The Saddleback District is here to welcome you and your family with open arms. The Saddleback District is founded on the principles of Communities And Mentors Embracing Lifelong Scouting. AKA, Saddleback Camels. Whether your scout is 5 years old and just beginning their journey, or 20 years old and shaping their career path, we are here to support and guide you every step of the way.
Click below to read about best practices and success stories from some of our leaders.
Cubmaster Chad Henderson Pack #623
You added 13 new members, 30% growth since July. What do you attribute to your growth in membership this year? We have been very active in the community and despite some pushback, we do what we can with our local schools. We are at every BTSN, we have a close relationship with our PTA (even though we only have one passive member in the PTA). We hold open houses that are very active. But I would say that our membership chair is key as she contacts everyone that we meet via email and phone as a follow up strategy
How much involvement do you have with your local city and community events? We participated in roughly 7-12 major activities this year and I would say 60% would be community focused. This would include participating in the Lake Forest 4th of July Parade, National Night Out, Elf Yourself which is sponsored by the local chamber of commerce. During the Clean Lake Forest event, we pick up trash at our local school just to keep our exposure with them. We had a really cool event where we partnered with the local law enforcement during 911. They get a chance to watch the motorcycle team carrying the US flag and even get a chance to ride with them.
How do your scouts and parents know about planned activities? We have a great website where we post everything. But I think what we do that really works is we send out an email blast every Friday night. It’s an automatic email blast to all members which spells out the activities, the pack needs, we recognize members, and a bunch of stuff. But we make sure that everyone knows what’s going on and what the expectations of them are.
What do you do to keep your cubs entertained? Every pack meeting we have included an activity, game, craft, or service project.
Anything specific? The kids really like something we call “pie in the face.” This is where if a scout sells $300 popcorn, they get to smack a pie in my face. Not only does it promote fun, but it also helps in our popcorn sales.
One more? We have a great partnership with our local Girl Scouts. During Red Ribbon Week, they typically post all the ribbons, and we take them down. This way we stay in front of a key initiative of the local schools and communities.
Last one? We work with a group of special needs kids during Halloween. During our October pack meeting, scouts decorate ‘”trick or treat” bags, fill them up and give them to kids who can’t experience “trick or treating” because of physical limitations. They are excited and our scouts get to experience another level of life.
Do you always have good parent participation? Not always. We understand they are volunteers. But when we bring a parent in, we have them complete a survey of their likes. An example would be we have a father that said he really wouldn’t be active. But he loves to hike. So, we created a position called “Hiking Head Honcho.” That’s his role and he’s very active with the scouts at every hiking event. We have the same with a family that’s kind of quiet but loves to camp. So, they are the Camping Honcho’s.
Any concerns as you enter 2025? I’ll be aging out. I feel we’ve done a great job of thinking about this day as we bring in new families. We have some great rising leaders and I’m just hoping I’ve done everything I can to have created a positive experience for the next round of scouts. I also think that as we live in a different world today, that families, communities, and kids continue to see “scouting” as a great place to learn and develop good skills.
Coming soon