Client: Alamo Area Council (San Antonio, Texas) 
Contact: Linda Dieguez, Chief of Staff 
Scouts Served: Approximately 7,000 
Tenure: 11+ Years with CouncilWare

The Challenge: Managing Complexity in a Volunteer-Led Organization

The Alamo Area Council is one of the larger councils in the country, managing a complex schedule that includes five Cub Scout Day Camps, Webelos resident camps, and BSA resident camps. For Council Chief of Staff Linda Dieguez, who has been with the council for over a decade, the administrative burden of setting up hundreds of events annually was immense.

As a volunteer-led organization, Linda needed a way to track merit badge classes and empower volunteers to manage their own events without letting every request pile up on her desk. She also faced a growing need to modernize the council’s retail operations, specifically to sell merchandise online while navigating complex sales tax requirements.

The Solution: CouncilWare’s Innovative Approach

Linda uses CouncilWare for event registration, facility rentals, and now, online retail. The platform provided specific features that keep her operations running smoothly.

“Clone Forward” Efficiency

Instead of building every Roundtable or district event from scratch, Linda uses CouncilWare to duplicate existing events. This feature turns hours of setup into simple updates, allowing her to manage the council’s busy calendar with ease.

Volunteer Empowerment

CouncilWare allows administrators to grant specific access levels to volunteers. This means event chairs can check registration numbers and manage details themselves, shifting Linda’s role from “gatekeeper” to “administrative support.”

Mobile Management

Whether she is at camp or at home, Linda, her staff, and volunteers can manage registrations directly from their phones or tablets. Linda frequently swaps merit badge classes or accepts payments from parents instantly via her mobile device, resolving issues in real time without disrupting her personal life.

“It puts me in really an administrative support position, which is where I need to be.” — Linda Dieguez

Key Wins & Innovations

1. Real-Time Customer Service at Camp

CouncilWare transformed the camp experience for parents and leaders. During summer camp, merit badge tracking is entered into the system daily.

• Transparency: Parents at home and leaders at camp can log in to check a Scout’s progress in real time.
• Problem Solving: If a Scout misses a requirement, leaders catch it immediately, allowing the Scout to make it up during lunch or before leaving camp, rather than going home with a “partial.”
• Impact: This capability significantly increased the council’s customer service value.

2. Agility During Crisis 

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the council needed to shift immediately to online programming. While other vendors struggled to adapt, CouncilWare pushed out new reporting and tracking systems within weeks, allowing the council to run digital merit badge classes seamlessly. This responsiveness allowed the Alamo Area Council to consolidate its operations and rely solely on CouncilWare.

3. Custom-Built Retail & Tax Solutions

The council wanted to open an online store to pre-sell t-shirts and reduce inventory waste. However, calculating sales tax for mixed baskets (taxable goods vs. non-taxable event registrations) was a major hurdle.

• The Fix: Russ Votava, CouncilWare’s founder, built a custom sales tax engine specifically for them. The system now automatically calculates the correct tax on merchandise while leaving service fees untaxed, streamlining their accounting process.
• The Result: The council can now pre-sell items to match demand, saving money on unsold inventory and opening a new revenue stream for vintage council gear.

Why They Stay: Partnership Over Product

While price is a factor — CouncilWare remains more affordable than competitors — Linda emphasizes that the relationship is the true differentiator.

“It’s not just, ‘Okay, we have this.’ It’s, ‘You get to be a part of creating this and making it work for you.’… It’s that personal touch.” — Linda Dieguez

When technical issues arise during an event, Linda knows she won’t get a generic ticket response. She gets a fast reply or a personal phone call from Russ to ensure the problem is solved immediately.

Ready to simplify your council’s operations? Join councils like Alamo Area who are spending less time on paperwork and more time on the adventure.

Visit CouncilWare.com to schedule a demo.