Coronado Area Council BSA on the GMCF Community Hour Show Episode - 296

We talk with Kyle Smith, Scout Executive and CEO of the Coronado Area Council BSA, about how Scouting serves families across 32 Kansas counties while still keeping local donations working right here in Riley County. We dig into Grow Green Match Day, what it costs to join, and how community fundraising keeps the program open to every kid who wants in. 
• covering 32 counties with headquarters in Salina and a Manhattan field office 
• using Grow Green Match Day to tell the Scouting story and fund both endowment and operations 
• keeping Riley County giving local through the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation 
• offering simple financial assistance for registration, handbooks, and uniforms 
• breaking down typical startup costs for a new Scout family 
• turning nostalgia into support through the corporate Pinewood Derby fundraiser 
• celebrating the legacy of Brown Memorial Camp and planning for the 2027 centennial 
• navigating a fundraising transition after Crystal Baldwin’s retirement 

GMCF

CFAs

Transcript

Sponsor And Segment Setup

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Philanthropy Today is brought to you by the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. In this episode, we feature a recently broadcast segment of the GMCF Community Hour, as heard on News Radio KMAN. We are back with the GMCF Community Hour here on News Radio KMAN. We've got a newbie in here. His name is Kyle Smith. He is the CEO and Scout Executive. Yes, sir. That's a different term than I think I've heard.

SPEAKER_00 0:27

That is a very organizational specific term that uh we use for the executive director, CEO of a local council.

SPEAKER_01 0:35

Okay. And this is the Coronado Area Council BSA, the Boy Scouts. Yes, sir. You got quite a territory.

SPEAKER_00 0:42

We cover 32 ter uh counties from uh Riley County all the way to uh Thomas and Sherman, way out west. Way out west. Way out west, yes, sir. 32 counties worth 32 counties.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

Yes, sir. Okay. Well, you've got your hands on a lot of things. And welcome to the show. It's your first time here. Thank you. I'm excited to be here. Are you officed in Salina?

Why Grow Green Match Day Matters

SPEAKER_00 1:07

Our headquarters is in Salina. We do have a field office here in Manhattan. And uh we have a couple of staff members working out of our office here in Manhattan. Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

And you get to experience something special next week for your first time here in this role with Grow Green Match Day.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

We're looking forward to uh Grow Green Match Day. Uh it's uh a very good day for us, and uh we have a lot of uh our donors and uh community sponsors, you know, community uh supporters of scouting support us in a uh very big way, yes, sir.

SPEAKER_01 1:40

Yeah. Let's talk a bit about uh what that means to you with Grow Green Match Day. You know, we've got we have 102 different nonprofits that are involved in Grow Green Match Day. Everybody has different needs. And of course, you know, they're they're changing dynamics with every organization, with their infrastructure, with funding that is available or has no longer become available through federal state or whatever the situation may be. Sure. But Grow Green Match Day has got to be a uh a a big opportunity for you.

SPEAKER_00 2:15

It's a it's a very big opportunity for us to do a couple of different things. Um one of those being just you know getting our uh our story out there and letting the community know that scouting is still alive and uh uh we're still uh uh positively affecting young people's lives by providing this program. Um we're also giving our donors an opportunity to give locally. And uh when they give to Grow Green Day, we're able to um put money into our endowed account with the community foundation here, as well as uh put money back into our operations so that we can support all of our assistance programs that we have uh going on during the year.

SPEAKER_01 3:03

And that money stays local.

SPEAKER_00 3:05

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_01 3:06

Yeah. I think that that's an important fact to clarify, especially when yours spread out across uh, you know, the 7A5 area code largely as much as you are.

SPEAKER_00 3:15

Yes, sir. It's very important. We hear it from our uh our volunteers and our donors. We want to make sure that our money stays in uh Riley County. If they're a Riley County donor, and uh that's why we're a part of uh the community foundation, so that our donors know that they can give locally and uh it stays locally, and we're able to support the scouting program the way they want us to.

SPEAKER_01 3:40

I understand that um some of these funds, maybe and I don't know how much of these funds, but a lot of the funds that you have can apply toward registration, uniforms, other costs that are involved with scouts and their families. How does that work?

SPEAKER_00 3:54

Uh really, it's uh essentially a no questions asked uh uh process. Our families fill out a simple form, uh, just give us some family information. Really, what we're looking for is uh uh specifically what is your need? Do you need full assistance? And that would encompass the$85 registration fee for their scout or the$65 registration fee for the adults in some cases. Um a handbook is about uh$25. And our uniforms, you know, once you get all the patches and everything on it, the uniform's probably about fifty, sixty dollars. So if you put all that together, a family's looking at about 150 bucks to uh just get started in scouting. And we have a lot of people.

SPEAKER_01 4:46

I'm sorry, you don't want the cost to be a block.

SPEAKER_00 4:50

Absolutely. That's that's one of our uh our key thoughts is financial uh ability should not keep a family from participating in scouts.

Corporate Pinewood Derby And Nostalgia

SPEAKER_01 5:02

Kyle Smith is our guest here in this segment of the GMCF Community Hour. He is here on behalf of the Coronado Area Council Boy Scouts of America. Uh Kyle, you just recently had a big event. And and I and I and I think this is just one of the fun things that that that we see. And it's the Pinewood Derby. Yes, sir. And and I know you've got a lot of support for this because the uniqueness of what the event is. But let's talk a little bit about what that was and what you are doing with the funds that you raise through it.

SPEAKER_00 5:32

Well, that that event is uh very popular because we know that a a lot of our uh our community has participated in a Pinewood Derby when they were a scout. And a lot of times when they find out we're doing this event, that's what that what gets that's what gets them excited about uh participating is remembering uh having a car and uh Cub Scout Pinewood Derby when they were in the in the program. Didn't it kind of get lost for a while?

