How we communicate with you

Who are we?

 We are the Web Team, a group of volunteers that coordinate communications for the council primarily through our web-based and social media properties. We report to the Council Commissioner Service Team and to the Council Marketing Committee. Our professional advisor is our CEO. 

We serve on and report to the Council Commissioner Service Team for the content and resources provided, as commissioners have the priorities (1) to Be the Single, Best Resource, (2) To Ensure S.A.F.E. programs, and (3) to Enable Significant, Sustainable Growth. 

We serve on the Council Marketing Committee for our efforts to address better internal and external communications.

One Calendar, One Source - History

The Web Team was founded in 2021 and works to solidify communications in the Council. Our first accomplishment was adopting one calendar across all meetings and activities at district and council levels. Our procedure is that all published dates should be accompanied by links to the calendar or a relevant web page with links to the calendar. A variety of specialized calendars are presented, but they all derive from the same database. 

Our other Goals include being analytically driven, making information easily obtainable, customizing experiences for different audiences, consistent branding, and working within a Council Wide Marketing Strategy. Our principles include ownership,  transparency, being informative, well-documented, and volunteer driven.

Our official digital channels are listed below. 

The Great Trail Council and its districts have a variety of ways of getting the word out. This page is a partial catalog of those ways. The Web Team has worked diligently since 2021 to establish communication channels that are consistent and accurate. We did this by having the Web Team take ownership and administration of all of our digital properties, and this effort is ongoing. 

*Unofficial links are indicated by "(unofficial)" below for digital properties not yet administered by the Web Team.

If you want to communicate with us about this page, contact commissioners@gtcbsa.org. If you want to communicate with other staff, visit our Contact US page. 

One Calendar, One Calendar Only

See the Full Council Calendar (gtcbsa.org)

A calendar you can always rely on. 

Our first overarching goal was to support a one-calendar initiative. Every activity of the council and districts and associated organizations is on the one council calendar and no other calendars should be used or relied on.  Our vendor for the calendar is BlackPug software and supports both our listing of meetings and provides for camping and event registration.  It is under constant review and is at the heart of our internal communication efforts. 

Special Subsets of this calendar are available at these links:

• Search the calendar (GTC Local events and meetings)

• What is scheduled at our two camps calendar (existing events are on Manatoc.org)

• Training calendar (lists all local council training events)

• Fund Raising calendar (lists dates and events associated with our council-level fundraisers)

• Range and Target Sports calendar (lists all meetings and events tagged)

• Order of the Arrow Calendar (see https://www.marnoc.org/get-involved/lodge-calendar) 

There is also a facility provided by our vendor to search all councils using Black Pug calendars nationwide. Search the Nationwide Scouting Calendar (Nationwide events by Councils that use the same software we do). So if you are looking for a training or event in another council, try this. 

Social Media

Great Trail Council Facebook and Instagram

Our primary channels are 

The Great Trail Council Facebook Page   

Great Trail Council Instagram (launched late 2023)

Camp Manatoc Facebook Page 

Camp Manatoc Council Instagram (coming in 2024)

District Facebook Pages and Instagram

• Canal District Facebook Page  Instagram  

• Crooked River Facebook Page Instagram (no Instagram)

• Soaring Eagle  Facebook Page Instagram (no Instagram)

• Stambaugh District  Facebook Page Instagram

• Exploring Facebook Page    Instagram (no Instagram)

• Marnoc Lodge OA #151 Facebook Page Instagram 

Other Council Facebook Pages

• Great Trail Council Scout Shop Facebook Page (Run nationally)

• The Adaptation, Inclusion, and Diversity Committee, Great Trail Council, BSA Facebook Page 

• Manatoc Traditions Committee Facebook Page (needs a @username) 

• Great Trail Council Venturing Facebook Page  (not in Meta Business Suite) (note https://GTCVenturing.org exists, is not owned by Web Team and is not used presently)

Council-Related Facebook Groups

Groups are not listed in this accounting. District Group pages can be seen in the individual district web pages.