Laurie

Eamonn asked: But still we seem to lose a lot of adults. Is this going on in your area? What plans do you have to retain new people? I can't speak for the district or council, but in the pack that I serve, I work hard at making sure our den leaders know when training is and encourage them to go, acknowledge their efforts as often as possibly, thank them publicly for taking training (the boys and families should know this, right?), and work alongside them when they need a hand. This is how I view my role as CM, to work with the DLs, and I love doing it. Have we lost anyone this y

Twocubdad, you seem to be the type of person who would find leadership selection to be fairly simple without it being so complicated. You also are not the norm I say that in the nicest possible way--it is a compliment in case you wonder. For me it would be easy to do this too; I've worked as a volunteer coordinator in a non-profit and have experience in this area. I also worked in another youth group that basically made us "jump through hoops" (for lack of a better term) in ensuring the right candidate was in place for the right position. The benefit in this is that it made it easier to

SR540Beaver, with all due respect, it is not always so easy to find these documents. I have done many searches on National's site, and I have had great difficulty finding things that, thankfully, others have shared links to. It is a hard site to navigate which is too bad, for there is a lot of good information to be found there. Would I call the hard-to-find items secret? Nah, just hard to find. Would I call some other documents secret? No, because they aren't, but perhaps, as the most recent post indicated, they are on a need-to-know basis. I do not need to see everything the BSA h

FOG said: "By-laws and handbooks won't help in this situation. I know too many Scouters who have been trained and trained and been through more training but yet want to run the program their way. They justify it by saying, "If we don't do it, it won't get done" or "the boys are capable of doing . . ." If you have Scouters who have run amok, look to your UC or DC for help." I agree and will add one thing to the list: some say the book doesn't work and anyone who thinks so is living in an ideal world rather than the real word. Before calling the UC or DC (not a bad idea at all),

Hi Mrs. Smith, and a belated welcome to the forums! I have noticed from some of your questions that you may be new to leadership. So many of your questions sound like those I asked only a year ago I wonder if you have had an opportunity to take any training, to view Fast Starts if not full training, or have the Scoutmaster or Cub Scout Leader Books? These are very helpful tools that I refer to often, and there are many policies, procedures, and how-tos listed in each. I serve in two units: one uses the books I named but decided against by-laws (the books cover what we need to know, a

What secret documents? Are you referring to the rules and regulations or the by-laws? I have heard them referred to as secret, but I have a copy of each. If not these, then what I missing? Curious minds want to know

wingnut -- doesn't that hurt the program in any way? It sounds like your unit is strugging. That is how the pack I serve used to do things, basically to just have whoever was available lead. Sadly, those leaders either (1) left--I mean just dropped away--didn't even say anything & wow, what a loss in youth in followed that! or (2) were discouraged, worn out, tired & ready to quit. The problem is that noone was selecting leaders; leaders were basically put into place by fellow leaders because they wanted their sons to have Cubs and it was serve or your son won't have a den. Now

pdunbar: I wish you and the unit well in the new CO and hope that the type of problems faced don't come up again. The program really does work by the book, but personality conflicts, agendas (many bring personal agendas into the program too), and simply getting a group of people to agree and then act can be a challenge. FYI: our unit was folding not long ago, but it was saved using the resources BSA makes available and is now well known throughout the area as a success story in following the book. So, I do know a little of the what you speak of in making those choices about trying to make

pdunbar: "Recently all the members of our troop decided we could not tolerate the actions of our charter rep. He refused to add willing parents to the committtee that was in need of more help. The chartering organization also refused to help. In matter of fact that prohibited one parent from being a merit badge counselor, which thyr really are not allowed to do. We are in the process of being rechartered with a new sponser. No boys are left with the old sponser. Over the years all money and equipment has been raised by the parents and boys. The old chartering organization is refusing to give

When we rechartered, the DE sat us down at roundtable and really stressed the need to get the paperwork in on time, and then he talked us through the how-tos of the paperwork (I was so glad he did that--what a help!). He told us that the clock for tenure would roll back to "0" if we were late. There would have been no change in leadership or youth members, meeting place, etc. but once charter ends, it starts at zero when a new unit forms or an old one gets the paperwork in. Is tenure what you are asking about? Or did I just answer a question that was not asked? p.s. I met a former de

Wow, that is one buried document! You know what irks me about it? If National is this concerned about web sites (there are sooo many!) and images used, they sure they make it difficult to find this info.

