Re: The Letter from the Chief Scout Executive
(no name) ((no email))
Thu, 16 Jul 1998 23:51:51 +0000
Neil Lupton <NeilLup@AOL.COM> asked:
>The reason I ask (about the letter from the CSE to the CCs) is:
>
>1) I haven't heard anything about these changes or this letter
>2) Neither has my SE
I was told this evening/morning that Scout Executives/Council
Executives got a copy of the letter, along with another memo
addressed specifically to them, from the CSE and from Council
Support Division in July's "Council Pouch". Have him or his
secretary to look for it.
>3) I have never heard of the CSE sending a letter directly to
>unit level leaders bypassing the local council
It took me a little bit to find out when this was done in the past.
In addition to letters to the field about the change from Boy
Scouts of America to Scouting/USA (in 1971) and the Improved
Scouting Program (in 1972), the CSE sent letters to the field
dealing with:
*Reaffirming the BSA's position on Membership For ALL boys (during
the BoyPower years, in which the BSA was trying to get "a
representative one-third" of all American youth in Boy Scouting)
*Drugs: A Dangerous Game (both as inserts in BSA periodicals as
well as a direct letter to every unit leader)
*The Donor Awareness Program (again, both as inserts and a direct
"form letter" with a copy of the flyer)
*Reaffirming the BSA's Position on "Duty to God" (along with
supporting flyers and materials; this one may have been sent to
Councils and then remailed to unit leaders, because I've got two
copies in my file folder-- one with local Council-specific stuff
and the other without it)
*Introduction of the "Improved" Improved Scouting Program (Improved
Back, or Hillcourt's Plan, depending on slant) in which the current
Troop Operations Plan was introduced.
Those are the ones, Neil, that I can find right away at this time
of night....there may have been others sent out, but my stuff only
goes back to Alden Barber (1968). I guess I need to make that call
for "extra papers and stuff" to be sent to me again, huh??
>4) It would be very unusual to have such a major change
>(eliminating the responsibility of the COR for reregistration) so
>precipitously without significant advance notice and preparation.
As I mentioned in the earlier followup, the BSA only recently have
been doing this "pre-emptive change" to their policies.
("pre-emptive" in the way I'm saying this, is going directly to the
volunteer in the field and TELLING us what's going to happen as
opposed to the traditional way of having it filtered through
several "funnels"...the Regional Office informing the Regional Area
Directors, the Regional Area Directors informing the Council Scout
Executives, the Scout Executives informing his or her staff and the
District Executive or senior District professional informing all
volunteers.)
The Exploring split took everyone (me included...I was awaken
early, early that Saturday morning!) for surprise and there are
STILL some senior BSA executives that are relooking how and the
timing of that decision (NOT that they are going to CHANGE the
decision, but how the information flowed and the lack of input from
the field in a larger "sample") has impacted on the Scouting
program in the country.
>But I do want to determine whether it is rumor at this point or if
>the mails are just really slow in Boston.
The mails are slow and your Council Scout Executive probably knew
or had some idea....after all, I'm sure that he reads the mail
addressed to him by name from the Regional Director and from the
Chief Scout Executive's office!
He probably saw it, and like we discussed here, probably put it
aside because "that's the way that things SHOULD be done, and our
volunteers and executives have that idea of how it SHOULD be done".
But in reading through the memorandum/letter, it represents a MAJOR
CHANGE.
Thanks for giving my new hard drive and file cabinet some workout
this morning...I and they needed the exercise! *smiling*
Settummanque!
(c) 1998 Mike Walton ("no such thing as strong coffee,...") (502) 827-9201
(settummanque, the blackeagle) http://dynasty.net/users/blkeagle
241 Fairview Dr., Henderson, KY 42420-4339 blkeagle@dynasty.net
privately at kyblkeagle@aol.com or waltonm@hq.21taacom.army.mil
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