Dinner Will Be Delayed.....

It was an exciting goal.....having the new dining hall up and running by the 2013 camping season.  However with each passing day towards the end of the year this seems unlikely.  Oh....no worries, the dining hall will be built sometime.....unfortunately "sometime" is neither a time or a date.  From what I understand we are not making much traction with major donors.  By "major" we mean someone or some entity that would step up and fund more than half the cost of what it would take to build this new facility which will take us into the next thirty plus years of use.  We continue to receive donations here and there, all of which are needed and ALL of which are appreciated, but at this rate it will take a while until the capital is present to begin to build this structure.

Some people have mentioned to us that maybe we are being too grand in our approach, that maybe we can scale back and see if there could be savings in that.  Those are certainly valid ideas but unfortunately there is no sense in building a facility that will not meet our needs, still have us lacking in services and still have to pay more to maintain over time.  No, if we are going to do this, we are going to do this right and not something that will get us by for a few years.  There is nothing extravagant going into this new facility, but the materials being used are ones that will require little maintenance and are of the quality to withstand the onslaught of three thousand scouts as well as the ever changing external environment.  You buy cheap then you get cheap and you will always be fixing cheap.  At the end of the day it is not cheap.....just something annoying, costly and doesn't serve the purpose you meant it to be.  We have looked at everything, including the size and I for one do not wish to change what we have discussed and have come to a decision to have and what we need.

I am not trying to "whine" as I know that we will eventually secure a benefactor who will come through for us, the only question is when.  The cost of the project is not going to get any cheaper.  It is frustrating for me, however, to be part of a council that has supporters with tremendous financial backing that are generous donors to many scouting programs but none of which involve Camp Parsons.  I often wonder if this is a side effect of our success?  Since we do so well financially and programmaticly we may be off their philanthropic "radars" and maybe we are not doing a good enough job getting our message across to let them know we need their help.  Many people believe that money generated by camp operations goes back into camp.....those people would be mistaken.  The camp generates an income for the Seattle Council who in turns determines our budget and what money is to be spent on operations each year.  The remainder of the income is used for other council programs that may not be self supportive financially but add value to the scouting program.  After all, scout camping in only one aspect of the scouting program (though an important one in my book).  I just hope that our financially sound supporters understand the value of what the camp program offers to scouting youth in our communities as well as the connection to local history.  I hope they think of us before donating money to national BSA interests.  Regardless, their support will always be welcomed and appreciated.

In the meantime maybe we will go to two cookout days for each troop.  That should open the dining hall up a little more, allow for scouts to use the patrol method a little more and perhaps reduce the complaints of industrial menus and cooking.  Then again, we probably will just get more complaints.  Christmas is coming upon us quick.....maybe Santa has a surprise for us.