Idaho Dad: Scout CEO Smitten By Gozzer
- re: Scouts rally for Camp Easton/Alecia Warren, CdA Press
- re: Gozzer developer wants Boy Scouts Camp Easton
I attended the meeting tonight. It was basically a sales pitch for Gozzer by the Council CEO, Tim McCandless. 
Everything about a new camp at a new site was “Great!” while the current Easton was painted as a decrepit money pit. I don’t believe McCandless gets it. Camp Easton is not about the crowded dining hall or the rundown staff cabins. It’s about the physical geography of the place. The new site, at Sunup Bay, comes nowhere near matching the layout of the current camp. Gozzer could build a “premiere camp” (Tim’s words) at Sunup Bay and would still pale in comparison to Easton as it exists right now. He seems to think that kids love Easton because of the buildings, but it’s the land they love. The kids would be happy sleeping on the ground and eating freeze dried stew around a campfire/Idaho Dad. More below.
Question: Should the Boy Scouts concentrate on raising funds to improve Camp Easton rather than swap its prime site for what Idaho Dad considers a lesser one at Sunup Bay?
A couple of very good points made by audience members. One said, “Good luck getting a permit for a new rifle range at Sunup Bay. Not gonna happen.”
Another, a fundraiser for the Girl Scouts, said, “We’ve raised half of our $4.5 million goal to improve Camp Four Echoes. If the Girl Scouts can do that, surely the Boy Scouts can too.” She then offered to teach Tim how to run a fundraising campaign. Zing!
Nobody spoke in favor of this proposed land swap. Well, except for Tim McCandless, who should go work for Gozzer as a PR guy.
Camp Easton may have some infrastructure problems right now, but I guarantee you that there is not a single kid out there who came home from camp complaining about it being too rough.
Whatever needs to be done at Easton, like enlarging the dining hall or building a tunnel under the highway, can be accomplished through a multi-year fundraising campaign. It’s not that difficult, and not that expensive.
Making a deal with Gozzer would be a huge mistake, and I highly doubt it will happen if the local Scouts, parents, and leaders have anything to say about it.
