Fall 1995

Letter from the President's Desk

We begin this issue with a letter sent to the council President. We have, for the second time in 6 months offered to purchase Camp Squanto. The following is the letter sent to the President making him aware of our serious intent to purchase the property and having the Council still maintain responsibility for Scouting activities on the premises. The CSAA would merely be the property owners. Read on!

As you will recall, at the May 1995 Executive Board meeting I told you that the Camp Squanto Alumni Association was seriously interested in purchasing Camp Squanto and leasing the camp back to Old Colony Council for the conduct of their scouting operations. At the time, you summarily dismissed the idea of initiating negotiations and stated, :Camp Squanto is not for sale.: Although I believe that the issue should have been brought to the attention of the entire Executive Board, your verbal rejection was enough to convince me that it was not possible to pursue this proposal any further.

In light of recent developments, however, particularly the proposed sale of a portion of Camp Child for significantly less than its full market value, I believe it would be in the best interest of the Board, the Council, and its membership for you or your designees to begin negotiations with the CSAA regarding the sale of Camp Squanto. I also believe that these negotiations should begin as soon as possible.

Without going into great detail, it is clear that the sale of Camp Squanto to the CSAA is far more beneficial to the scouters of Old Colony Council than the sale of a portion of Camp Child to a golf course developer for less than market value. Selling Camp Squanto to the CSAA will not only raise revenue for Old Colony Council's debt reduction and endowment plans, but would retain usage of both camp properties in their entireties for the present and future youth membership of the Council.

Let me remind you that the concept of selling a camp to its Alumni Association and leasing it back to conduct scouting operations is not unique. At least one other council operates its camp in this fashion and it has proven to be an ideal relationship for the council and its membership. I believe that the sale of Camp Squanto to the CSAA would be equally advantageous.

I know you are as anxious as I am to raise money for the Council and preserve the integrity of our invaluable camp assets. Therefore, I look forward to meeting with you and other members of the Executive Board to begin negotiations regarding the sale of Camp Squanto. Please feel free to contact me.

Very truly yours,
Thomas J. O'Brien,
President

Annual Meeting

The Annual Meeting of the CSAA was held on August 6th at Camp Child. The meeting was called to Order at 2:16 PM. The Secretary's and Treasurer's Reports were read and accepted. There were several reports from committees and they are each recounted below.

Our Curator of the Casoni Museum forwarded his report. He reported that the Casoni museum is still growing and he has been keeping up with the delivery of items. We do not at this time have a replacement home for the museum since we were asked to leave Camp Squanto, but we are still actively searching.

By a vote of the voting members of the CSAA, Mike Warner was re-elected to the open five year Trustee position. He ran unopposed.

Tom O'Brien explained the happenings of the past months. He explained the course of events leading to the current proposed sale of a large tract of land at Camp Child and how this may affect Camp Squanto. A general discussion followed.

Door Prizes were awarded at the close of the meeting. Those remaining partook of snacks and the Annual Auction.

The next Annual Meeting will be on August 3rd 1996, see you there!

Council in the Red Again

Well it appears that this year is no exception to the rule. The OCC is again running in the red. After removing two CSAA members from the Executive committee for failing to raise their annual donations (after only 2 months), the board continues to keep members who after 10 months have raised almost nothing. At the last Executive Board meeting, it was reported that at that time, the Council has over-extended itself another $50,000.

Our question continues to be the same as yours; "When will the Council become Fiscally responsible?" Year after year we hear of a lack of funds, short falls etc. the bottom line is that Council cannot follow a budget and continues to operate in the red.

With a generous offer from the CSAA for the purchase of Camp Squanto, while still allowing the Council to operate the camp, it seems that their fiduciary responsibilities compel the Executive committee to truly explore our offer.

Annual Auction

We had another great showing at this year's Auction. There were many items donated from our generous members to help raise capital for the CSAA. Once again Mike Warner sold anything that wasn't nailed down as well as some things that were. Donator extraordinaire, Skiddy Casoni showed up with a carload of hand crafted items. Also this year Frenchy Doulette appeared and even auctioned the shirt off his back.

Thanks to those of you who attended, we raised enough money to continue to fund things like this newsletter. Especially with the happenings at camp recently this communication is extremely important. Thanks to all and hope to see you there again next year.