Thank you for this information.

If we don't set goals and help other people to set goals as well as making them accountable for meeting these goals - Aren't we just wasting our time? Very well said Eamonn! I heartily agree; there is nothing to be gained by talking about, thinking about, or wishing for something to be done when we can get up, learn what we need to do, plan it out and talk it out just enough to set those goals, communicate those goals, and then get moving to meet them/help each other meet them.

I would thank the backpack company/individual for considering the request and taking the time to reply.(This message has been edited by Laurie)

The annual charter agreement reads in part: "The chartered organization agrees to... Provide adequate facilities for the Scouting unit(s) to meet on a regular schedule with time and place reserved." So, does this mean rent-free? Or just that the space it there?

Eek--my typos! I hope my message is clear. My words are a mess: "Try to look beyond your personal feelings of them, identify what is hurting your unit--particulary in how you serve the youth--and then sit try going this route." I meant sit down and discuss them (the issues/concerns), after you identify them. In doing that, personal feelings of the volunteers involved need to be put aside and issues focused on.

You probably can't do anything at all about other units. If your CO and the CR are not involved, then you lack the support needed. However, go directly to the District Commissioner, voice your concerns about how your unit is being effected, and ask for advice on how to work through this. The way you speak of the volunteers here may be reflected in how you speak to them now; that won't help you. Try to look beyond your personal feelings of them, identify what is hurting your unit--particulary in how you serve the youth--and then sit try going this route. If meeting with the District Commis

Oh Eamonn, I'm so sorry. I am very glad though that you and this young man had time together, for it seems that you have touched each other's lives in a good way.

I got my copy at the council Scout shop. It has a turqoise color cover, it titled Membership Committee Guide, cost roughly $4, and I think this is the number you'd need: 33080D. It is not in reference to units, but I found it helpful when we addressed how to improve unit membership. It is a council and district membership committee guide if that helps to locate it when looking for it. These district and council committee guide books have proven helpful at a unit level for both my husband and me, and the one we use the most is the advancement book. Just thought I'd point that out if you're

Manyirons--that's super that you are going so prepared to meetings. I came across this last night when looking for something else: "The Boy Scouts of America -- A Membership Organization The federal charter from Congress charges the Boy Scouts of America to make its program available to all who are eligible, but recognizes that young people must become members in order to derive the benefits available from the Scouting program. Those who administer the program must, therefore, serve the membership and also actively and purposefully recruit new members. Since ours is a membersh

Ed, that is correct. But it does address districts and units: "Guidelines for district and unit sites, and the decision as to whether districts and/or units may maintain officially representative sites at all, are completely at the discretion of the council. If these sites are permitted, and especially if the council site provides links to them, it is highly recommended the council provide guidelines for these sites and to recognize and link only to those sites that meet the council's guidelines. Guidelines and advice provided in this document may be appropriate for districts and units a

I took a quick look through the Scoutmaster Handbook, and I saw two distinct groups of people: parents who may help in certain ways (usually driving for a trip or providing instruction at one meeting on a specific topic) and troop committee. This is done repeatedly, and though it is not a rule, it does imply that parents may help (in what appear to be one-time helps) AND that there is a committee (ongoing consistent support). May I ask if someone is challenging you on this? And is this helping at all?

You can use free hosting provided right here--just look over to the menu at the right for the Scouter.com free web hosting link. We had web space donated to us by a Scouter's business website, and since it's kid-friendly, that worked out great.

Me again I like the "cute" Cub colors. My husband likes either the black pages or the very subtle "clean" look for Scouts. I think it's a matter of personal preference, BUT it needs to be easy to read and quick to load. Info: I like to visit a site related to Scouting that tells me something about the unit/council hosting the site. A little history is always interested. Some photos, so long as they load quickly, are neat too. Most importantly, ease of use. A user friendly site is one I will look through; if I can't navigate with ease, I get frustrated and move on. You'll

Hops, this is a link that was sent to me when I had similar questions: http://www.scouting.org/webmasters/standards/index.html It is geared toward council sites, but it does address district and unit sites as well. It appears as though you would need to clear this with the council. I have not been told no by council, so I went ahead and put our site up. In doing so, I followed much of the council site suggestions. I would never use a photograph without written permission, so I had a form that I made up that each parent signed allowing me to use their son's photos in any mediu