SPEAKER_01 5:59

Well, Pinewood Derbies, or were it just, you know, there were other things that came up?

SPEAKER_00 6:04

I think it's always gone on. You just don't hear about it. Uh you know, I think uh, and this is why it's so important for us to participate in community uh outreach like we do, is to make sure that people know that scouting is still alive and we are still doing the the a Pinewood Derby or uh any of those things that somebody might remember from their time in Scouts.

SPEAKER_01 6:26

Now you refer to it as a corporate Pinewood Derby, and and and you've got a lot of businesses that really make this happen for you.

SPEAKER_00 6:34

Yes, sir. Um really that's it's an adult Pinewood Derby and an opportunity for uh for them to have fun, uh compete against each other, maybe a little industry on industry uh friendly competition, that kind of thing. Uh we've been very lucky to have uh several of the car dealerships here in town. Uh be the uh the title sponsor for this event. That's Briggs. So uh Briggs has been one. Most recently, Manhattan Ford uh is what we've had the last two years. So we've been very appreciative of their support of this uh this event. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

Well, yeah, I mean it just harkens back to to some great memories for a lot of people.

SPEAKER_00 7:18

It it sure does. And and you know, it's I bet their s the smile on their face as an adult participating and seeing their car go is probably the same way that their face was when they were nine, ten years old participating in Cub Scouts. But it's really fun to see them, you know, uh giving each other a hard time, talking about how fast their car is going to run, and and uh maybe uh beating a coworker or uh you know a uh competing uh there's some grudge matches, aren't there? There can be, yes, sir. Yeah. Uh-huh.

unknown 7:49

Yep.

Camp Brown Memories And Centennial Plans

SPEAKER_01 7:50

I want to talk a little bit about uh something that's uh very special with uh the court audit council, and that is the Brown Memorial Camp. And I grew up near there. Sure. The Brown Memorial home goes back, you know, so we got a family uh connection. My grandfather was the super there for a number of years, and both my grandparents lived there and just, you know. Do they still have the pool table in the building?

SPEAKER_00 8:14

I I don't know. Oh man, I need to go find out.

SPEAKER_01 8:17

But I I took my wife for um uh a tour, you know, and and we had some church camps there at Camp Marydale. Sure. And but this is something that is just truly special. It's a special place for Boy Scouts, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 8:29

You know what what's interesting is I can't go anywhere without uh somebody knowing about we affectionately call it Camp Brown, but Brown Memorial Camp. Um so many memories, so many uh lives have been positively affected by uh by spending some time at uh Camp Brown. It's been around for uh 100 years, which is remarkable in of itself. Uh but yeah, I you know every time I go somewhere, somebody either asks or or knows that it's still around and is thankful that uh the camp is still in operation.

SPEAKER_01 9:03

100 years, and this is next year, correct?

SPEAKER_00 9:06

2027 will be its 100th anniversary, yes, sir.

SPEAKER_01 9:09

Special plans?

Staff Transition And Fundraising Next Steps

SPEAKER_00 9:10

Well, we're trying we're working on that. We're not sure yet what we're going to do, but uh definitely are trying to figure out uh would love to do some alumni kind of things, maybe try to bring out, uh see if we can't find the uh the oldest person who maybe have had went spent some time at uh at Camp Brown. But yeah, we're we're still trying to figure that out so that we make sure it's a very memorable opportunity for as many people as possible.

SPEAKER_01 9:37

So I understand Crystal Baldwin is retiring.

SPEAKER_00 9:40

She sure is. Yep. I was very disappointed, knew it was coming, but uh, but uh she's been a valuable asset to our team. Uh she's been on our team for seven years. Um, really, when you talk about the corporate Pinewood Derby, we were struggling with that event to raise about$5,000 when she first joined our staff, and now we're raising over 20 with that event. So, and then we we do a golf tournament here in Manhattan. Uh we were struggling to hit 10,000 and she's come close to 20 on that. So she's been a uh a very significant uh addition to our team for the last seven years. So, what's next for your fundraising aspect? Well, that's a good question. We're trying to figure that out. Our board has committed to uh making sure that uh we continue to have a development director presence in uh Riley County. And so we're just trying to figure out what that person looks like. We want to make sure we get the right person. Uh, but for now, it's our current staff, uh Ryan Hufcut is our district executive here in uh what we call the Kanza district. So he will be picking up a couple of the pieces, but uh and I will be helping him with some of the connections that I know and have met along the way. But uh yeah, we're we're trying to figure out how that uh how that uh that change takes place.

SPEAKER_01 11:02

It's a process, isn't it?

Thanks To Donors And Show Transition

SPEAKER_00 11:04

It is a process. We want to make sure we get the right person.

SPEAKER_01 11:06

Well, Kyle, anything else you need to add here?

SPEAKER_00 11:08

You know, just just thank you to the community for uh supporting us. Um we've been through a lot of things recently, and uh, you know, we continue to uh find families that want to participate in scouting. We've continued to find uh supportive donors who want to make sure that uh we continue to uh provide the program. And so just really proud of our relationship in the Riley County and Manhattan specifically.

SPEAKER_01 11:35

He's Kyle Smith. He's now the Scout Executive CEO for the Coronado Area Council BSA. Thanks for joining us today. Good luck with Grow Green Match Day and all your other uh things that you got your hands in. Thank you. I appreciate that. Thank you for the work that you do. Jana Ukrajenko is in place. She is fired up to talk about some of the things that are happening in the community here. We got a lot on the laundry list. And we'll also give you a preview of next week's show when we return for the GMCF Community Hour here on News Radio KMAN.