Membership

The Association continues to need to raise capital. With the drastic changes at camp we hope to be able to assist in many ways to return the quality program to Squanto. Any amount you can spare will be appreciated and put to good use, as well as being tax deductible.he CSAA is still growing. With over 750 members the Association is still looking for new members who want to meet old friends or make new ones. Our membership committee is searching for past members of the Camp Squanto Staff, Scouts and Scouters.

If you are aware of anyone wishing to be placed on our mailing lists please send a card with their name, current address and phone number and mail it to the CSAA at the address on the front of this newsletter.

Ed Christopher's Awards

E1ach year there are several awards presented to individuals who show Scout and Squanto spirit. These awards are voted upon by the entire staff and as a Peer to Peer award, it demonstrates who goes the extra mile for others. These awards are funded by the Edward Christophers Fund and disbursed by the CSAA. This years winners are:

Staff Leadership and Squanto Spirit Award
	Senior
		Tony Daguanno
	Junior
		Matt Kavanah
Leading Scout Award
		Bill Prince
Leadership Essay
		Brandon Morris

Congratulations for a job well done to these exceptional people. We hope to have the winning Essay in our next issues.

Volunteers

The CSAA is run entirely from the donations of its members. These donations are not only money but time. The Trustees of the Association have been asked to do more for the Camp and the CSAA members in general. In turn we are looking for volunteers to help in other areas of the CSAA's operations.

There are currently openings on several committees. Some committee leads are available as well. If you have been offering ideas, now is the time to help make them come through. If you have been waiting before getting involved, our offer to purchase Camp Squanto may well be that opportunity.

All interested parties are asked to mail their interest to the CSAA or contact a Trustee directly.

Offer to Buy Camp Squanto

The following is from the proposal letter mailed to the Executive Board. The CSAA has offered $1 million dollars for the proprerty at Camp Squanto. We have a partnership which allows us the opportunity to save Camp Squanto and the Council in one action.

As of now, this proposal has not been accepted. We do, however, remain open to dialog with the Council at their option and we intend to again forward this offer in the future.

"As you know, during the meeting you held on September 7th at Camp Child, I delivered a proposal from the Camp Squanto Alumni Association to purchase Camp Squanto and lease the camp back to Old Colony Council for the conduct of their scouting operations. Although you were reluctant to allow me to present the proposal at the meeting, you agreed to put it on the agenda for the next Executive Board Meeting, which I believe is scheduled for this evening. You also made a point of mentioning that there was no dollar figure in our proposal. This letter addresses that issue in an attempt to initiate negotiations on a proposal that benefits every scout, volunteer, and member of Old Colony Council.

At this time, the CSAA is prepared to offer one million dollars for the purchase of Camp Squanto. As I briefly mentioned at the meeting on September 7th, I envision that the sale could include a buy-back option which is particularly attractive in light of other proposals Council has received that do not and can not include such a provision. Obviously, the purchase price reflects the lease and buy-back options and the details of this proposal need to be worked out in further negotiations.

You also had a question about our plans regarding the use of the camp property. Currently, it is our intention to begin creating cranberry bogs on a portion of the camp property commonly referred to as the "Ortolani Land." It is my understanding that you have already considered this possibility and realize that such a project would not effect any of the scouting operations. I also anticipate that the cranberry bogs will be created in piecemeal fashion starting at the corner of the property farthest away from the center of the camp and that at any time Council has established itself financially, it can repurchase all or part of the property. It is also possible that a percentage of the revenue from the newly created cranberry bogs could go toward Council operations. It is these and other issues that we need to sit down and discuss as soon as possible.

It is our intent to put together a complete and detailed proposal which will include the appropriate maps and diagrams. It has only been two weeks since the meeting on September 7th, however, and such a detailed proposal will take some time to put together. We would also like to begin soliciting your input so that we can craft the proposal in a manner acceptable to the Executive Board of Old Colony Council.

John and Marc, this proposal is clearly better than any proposal Council currently has on the table, particularly because it allows Council to preserve all of its assets while improving Council' financial situation. I have heard from a number of volunteers who are excited about our proposal and look forward to an Old Colony Council that is debt free, financially secure, and in possession of both of its scout camps. To that end, I strongly urge you and the Members of the Executive Board to abandon all asset sales and begin serious negotiations with the CSAA regarding the sale of Camp Squanto. I look forward to hearing from you in the very near future to start the negotiation process and protect our assets for future generations of scouters.

Very truly yours,

Thomas J. O'Brien
CSAA President"

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