AnniePoo

I hear you, gwd-scouter, about being tired. I too have a chronic illness, and both the illness and meds cause fatigue. Not everyone understands how the profound fatigue associated with many chronic illnesses can affect you.

I tend to crash in the late afternoon and evening, so I am generally fine at work. I do scouting stuff as I can, and don't beat myself up if because of the illness I can't stay on my schedule to get scouting stuff done when I want to.

I've also learned to say No to recruiting efforts from other volunteer groups in town. I won't take a leadership or committee position in those groups, although I'll help as slave labor in their events periodically. Focusing my volunteer efforts on scouting helps. After all, it's only an hour a week.!

Eamonn - sounds like you would like to continue in scouting, but perhaps you are burned out of committees, etc. How about dumping all of that and volunteering to help with a pack or troop in a non-administrative position that would be FUN!!. I don't know if you're doing something on that level already, but I'll bet a unit would be glad to have you take over one aspect of their outdoor program. You'd just have to make sure you didn't allow yourself to be roped into administrative (i.e. boring) stuff within that unit.

Good luck!

For Cubs, another option is to strip the bark off, let dry a couple of months, then trim the ends and sand. Then let the kids paint with acrylic paint, which comes in little bottles in hundreds of colors. My daughter painted one of hers pink and black, and my son is doing one of his in camoflage colors. I painted a couple of them to look like snakes after shaping heads at one end with a rotary tool. After painting, apply 3 coats of polyurethane.

You're essentially the administrator of the troop.

(1) Be realistic about your goals in scouting, both long-term and short-term

(2) Ask for help

(3) Don't expect to be perfect

(4) Don't worry about making a fool of yourself in front of the kids.

(5) Laugh!

(6) Praise in public, criticize in private

(7) If you are angry/annoyed about something a parent or other leader has done or said, don't respond until the next day when you've cooled off a bit.

(8) Be professional in your communications with parents and Scouters.

(9) Learn lots of good songs & jokes about boogers & farts

(10) When explaining something to kids, parents, or leaders, don't assume that they know the basics. For instance, when you mention Blue & Gold, be sure to tell people what B & G is. Often 95% may already know, but 5% don't.

(11) Den leaders - at every den meeting, make sure you say at least one positive thing to every scout.

(12) When a parent complains about something - your standard response should be "We're always looking for feedback at our committee meetings, so please come to our next one on XXXX at XXXX."

(13) When a kids says "I've already done that at school", say "Well lucky you--you get to do it again!!"

(14) If you're not exhausted at the end of a den meeting or pack meeting, then you haven't been enthusiastic enough.

(15) If at a campout, a kid complains about dirt, particulate matter, ashes, or burned stuff in his food, tell him "I won't charge you extra for that - this time", or tell him him that those are "flavor crystals".

Oldhat - you have some good points. I think it's important for senior leaders in the to "mentor" the new leaders, and to really give them significant guidance. I'm planning on staying on as CC for a couple of years after my son crosses over to BS, which will happen next year, and because I won't also be a den leader at that point, I hope to be able to help out more with our newer leaders.

Making tie slides wasn't my "thing" as a Tiger leader, but we had a former Tiger leader who had his den make them every month (very successfully) with a system similar to that described by kari_cardi. Didn't cost much, and an adult handled the hot glue gun. Anything the kids couldn't cut with safety scissors was cut ahead of time by the DL.

My experience is only in Cub Scouts, but following are reasons why I've seen leaders quit:

(1) Tiger/Wolf den leaders ---Lack of information & support from senior pack leadership.

(2) Legitimate health reasons

(3) Feeling unappreciated and/or your opinion does not matter.

Three most important criteria:

(1) lightweight

(2) filling

(3) not vomit-inducing

Our treasurer has to write a LOT of checks for things like reimbursement to leaders for supplies, etc., payment for fees, etc. It would be extremely difficult if we required committee approval prior to her sending out payment for these types of things. Thus, we discuss major expenses, proposed expenditures that are out of the ordinary, etc. at committee meetings. However, the treasurer is required to keep extremely good records, and provides info about our accounts typically monthly. We also meet to go over the budget once a year in the summer to review the prior year and put together a tentative budget for the next year.

