New Tools Coming for Camp and Event Management

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You might look at the logo above and think “What in the heck is Tentaroo?”

Tentaroo is a camp and event management system designed from the ground up specifically for Boy Scout councils and I’m excited to share the news that our council is going to be implementing Tentaroo to manage our camps and other events.  Many Boy Scout councils – specifically 65 others – all across the country are already using Tentaroo as a tool to help them better serve their units and members.

We’ve been looking at and evaluating other similar tools for a long while.  As I spent time evaluating Tentaroo, what I particularly liked about their services is that their tools have been developed specifically for Boy Scout councils, since BSA camps and councils are their only clients.

Why should our units and leaders care about this?  Here are just a few reasons why:

  • Users will be able to easily see at a glance, for any time period, what cabins and facilities are available at our camps.  Once you decide to make a reservation, you can book it right on-line paying with a credit card or e-check.  I was impressed with just how easy this was to navigate without any training.
  • Tentaroo’s event management module will enable us to manage nearly all aspects of each unit’s summer camp reservations on-line, with unit leaders having access to the same information our council staff members do.  You can add the names of  Scouts and leaders attending to your roster at any time.
  • In addition to summer camp management, we’ll be able to use Tentaroo to manage any type of event.  It will accept reservations by unit or by individual (depending on the event).
  • Tentaroo uses an easy, drag-and-drop system to schedule Scouts for merit badge classes at camp (or any merit badge events).  Unit leaders will be able to make changes to a Scout’s schedule right up until the time they arrive at camp.
  • Instructors at our camps will be able to track attendance and requirements as they are completed at camp.  Unit leaders will be able to see this data immediately.
  • Once a unit has made their camp reservation, all of the financial record keeping for that unit will be done in Tentaroo.  Leaders will be able to see payment information at any point and can submit payments through the system.  Tentaroo will also automatically track any discounts that are date-sensitive (like the Early Bird discount for summer camp fees).

We will begin the implementation process to use Tentaroo starting next week.  As you might imagine, there is a substantial amount of set-up work that we will need to do to get the system up and running. Every unit in the council will receive an account to use the system and we will populate your account with the names of your registered members, which will make using the system a lot easier right from the beginning.

Once we are ready to launch this new system, we’ll be providing units with lots of information and on-line training on how to use the available features.

I was also pleased that Tentaroo is well on its way to make their system “responsive” for easy use on any device – computer, tablet or phone.  This is similar to how our council website already works.  Following the 2017 summer camp season, Tentaroo will launch this new “responsive” platform.

Please feel free to check out Tentaroo’s website at www.tentaroo.com. While the site is designed to be most useful to councils that are considering using Tentaroo, it’ll provide you with a few more details about how Tentaroo can help us better serve your needs.

Yours in Scouting,
 
Ron Gardner
Scout Executive & CEO

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