Re: Who does what.
(no name) ((no email))
Mon, 29 Jan 1996 20:49:16 -0600
Professor Beaver (Mike Bowman) wrote:
>Mike Walton stated that ALL District Executives are expected to perform
>staff functions "on behalf and in the physical absense of" the KEY
>volunteers of his or her District citing BSA's Southeast Region Adminstrat
>ion Manual, page 14-5, second paragraph.
>
>Mike, are you sure this is uniform and up-to-date? We are in the
>Northeast Region and are encouraged to have two-deep leadership in all
>positions including "Key" District positions. If the District Chairman
>is unable to make a meeting, the most senior Vice Chairman takes on the
>role of Chairman for the meeting. Likewise, I've filled in for the
>District Commissioner more than once in his absence. In our area we
>expect that volunteers will always have a back-up person to cover, if
>they are not available.
That's okay for the District's leadership, Mike, but a lot of times, the
professional does interviene when he or she needs to to make the program
run smoothly in the absence of the volunteer. Particularly in smaller
Districts, whereby there's not that "two-deep leadership" that we would
love to have, or when those few key volunteers all are busy.
I'm not sure about "up-to-date", but I know what *I* had to do in several
cases in order to keep the program going....and as long as the volunteer is
the *ultimate decisionmaker* in the execution of District or Council program,
I don't have a problem with that as a volunteer. I've also observed other
professionals having to do some of the same things, especially when they
don't have the volunteer structure that in the past MOST local Councils
suffered from.
In this case, the District Advancement Chair in many districts do NOT have
an "assistant", nor will many Councils want him or her to have one. In
those cases, it's natural that the "executive secretary" to this person
"fill in" while they cannot or are unwilling to do the role until either
another volunteer can be recruited by the professional, by the volunteer leaders
hip, or upon return and committment of the initial volunteer.
>It seems to me that this should be a last resort that would only apply in
>a very small District that has severe problems in recruiting volunteers.
>And if it does apply, it should be a signal that volunteer recruiting is
>needed and now.
Definate agreement here. In my personal cases, that's EXACTLY what happened,
as I've illustrated in my first response to this string.
>I can understand paraprofessional involvement in economically challenged
>areas where recruiting efforts have had less than stellar success, but I
>would hesitate to generalize this experience to all Districts.
Many of the Districts in the old Southeast Region had similiar problems,
particularly rural districts whereby in a lot of cases the DE or ADE was
also serving as "multiple volunteers"....primarily unit and assistant District
Commissioners, when those Commissioners listed "on the charter" were only
paper commissioners, and did little or nothing to carry on their important
roles. I am glad in this aspect that the BSA's new registration program
took care of many of those problems, and that I'm sure that most District
Executives today have only a small amount of "volunteer multiple" service
that myself and other pros had to endure in the past.
>The issue of whether professionals should be involved in program delivery
>is interesting and may be confusing because of the language we use. Every
>professional has a stake in program delivery and is involved to some
>degree through administrative functions like recruiting volunteers,
>acting as a staff advisor, etc. I don't think anyone was saying
>professionals have no role in program. On the other hand, should that role
>extend to running a program or activity?
It can, if the volunteer that previously agreed to running that program or
event "backs out" a week or two or even days before the District's volunteer
leadership can adequately muster together and find a replacement to conduct
the program successfully. I'll give a brief example, leaving out District
name.
A District traditionally has a Scout Show at a local shopping center each
spring. The instruction packet and information goes out through the
District's Executive, prepared by the same guy that has done this for
the last upteen times. Everyone knows that this event goes on, that it's planne
d on the calendar, but still there's some coordination that has to
be done with the shopping center and with other volunteers with regards
to placement of tables, power cords, lighting, setup and teardown and
promotion.
Two weeks before the event, the Chair of the Show calls up the Executive
and announces that "I'm not doing this anymore...take my name off the
roster!" and hangs up. The next day, the Executive goes to the home of
the Scouter, and is told "I'm tired of Scouting when I don't get any more recogn
ition than this...here's your card and badge, and please don't bother
me about SME (sustaining membership enrollment)!"
