Archdiocese of Chicago, Catholic Committee on Scouting, Office of Catechesis at 1025 West Fry Street, Chicago, IL 60622 US - Owasippe

Text of copy sent to Council prior to meeting of Tuesday, 2.22.05 Mr. Lew Greenblatt, President, and Members of the Board of Directors Chicago Area Council, Inc., Boy Scouts of America 1218 West Adams Street Chicago , IL My Dear Friends in Scouting: Thank you for all the time, talent and treasure you share to serve as a leading in our Scouting community in Chicago. On behalf of the Archdiocese of Chicago, Catholic Committee on Scouting, the purpose of this letter is to simply reaffirm our committee’s position of opposition to any sale of any of the almost 5,000 acres of the Owasippe Scout Reservation at this time. Our committee is on record as having supported the sale of Hoover Outdoor Education Center, Yorkville, IL, to resolve the fiscal crisis of the Chicago Area Council, Inc. The sale of Hoover grosses an estimated $18 million in revenue for the Council., and we believe should have resolved the debt load of almost $4 million the Council had acquired! On behalf of our committee, I humbly beg for your NO vote on any sale proposal presented on February 22, 2005, as a matter of social justice to preserve Owasippe for use by future generations of Scouting youth to enjoy! I ask for your NO vote as a matter of protecting the Oak savannahs, the endangered species of flora and fauna, and most important, one of last parcels of Americana where the imagination and dreams of our youth get realized every time they open their Scout handbook can be fulfilled and made real for the youth of today. Once this capital asset is sold, it can never be replicated. Instead of selling any part of this very valuable asset, we need to drive a campaign to return this asset to a global class operation. This is a marvelous property for youth but has suffered from the same financial problems of the rest of our Council, now resolved by the sale of Hoover. NOW is the time to demand your voice be heard to create the vision and leadership on the development of this camp for kids. While the BSA National Office is adding yet another Philmont type property, the Double H, to its stable of properties this summer in the West, yet, we seem destined to fail our youth by selling OUR camp! We must all look inward at what has brought us to this point of sale or being less successful and take action to move forward! Thank you for your kind consideration. I am Faithfully yours in Scouting as Youth Ministry, Gordon P. Stiefel, Chairman

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