Story contributed by Mark Griffin, Great Salt Lake Council Scout Executive
Last fall the Great Salt Lake Council enthusiastically participated in the ‘Scout Me In’ Influencer Campaign.
We were very fortunate to have the leadership of Bruce Hough, the immediate past president of our council and the father of Julianne and Derek Hough, in our council. Also, our Director of Field Service Denovan Lino and our current president Tim Fenton, had some important contacts we were able to use. It went very well. In fact, we won the first prize!
After the campaign, we decided we needed to continue the momentum but weren’t sure how. When we saw the World Organization of the Scout Movement had selected Bear Grylls to be the Chief Ambassador of World Scouting and The Scout Association in the UK had started a celebrity ambassador program, we had our idea.
Our goal with our local ambassador program is to gather a team of Utah celebrities who will post supporting messages for the Boy Scouts of America, both in the council and in the state of Utah, on social media, make appearances at events, and record videos and messages we can use in our media efforts.
First, we asked Derek to be our Chief Ambassador, and he immediately agreed! He is now working on videos with Bruce to share his support of Scouting.
Next, Denovan and our Family Scouting Chair Janet Griffin, reached out to Chelsie Hightower. Chelsie comes from a Scouting family, was on Dancing With the Stars, and had participated in the social media campaign last fall. She enthusiastically agreed to be our Family Scouting Ambassador with a focus on encouraging girls in the BSA.
Denovan used his contacts at the Utah State Capitol to recruit Utah Governor Gary Herbert and Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes. Sean is now our Eagle Scout Ambassador and is hosting an Eagle Scout event in the capitol rotunda later this year. Governor Herbert agreed to be an ambassador, too!
Then, we connected with the Osmond Family. Doug and David Osmond were recruited by Tim Fenton and Denovan to help with our annual Holiday Gala last fall. In conversations with Doug and David, we learned how important Scouting was in the Osmond family. David shared a story with us about his father Alan, one of the original Osmond Brothers who reached the rank of Life Scout before his family moved to California for their singing career. David told us Alan’s love for Scouting was reaffirmed when President Ronald Reagan told him how important the rank of Eagle Scout was. He gave President Reagan a promise that all his boys would achieve the rank of Eagle Scout. Alan and his wife Suzanne are the proud parents of eight sons, all of whom are Eagle Scouts.
So, we asked. Doug has agreed to be the chair of the council’s ambassador team. In fact, David and Alan have agreed to be ambassadors. And Alan says he is going to work on his brothers and sister to join us. Fingers crossed!
We need help in Utah to spread the word that Scouting is going to continue to be a strong influence in Utah and the West.
Our growing ambassador team will help us spread this message.
Scouting Wire would like to thank Mark Griffin for submitting this story.
Do you have ideas or plans to continue the momentum of the ‘Scout Me In’ Influencer Campaign?
We’d love to hear your story! Reach out to [email protected] to share your story or ask questions about how you can leverage influencers in your community.
The post Be Inspired to Collaborate with Influencers Like This Council Did appeared first on Scouting Wire.
Powered by WPeMatico