Keep
the Web Sites Alive!
Hello
Fellow Scouters,
 Now that we
have your attention with the headline about the
web sites starting to die, let me give you some
additional information. I really am throwing
in the towel. With the start of the new year I
will be stepping down as the council Webmaster. I
have recently given the council notice of my intentions.
I have served
on the council web team since the late 90's. I
knew so little a web site when I first started
that it was hard for me to spell HTML. From my
first assignment of taking care of the "Forms" page
to where my involvement with the web site is now
has been a long road. Much has changed in
our web site during that time and I hope it continues
to change for the better. I hope to stay
involved in the council web site but in a much
smaller way. If they will let me, I would like
to keep the "Youth Leadership Training" information
on the web site as my responsibility.
 Now some of
you may not realize that I do not live in the Greater
Yosemite Council. I have been living in Santa Maria,
CA now for almost 2 years. In my new council, the
Los Padres Council, I have taken on a new Scouting
assignment that will focus my attention exclusively
on Youth Leadership Training. I am quickly
approaching a feeling of burnout as Webmaster for
the Greater Yosemite Council. Before I step down
as Webmaster I am hoping to have a strong web team
in place to keep the Greater Yosemite Council web
site alive and healthy.
We
need your help to keep the web site alive!
That's right,
your help. You know the person you see in the mirror
all time. Without each and every Scouter in the
council committed to keeping the council web site
going strong, it will probably start to die. It
takes a strong commitment and lots of dedication
to keep the web site up to date and current. I
think that is the kind of web site you would like
the council to have and that is the kind of web
site I have tried to give you. What can you
do to help? Let me give you some ideas:
 Register your
email address so you receive the eNews electronic
newsletter and any special updates that are sent
out. Prior to starting the eNews the council
would print and mail over 4,000 newsletters each
time it was published. Currently we only have about
400 email addresses registered to receive the eNews.
Now there are a few, a very few Scouters who still
do not use the internet. We plan on sending these
Scouters a printed version of the newsletter. Everyone
else should be getting their newsletter electronically.
But 400 out of 4,000 newsletters, something
is wrong here. So help us by registering your email
address so we can send you the eNews newsletter
each month and get ALL your
Scouting friends to register their email address.
Send us news
about what has happened in Scouting and what is
being planned to happen. If your unit or your district
has a Scouting event, activity, training, or story
that you would like to share with the rest of the
council send us a short article and a picture or
two so we can post the information on the web site.
One of the biggest frustrations of being the Webmaster
in not knowing what is going on in the council
so the information can be published for others
to read. If you expect that this information is
being provided to the Webmaster by the professional
staff you are partially correct. The professional
staff does provide some information. If you, the
Scouters putting on these activities would send
in the information it would really help keep the
web site current and allow the professional staff
to keep focused on other more important things.
Things like membership, finances and program activities.
Normally the professional Scouter's job description
does not include sending information to the Webmaster.
When you do send in your information to the web
team, be nice. Follow the council flyer guidelines
and submit your information after it has been spell
checked and edited for content and errors.
 Volunteer
to serve on the council web team. If you don't
step up to the plate and put in the energy and
time needed to keep the web site moving forward,
than who will? Take on the responsibility of an
area of the web site that you have an interest
in. Don't worry about not knowing all the technical
stuff associated with the web site. We need people
to provide information so it can be posted. Once
we get good solid information, that information
will get posted. Posting the information takes
a lot less time and energy than researching the
information and writing it all down. The council
web site has to be a team effort if it is to survive.
You have to be part of that team! It is just that
simple.
When I step
down as Webmaster at the beginning of 2006 there
must be in place a strong web team of 12 to 18
Scouters committed to keeping your web sites alive.
If there is not, I believe the council web sites
will unfortunately soon die.
So my fellow
Scouters the ball is in your court. If you like
what the council web sites provide than now, right
now is the time to step up and volunteer to help.
If you ignore this information . . . then you ignore
this information. The choice is yours.
Yours Truly in
Scouting,
Rick Pushies
Webmaster
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