How we communicate with you

This page was updated on February 7, 2024

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. 

Web Based Properties

Our domains:

Domains we use:


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:

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. 

Direct Communications from us to you.

GTCtv

Now in it's third season, this is produced by the GTCtv team and comes out approximately every two weeks on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month. It is a video presentation with links to the topics discussed. YOu can find it in three places.

Weekly email updates 

are sent out in each district. Our district professionals publish an email newsletter to their districts each week and to their district Facebook page.  The current edition and archives are available on the district websites so they can always be found. 

District Websites

Each district page includes pictures and contacts for the district key 3, the school districts and communities served, a static list of district meetings (be sure to confirm on the calendar), Links to official district Facebook pages and Groups, district history, a map and a public file storage where flyers and more may be found.

District Blogs 

(to be introduced in early February 2024)


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

Other Council Facebook Pages

Council-Related Facebook Groups

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

Some Selected Landing Pages

Landing pages have been created to highlight, localize, or market certain aspects of the program. A landing page is a page designed for visitors to load directly. It is characterized by a simple-to-remember URLs and often accompanied by a QR code to encourage a direct encounter with the page. Sometimes, the landing page is the front page of a specialized domain. 


One characteristic of a landing page is it’s URL should be stable, but the pages where the viewer is next directed are variable. Recently the Landing page for the new Cub Scout program changed in directing those interested to the same material, but now in a different location.

Great Trail Council Landing Pages

Policy on Ownership of names, insignias, and digital properties

GTC Policy Brand and Insignia.pdf

Certified BSA Marketers since 2023

Comments, suggestions and volunteer applications to the Web Team contact commissioners@gtcbsa.org