The Executive calls up the District Chair and explains the situation, and
the District Chair agrees to serve as "Event Chair". Then, in the "backchecking
", the DC finds that nothing has been done with regards to
planning for this event, and when she calls the Executive up and explains
that fact, the Executive is heard slapping his head, saying "That's right!
He always does this at almost the last minute...that's what happened last
year!"
So, the Executive is now forced to do much if not all of the "leg work" (as
*all* Executives do for their volunteers, going back to what I stated
originally) to make this event "come off without any problems", because
the District Chair cannot because of her work. He makes the phone calls,
he talks with the shopping center marketing people, and he does much of the setu
p come early morning of the day of the event.
Everyone marvels at how "Gene" (the old chair of the event) has once again
"pulled it off", and the DE, being the good person he is, never mentions that
it was HE (assisted by the District Chair) that ACTUALLY "did the program".
Later on, those within the District finds out, but it's not from the actions
nor wording of the "executive secretary" to the District.
I would envision something along those lines going on for the District
Advancement Chair, having to leave for vacation or some other personal
or professional event. I'm NOT talking "take over", I'm simply talking
"subbing in".
>My inclination would be to minimize any such role simply as matter of
>good personnel resource management. In any District we should be
>operating as a team and in that team the ratio of professionals to
>volunteers speaks for itself. In our District with over 2600 registered
>adults serving 6,800+ Scouts and only two professionals, I think it would
>be folly to commit professional resources to running programs that could
>be run by volunteers. I can guarantee you that our two professionals
>work more than 40 hours a week already doing a stellar job. :-) Now I
>realize that we are a little big and that in a very small District things
>may be a little different. But I wonder even there whether it makes sense
>to have a professional run a program that could be run by a volunteer.
That's true, Mike...lots of professionals have enought to do within those
"40 hour weeks" (more like 60-75 hour weeks) without hand-holding volunteers.
Volunteers run the program, while professionals make the program happen.
That's why I've always stressed as a key volunteer that WE NEED TO DO OUR
JOBS SO THAT THE PROS CAN DO THEIRS! When we fail to do what we've signed
up to do, that places MORE stress on that one or two professionals in our
Districts to either find someone else that will, drop the program, or
do it themselves until they can get someone to do it.
>I think we all want the professional staff to be supporting the program
>aspects of Scouting, which is a different issue from running a program.
>We could discuss just what kind of support or how much is right, but that
>is really dependent on the needs of each District and its unique make-up.
>Consequently, I don't think there would be a universal correct answer on
>just how much support is right. No doubt some would argue for less
>fundraising :-) and more program, but the issue here is whether a
>professional should run a program.
>
>I would encourage strong support of program, but stop there. I think
>that we are better served to build a strong volunteer base that runs
>programs.
We are in firm agreement, and I think that Gregg will agree with us here.
I've experienced having to "pitch in" and make the program work several
times in the four and a half years as a employee of the Councils and of
the Region. This does mean sometimes in EXTREME situations that the DE
or other professional staff person has to do the writing and distribution
of the newsletter, has to sign for the District Chair or Commissioner
(with their knowledge, of course!), has to sit in on Council or District
meetings or Courts of Honors on their behalfs...in a lot of Districts,
with an proactive volunteer structure and with volunteers firmly involved
in what they "signed up for", this is NOT a problem...everyone works hard
and works together. It is those times and locations where the seven-person
District Committee IS the District Committee, Commissioners' Staff and
everything else, when the professional may have to "work as a volunteer too".
Gregg, while you and I differ on TODAY'S professional role, I base what
I've stated here on my PREVIOUS work as a Paraprofessional, ADE and Exploring
Professional in five local Councils, all of which in their mostly rural or
urban Districts, over a four-year period. It became more than a job, as I
have used that time as a learning ground for my later volunteer service in
a variety of roles and in a variety of sized local Councils.
Your mileage, as always stated here, may vary.
Settummanque!
(MAJ) Mike L. Walton (Settummanque, the blackeagle) (
co-Owner, Blackeagle Servics of Kentucky (502.826.7046) __)_
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