Establishment
We have explored why we should have Alumni Association (AA) committees and some of the things AA committees can and should do. Now we need to build effective committees to provide opportunities for our Scouting alumni to engage and reconnect. Let us first look at how an AA Council Committee is organized.
The local council president appoints a council AA committee chair after consultation with the Scout Executive and Council Commissioner. Due to the wide variation in council size and structure, the reporting structure for the Alumni Association Chair should also be established by the Council President.
Size And Structure
The size of your local council AA committee will depend on the size of your council and its needs. Some councils have a small, dedicated group while larger councils may need more volunteer committee members.
We have even seen councils combine duties with their NESA chair until the AA committee can stand on its own.
There is no “one size fits all” answer to launching your new committee. It is widely advised to have at least a chair (or shared chair) and two subcommittee chairs. At a minimum, we recommend a committee chair, along with a subcommittee chair for outreach and one for engagement.
A sample council AA committee could include the following positions or subcommittees:
Note: The following list represents an ideal situation for a large council with an equally large committee. For a smaller council, the structure of the committee and duties assigned are flexible and up to the committee chair in consultation with his/her committee members.
Council AA committee chair
Council staff advisor
Awards Subcommittee:
—Council Alumnus of the Year nominations
—Alumni Award promotion
Engagement/Events Subcommittee:
—Social events
—Networking events
—Recognition events
Service Projects Subcommittee: —Service to Scouting —Service to the community at large
Affinity Group Subcommittee:
—Scouting America affinity groups coordination and support
—Affinity group roundtable
Communications Subcommittee:
—Newsletter and e-communication
—Website and social media content
—Surveys
Information Management Subcommittee:
—Alumni database
—Data security
Membership Subcommittee:
—Membership outreach and retention
—District relations
—Member benefits
Program and Special Initiatives Subcommittee:
—National events
—AA reunions
Training Subcommittee: —Council AA training
—National training event promotion