Life Scout Develops Asset Inventory Archive for Local Church

Boy Scout Troop 70 have several Scouts who have or will achieve Eagle Scout rank. Cinnaminson Patch has asked them to share their stories and photos with us. 

Scout: Zachary Howard

Current Scout Rank: Life Scout

School: Delran High School

Grade: 12

Project: Every organization, including businesses, churches, schools, retail stores, non-profits, and, most definitely, private residences, should have a comprehensive and well-documented insurance asset inventory archive.

An insurance asset inventory archive is a systematic procedure which involves compiling property inventories, asset identification, overall asset awareness, and then assembling the reports and findings into a well-documented physical and electronic archive.

This asset archive would potentially be invaluable during a disaster or calamity.  In the unfortunate case of a disaster, insurance company claims departments would be able to more efficiently and effectively handle the claims if they were provided with an insurance asset inventory. Claims departments would be able to accurately replace and/or repair organizational assets without any doubt of the exact inventory, serial number or condition of the asset.

I have been a member of Covenant Presbyterian Church for the past nine years. This church has given me so much during my lifetime, and I wanted to develop an Eagle Scout project in such a way that I would be giving something back to Covenant Presbyterian Church.

I approached the church concerning an insurance asset inventory project and found that they did not have any such formal inventory. When I proposed developing an insurance asset archive, the church seemed very interested.

At this point, my overall goal was to perform a complete insurance asset archive of all church property for my Eagle Scout project, whereby I would assemble a complete archive of all church assets and property. The insurance asset archive would include a physical inventory, including model numbers and serial numbers, and then assembling the findings into both a paper and electronic report. 

The inventory would include all church property including computers, furniture, pictures, entertainment equipment, religion-related property, music equipment (organ), sound system equipment, bibles, song books, pews, stained glass, bells and chimes, choir dress and attire, classroom materials, tables, kitchen equipment, signage, televisions, copiers, chairs and tables, air conditioners, boiler, and any other church-related assets.

The insurance asset archive includes a physical inventory, both inside and outside of the church, including pictures, serial numbers, asset location, and a full description of the actual asset.

During the process of assembling the Covenant Presbyterian Church insurance asset archive, over 800 photographs and over 200 serial numbers, including property descriptions, were processed. labor hours totaled 155 hours with the generous dedication of 12 friends and fellow Scouts.

According to the insurance industry, an insurance asset archive is an important part of any organization’s strategy in order to accurately account for asset replacement status and values in the event of a property disaster. The insurance industry highly recommends and encourages either an informal or a formal asset archive be performed for all organizations.

I would like to thank all of my friends, family, and fellow Scouts that assisted me with this project. Their help and dedication with this project has been very constructive and instrumental. This project may be one of the last large-scale adventures as a Boy Scout, but the memories, culture, and brotherhood associated with Scouting will always be part of me.