CAP 101 presentation

[RiverAux]

Apparently CAP might be trying out yet another new motto (doesn't NHQ realize that you're supposed to have one brand, not twelve). 

I just downloaded the CAP101 presentation from CAP channel and what greets my eyes when I open it up:
CIVIL AIR PATROL -- MORE THAN A CITIZENSHIP PROGRAM

Okay, that aside, what is up with this presentation?  I thought it was supposed to be a general presentation that we could use to give to local groups who didn't know much about CAP.  Instead, we get mind-boggling flow charts of CAP's organizational structure and how federal mission tasks flow, 7 charts discussing CAP national-level budget problems and something about CAP-RAP program "challenges".  Also there is a map of CAP unit locations that is horribly, horribly wrong (shows about twice as many units as my wing has).  The slides about the cadet programs are just basically a list of NCSAs. 

It has been a while since I had looked at it.  Previously I liked it for the most part, but it is about 75% useless for local work.  So, back to the drawing board for the presentation I have to give this week. 

[CASH172]

I just looked at it and I'm in total agreement.  I remember seeing another one that was a little bit more dumbed down.  Not sure what happened to it. 

[Pylon]

No central control.  No identity. No message consistency.  No branding.  6 different logos in current use (no joke), 3 names for our organization in circulation.  And a lot of uncontrolled, unguided re-inventing of the wheel at the Region, Wing and local level for everything from flyers and brochures to recruiting videos and websites.  These are the things a dedicated corporate communications office would control, correct and maintain.


So can we ever reasonably expect a quality product before we fix the underlying issues that CAP so desperately wants to ignore in favor of a motto-of-the-moment fix?

[gistek]

"MORE THAN A CITIZENSHIP PROGRAM"

My first thought was teaching immigrants how to recite the Pledge of allegiance in English and prepare for the Citizenship tests.

I like "More Than Meets The Skies" pretty well. It emphasizes our air services, while giving a great opportunity to show all the other stuff we do.

[DesertFlyer]

I agree.  I deleted at least half the slides from this one, including the flowcharts, etc., and used the ones with descriptions of major CAP programs.  I then added a number of slides describing the activities of our local squadron.  With that, I'm ready for the Rotary, Kiwanis, City Council, etc.

It would be nice to have a more generic "starting template," aimed at the non-member general public, from which we could begin our customization.  In any case, you're always going to want to add some material about your local activities.