Hello all, and welcome to 2020!  We've got a whole year of fun planned: in just a few weeks, we'll be ice fishing and doing Bear's Okpik program. If you've never done that, you should - the skills are good ones that you can use even if you're building a quinzee in your backyard; the fishing is usually pretty productive, and Bear's homemade ice cream is worth the trip all by itself.

But none of that has anything to do with the title of this blog post.

Bear and I are often asked to contribute letters of recommendation for lots of things: business, personal, scholarships, jobs, college admissions, special programs within someone's current school or job - you name it.  And not just for Scouts - Scouters, too. I can only speak for myself when I say that I enjoy doing them.  It's an honor to get to say nice things about people I get to know over several years, and to do so in a way that helps to make an immediate difference in their lives.  So, please, ask. 

I would only ask of you that you provide some essential information regarding the nature of the letter.

• In all cases, please provide the name of the person who will receive the letter, their title, and the address to which the letter would be mailed.
• A web page URL that provides some details about the organization and program/work/scholarship/etc. for which this letter applies.

The first bulleted item allows us to personalize the letter and maintain formality.  "To whom it may concern" can be okay, but addressing someone directly gets their attention. Plus, I can mail them the letter via snail mail. The second bulleted item allows me to gather information about the qualities being sought.  Leadership is one thing that we can speak to directly from your Scouting experience, but the organization/person to whom you are submitting the letter might be more interested in your problem-solving skills, ability to work well with others, or something else. Being able to understand that allows us to craft letters that show how you measure up to their criteria before they even have to ask. Therefore, having the chance to understand what they want helps us to help you to get what you want.

I thought this might be timely, as we're starting a new calendar year, and since this is halfway through the school year, now is the time when most application processes start getting busy.

See you next week!

Ray