Re: Unit Committees in Other Countries?

Thomas -

You are describing the Group Committee structure, which is the standard
for many Scout Associations around the world. In actual practice, there
are many Groups that have more than just one Pack and Troop. For
instance, when I was with the 1st The Hague Scout Group (UK Scout
Association Group in The Netherlands), we had one Beaver Colony (looking
for new Leaders when I left, so that a second could be formed to deal
with the waiting list), two Cub Packs (one co-ed), two Troops (one
co-ed), and one Venture Scout Unit (co-ed). Even with two Packs, we
always had a long waiting list for Cubs.

These were all under one Committee, which had the usual positions you
probably have in the BSA, with the Leaders from each Section also
included for meetings.

Works very well. The UK Scout Association has printed guidance on
Committee operation, but you would probably find the Committee guidance
provided by Scouts Canada to be more easily available to you (phone any
Scouts Canada office - ask Directory Assistance for the number in the
city of your choice).

We had an annual Christmas (winter holidays) party for the entire Group,
as well as an annual Group camping trip to which parents were also
welcome in some years.

In addition to periodic Group Committee meetings, we had an Annual
General Meeting, to which all the parents of the Group were invited,
encouraged, and cajoled into attending. (The wine and cheese tasting
that went along with the AGM helped draw them in...) During the AGM, we
always had a massive wide game for the Scout Troops.

Fund raising was done as a Group, with funds going to the Sections on a
per-capita basis, with a larger share going to those Sections who
actively participated in the fund-rasiers (if you helped, an extra share
would go to the Sections your child(ren) belonged to). One of hte major
fund-rasiers was an annual crafts and jumble sale, held in late November
to hit the holiday trade. We would have people from all over Den Haag
and the surrounding vicinity coming in to buy things.

Working as Scout Groups instead of independent Packs and Troops is vvery
beneficial when it comes to keeping members between sections (i.e. Cub
links from Pack to Troop), since the kids all know each other from
periodic contact throughout the year.

I'm glad to see the BSA is starting to try this out on a formal basis.

Norman

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