Every pack seems to handle their accounts differently, but all should be keeping excellent records and have the account/expenditure information be transparent to the committee.

Thanks for the help so far. Thought I'd add a little more info....

I'm CC and also assistant den leader (and camping coordinator) for the Webelos den. This kid isn't perfect, tends to get into dangerous stuff (possibly a little OCD going on), and the other parents and I keep a pretty close eye on him. His mom comes to all of the campouts also. However, of all the scout stuff, he LOVES to go camping, and it's really the only thing that will keep in scouting long-term. I haven't found out yet what the situation is with the new pack, and am going to really try to make sure his parents find him a camping-heavy BS troop a year from now. We camped monthly last year from April - September (midwest), and he + mom+ brother came to every campout. I really want him to be able to come with us this summer.

I will contact our district exec for his take on it, but wanted to feel you guys out first to see if anyone has run across this before. I'm guessing it will be a bit of a grey area and interpretation may vary from council to council.

We have a Webelos scout in our pack who has recently moved and will be transferring to a different pack in a nearby district (same council) after the school year is done. He will start participating in some of the other pack's summertime activities. However, he's really into camping and would like to come to one or two of our (current pack's) weekend Webelos campouts. I think that other than summer resident Webelos camp, the new pack doesn't do much camping. Do I need to get any special type of approval to have him come with us this summer?

Our pack has an (unwritten) policy that major proposed expenditures be discussed at a pack committee meeting prior to purchase. This also gives us time to review the budget to ensure that sufficient funds are there. We've discussed buying an enclosed trailer in the future, but it's a significant cost and we would likely save for that item specifically over a few years. Prior to purchase of such a large item, my opinion (as CC) is that committee & COR approval would have to be unanimous.

Although perhaps it is not required, I feel that the pack budget should be transparent and pack budget info available to people who come to the committee meetings. However, our committee and treasurer put a lot of time and effort into making the best choices for the pack, including spending decisions. Thus, I wouldn't be very tolerant of a parent (or den leader for that matter) who never comes to committee meetings yet was frequently critical about decisions made by the committee.

So, I'm not sure what your position is in the pack, and we don't have too much background about the whole situation, so it's hard to give you specific advice.

Did the treasurer and Scoutmaster go behind the back of the committee and purchase the trailer? Or, perhaps the pack committee thoroughly reviewed the pros and cons of owning a trailer, researched the price and found that the brother-in-law's trailer was like new and truly a good deal (resale is very high on enclosed trailers in good condition), and the monies for the purchase are there in the budget?

These are two very different scenarios.

More specifics about your situation would be helpful.

I was a Brownie for two weeks, then quit because it was really boring and I thought paying dues (quarter a week) was a ripoff. And I was a tomboy and didn't want to wear the little skirts.

" mom's tend to try to prevent problems and men tend to pick up the pieces after the fact"

I certainly agree with this.

OOhhhh, ya got me, too. Good one.

Oops - computer problems. How the heck do I delete a post if my computer burps and sends a post three times.(This message has been edited by AnniePoo)

(This message has been edited by AnniePoo)

Anyone from National listening?--A requirement like this WILL cause our pack to lose existing leaders next year, and will make it horribly difficult to recruit new ones.

I guess only skinny rich people are allowed to be scout leaders.(This message has been edited by AnniePoo)

Tell the parent that he can bring the lightening detector along on campouts. However, he has to purchase it, and HE has to carry it around the entire time during the campout.

This is getting ridiculous. Before this latest increase, a large portion of our CUbs couldn't even afford a shirt.(This message has been edited by AnniePoo)

* What prompted you to become a Cub Scout leader?

No one else would volunteer to be the Tiger den leader, so another parent volunteered me.

* Did you find it difficult to integrate your Cub Scout duties with your other day-to day activities and responsibilities?

Sometimes, especially in the first year, but it gets much easier in subsequent years.

* What are some of the things you find/found satisfying about being/having been a Cub Scout leader?

