EXCEL Awards Recognition
BSA 2009 Annual Report
Categories: Special Publications; General Excellence of Editorial Products
BSA client: Marianne Elden, Internal Communications
Judges’ comments: “Elegant, beautifully packaged. Cover wrap identifies the year’s highlights. Feels good in your hands. Provides good history of org-centennial theme. Content has interesting, engaging stories. … The annual report cover wrap demonstrated good marketing copy, ensuring the reader wants to read further.”
Explanation of the Media Studio entry: The 100th anniversary edition of the BSA’s Annual Report fulfills the first part of a two-year theme: Celebrating the Adventure and Continuing the Journey. For the 2009 Annual Report, the BSA is “Celebrating the Adventure” by reviewing how its first century shaped innumerable lives and contributed significantly to the welfare of this great nation, and by giving readers a taste of where we’re heading for our next 100 years. The design provides a nostalgic look at bygone years as well as modern images of Scouts and their activities. The content highlights individuals from each BSA region, progress on our new high-adventure base, and the impact of technology across the organization, and ends with a look at 100th Anniversary Celebration plans. The Annual Report is distributed to each attendee at our National Annual Meeting (including our National Executive Board), as well as all governors, senators, representatives, and the Fortune 500.
View the BSA 2009 Annual Report.
Eagle Scout Magazine Story
Category: General Excellence of Editorial Products
BSA client: Bill Steele, NESA
Explanation of Media Studio entry: The Boy Scouts of America continually seeks to convey the impact of Scouting—to spotlight the incredible acts of heroism, leadership, service, and giving within our organization. This Eagle Scout Magazine piece, written by Mark Ray, captured those values through the story of Alex Griffith, a Scout from Maryland who returned to the Russian children’s hospital where he was adopted years earlier to build a playground for the kids there now. It described the hardships, difficult logistics, and heartfelt donations of time and resources involved with Griffith’s remarkable project—one that ultimately impacted people from across the globe.
Philmont Field Guide
Categories: Books: Non-Technical; General Excellence of Editorial Products
BSA client: Mark Anderson, Philmont Scout Ranch
Judges’ comments: “Easy to follow and interesting to read. Well-edited; good mix of facts and explanation and inspiration of narrative. Good use of color. … The judges would purchase the Field Guide even though they are not Boy Scouts!”
Explanation of Media Studio entry: The Philmont Field Guide acquaints and inspires staff, campers, and visitors of the BSA’s flagship high-adventure base to enjoy and learn about the natural and cultural history of Philmont Scout Ranch and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains area of New Mexico. This one-stop repository of information eliminates the need for hikers to carry multiple, less-detailed guides. The guide’s content chapters—Understanding Nature, Natural History, Cultural History, Modern Impacts, Fire Precautions and Management—are specific to Philmont Scout Ranch, peppered with local anecdotes, and supplemented with usable checklists, glossary, and references. Philmont’s flora and fauna are a major focus of the book, and understanding the ranch’s cultural history is crucial to a well-rounded, educational backcountry trek. More than 120 wildflowers, 23 trees, and most species of Philmont wildlife are described in the book, and descriptions of another 180 wildflowers may be found on its companion website.
Preview the Philmont Field Guide
Jamboree Today
Category: General Excellence of Editorial Products
BSA client: Karen Thompson, Brand Management
Explanation of Media Studio entry: More than 45,000 Boy Scouts and their leaders converged on Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, for the 2010 National Scout Jamboree—a 10-day celebration of Scouting—and the staff of Jamboree Today was there to cover it all. This daily newspaper was published each full day of in-camp residence, featuring stories written and edited by youth staff reporters with support from an adult staff composed mostly of volunteers. Each issue was produced on-site and printed in a nearby town for camp delivery each morning. Jamboree Today supplemented its printed production with a Facebook presence, which allowed Scouts an easy point of access to suggest stories and otherwise contact the staff.
View issues of Jamboree Today.