Re: write to national
(no name) ((no email))
Mon, 14 Sep 1998 16:48:10 +0000
To piggy-back onto what Tom wrote:
"<Tom Petrik>" <EC92@AOL.COM> stated in part:
>several changes were made because of e-mails to this list also,
>since I strip them of personal details (the names are removed to
>protect the innocent!?) and forward them to those i've worked with
>over the years in national's office - including people in editing
>and in-house publishing and marketing.
Several other Scouters here currently serving on national-level
committees or task forces (and those like myself that used to do
such things when I had more time and a lot more energy than now!)
have been doing such "sharing" since the list has been formed. This
list has been known to "effect changes" within the BSA's Cub and
Boy Scouting programs through our comments, questions and
contributions of ideas that "do work" and can work nationally.
Again, please however, I caution everyone here:
Scouts-L is NOT THE ONLY FORUM TO GET YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED.
Let's use the *existing structure first* within your youth
organization or agency. In the case of the BSA, it's *your local
Council office* and their volunteers and professional staffs. In
a lot of cases, they will have the answer to the question you're
seeking, or tell you how *they are handling* the program you're
asking about. Every local Council operates just a wee bit
differently, so there's bound to be a slight difference between how
things run here in Kentucky as opposed to how they are managed in
Alabama or California.
If you can't get a straight answer or if you feel that you need
more information than what you were given, then by all means please
post your question here whereby we'll try our best to answer it and
provide you the neccessary information (and the documentation if
you need it and if we have it).
Let's not use Scouts-L as a means to "get around" or to somehow
downplay the role of your local organization and their management
staff/team. They are trying as hard as they can to provide you and
your fellow Scouters with the information and content that you're
seeking...sometimes they fail but most times, they do succeed.
I get a lot of email from professionals and senior volunteers
asking me to "please let them know on Scouts-L that we're not
dummies and that we're trying to get them the information but we
don't have it ourselves". That's so true on both counts. This
year, I had promised those on this list, has been a very busy year
for the BSA in particular. They have been really *running at full
steam* since LAST WINTER, and still hasn't caught up!! So before
you start taking copies of Scouts-L postings down to your local
offices and demanding "copies of this or that because I've got a
posting here that says you're supposed to have it!!", please give
them some TIME to "get the stuff you've asking for"; as not all
Councils get the information at the "same time" nor do they choose
to use the information they do obtain at the "same time".
If you have *specific questions or comments* that you want your
national leadership to know about, "go to the source" and write
them a personal letter. While you may receive in return an
auto-penned response, or a form letter, most of the letters
received that ask about SPECIFIC PROGRAM QUESTIONS or comments DO
GET READ AND ANSWERED by the appropriate division director or
program supervisor. Enough letters about the same topic gets
placed into a bin whereby eventually it's acted upon. So the power
of the pen (or now wordprocessor and ink) is mighty powerful!!
Again, don't be afraid to post here onto Scouts-L with your
questions and comments, but at the same time, please give your
local organization time to answer your concerns. This, as in the
case of our WELCOME letter, prevents potential embarrassing
"situations" between you or your local organization and all of
us...and it keeps all of us working in the same direction: toward
the betterment of our programs and the youth we serve.
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
(note that these addresses will expire on 1 October 1998)
privately at kyblkeagle@aol.com or waltonm@hq.21taacom.army.mil
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