Smiling kids who tell you they had fun and give you a hug when they see you. Seeing kids experience something they've never done before.

* Can you share a favorite story from your Cub Scout leadership experiences?

Accompanied an ill parent and his son on a pack outing to a large city. This is likely to be one of the last major trips this parent will be able to go on with their son, and it was a great feeling to be able to help them take the traip and have them experience it together. Making memories is important.

* What words of advice or encouragement do you have for potential Cub Scout Leaders?

Hang in there. The first year is the hardest. You'll likely get much more out of it then you put into it. Being a Cub leader is a real confidence booster. You'll be amazed how much you change in just a couple of years.

Water bottle rocket launchers (the kind that uses manual bike pumps to pressurize).

It's probably worth a call to the council office to see if you are "officially" committee chair, although I don't see how you could be without having signed a new leader application.

It's probably worth a call to the council office to see if you are "officially" committee chair, although I don't see how you could be without having signed a new leader application.

As others mentioned, you, as committee chair, are essentially the boss of the pack, with only the Chartered Organization Rep above you. You are the administrative/organizational arm of the pack, and can thus work with your committee to set a schedule, budget, etc. A pack committee is typically comprised of the committee chair, den leaders, assistant den leaders and any involved parent helpers that want to be there (we usually invite all parents to come). Technically, the cubmaster is not a member of the committee, but usually comes to the meetings. The committee chair runs the monthly meetings, not the cubmaster.

I think you're on the right track. Here's my recommendations: Send out a letter to all parents, den leaders (with a copy to the CM) that you are the new committee chair of the pack, and you "are looking forward to blah blah blah blah...". Include that you are scheduling the next committee meeting for XXX date at X time at X location, and all leaders and parents are encourage to come. At this meeting, we will be setting the pack schedule for now through the end of the summer, and we welcome all ideas. Preliminary discussion of the 2009-2010 schedule and budget will also be included. (Doesn't matter if CM has a meeting scheduled. Ignore it and schedule yours. If CM questions it, just politely but firmly indicate that it is the responsibility of the CC to have these meetings. You could make a comment that she's been working really hard with the pack and you will be lightening her load.)

Get on council website and find out about upcoming training dates, events, summer camp (if not already registered). Bring copies of these items with you to the meeting.

Go to your district roundtables. These are great for meeting people and getting info about upcoming events. There are longtime leaders there that you can ask for advice.

Contact your district exec and ask if they can send you info about any upcoming events for the next 6 months. Or you could stop by the local scout shop and get information there.

Start the meeting on time. Be concise (our meetings are never longer than an hour). Be polite but firm with the CM to make sure she knows this is your meeting. Have an agenda typed up and send it out ahead of time to everyone. Type up minutes afterwards and send them out (preferably within a week) to all parents and leaders. Set an optimistic tone. Send these communications to not only the current parents, but also parents of scouts who have dropped out in the last year. You want some of these kids to come back, and with some radical new changes (spearheaded by you), maybe they will.

We have committee meetings monthly from September through May, then one in summer to prepare next year's budget & tentative den/pack schedules. Let the treasurer (or CM, or whoever's doing the job) know that you need an update of the pack's finances. (Don't ask, just be firm that you need this information). If the CM is doing this job, then you need to find a treasurer from your pool of parents/den leaders and let the CM know that this person will be taking over the treasurer responsibilities, so please hand over everything (and don't forget - "we appreciate all of the work you've done......"). You, as CC, fill the pack positions, with approval from the Chartering Organization rep.

At the committee meeting in May or during the summer, set the pack schedule and tentative budget for the next year. If the financials are a mess, you will probably need to meet with the treasurer at a seperate meeting just to work on the budget.

Polite but firm. Remember that. Be professional in all of your dealings with parents, CM, and other leaders. It doesn't matter what relationship the CM has with district/council people. Start to establish your own relationships with these people.

See how the CM handles your changes. If you remove most of her workload, aside from planning and running pack meetings (her responsibility), then maybe she'll be tolerable. If not, then you need to contact your chartered organization rep and district exec and find someone else.