership,” His extraordinary efforts in propelling academics at the University of Southern California are world-renowned; his incredible ability to generate contributions to that fine institution of higher learning has resulted in one of the most successful fundraising campaigns in the history of higher education.

Fittingly Dr. Sample’s Person of the Century celebration raised over $600,000 for Scouting in Los Angeles. In this economy, that was an achievement that more than exceeded expectations.  The Los Angeles Area Council is honored and grateful for the contributions of all our supporters.

To Dream The Practical Dream

Every product is a dream. A car is a dream of freedom and power. Lipstick is glamour. Running shoes are fitness and health. A Mac is… better than a PC. But how do you show the Scouting dream? And how do you tell the world?

The answer to both questions: a float in the Tournament of Roses Parade.

The Boy Scouts of America faced a dilemma. It was their 100th anniversary – a time to celebrate a hundred years of building character and responsibility in citizens and leaders alike. It was a perfect time to kick off the next century of Scouting. But they had to be practical. The economy was down. Donations were down. Programs that kids depend on were threatened. Yet the right message could help alleviate that. It The Boy Scouts could show the promise of Scouting in just the right way, people might see the value of investing in it. More kids might join. The trick is to find a way to make the most impact on the maximum number of people in the least expensive way possible.

Participation in the Rose Parade was the perfect choice. Where else could you get three minutes of National Broadcast time on ALL the major networks for free? Sure it costs money to produce the float, upwards of a hundred thousand dollars, but that’s well less than half of the cost of most commercials on network television. And when you calculate placement costs of $250,000 per 30 second commercial, three minutes is equal to a million and a half dollars worth of airtime for free. Plus there are a multitude of other hidden benefits for contributors as well as Scouts themselves.

The float is decorated almost entirely by volunteers, and there’s a waiting list of people who want to volunteer. In many cases, the volunteers, or the companies who donate to Scouting, pay for the privilege. It is a meaningful way for companies to reward select employees, and corporate executives get an opportunity to participate in the many Rose Bowl activities, including prime seating for the parade and attendance at the Rose Bowl itself. Luckily, this year, that privilege extended to attendance at the BCS game Thursday, January 7th.  It made "contributing" an even greater perceived value.
The boy scouts took this concept a step farther and used the opportunity to reward Eagle Scouts with the opportunity to march in the parade. The world wide audience not only got to see the symbolic representation of Scouting, they experience the pride of Scouts in their accomplishments. To make matters even better, the Boy Scouts' Centennial Celebration float won the Pasadena Tournament of Roses’ National Award.

The eagle scouts, even after 5 ¼ miles of marching, still stood tall as they carried the American Flags and flags of all 50 states in the precession. The proudly carried representations of all the merit badges that Scouts can earn. And the float itself symbolized the excitement that lies at the center of the tradition of Scouting. And the Scouts aboard the float, boys and girls alike, were excellent representatives, canoers smiled at waved at the cheering crowds. Riders pedaled their seed-encrusted bikes, and a scout still slid down a working zip line between two trees.

After almost a year after the Boy Scouts Board of Directors (including Marketing Committee head, Suzanne Marks, our CEO) had approved the initial designs, and almost 8 months of tireless fund raising, the Centennial Float had taken huge strides in accomplishing the Boy Scouts’ mission. New contributors had been brought into the Scouting organization, the centennial year celebration had gotten off to a memorable start, and Scouts all over Southern California had been given the memory of a lifetime.

For sheer advertising value, an award-winning symbol of Scouting excellence and adventure had been seen by over a million people along the parade route in Pasadena, and by over 40 million TV viewers in the US, and in more than 150 countries worldwide. The hundreds of volunteers and Scouts who worked on the project took home a special pride that they shared with family and friends. For Scouting it was a dream come true.

The next century of Scouting is off to a grand beginning.