Onehouraweek2

I agree with the other posts. It needs to be a good, engaging program and you have to get the parents to buy in. Engage them and make them feel welcome as well. Get to know them and call them by name .. put them on the spot and ask for their participation in very small ways (can you help Joe lead the pledge? ... could you lead us in a prayer? and then build up to big things.) I can't tell you how many parents I've talked to over the years that say they just didn't feel welcomed ..or that the Pack was disorganized and lacked good communication .. or that the kids went to the gym and shot hoops while the parents chatted in the other room. If you really care and make sure that boys are advancing in an organized fashion - achieving instant recognition, and encouraging participation in the District events, then you will find more parents and boys will stick with it. There are too many other options out there for boys (and girls!) to stick with a boring, unorganized program.

Hello - I'm new to this group, but not new to Scouting, having been a Den Leader, ACM, and CC for my son's Pack and ASM for his Troop while also being an involved and productive member of our District's Committee and working on finishing my ticket for Wood Badge. I struggle with finding folks to help me with my duties on the DC, and just when I thought I had found a good guy (someone who really WOULD help and WOULD follow through, and someone I could groom to eventually assume my spot), our District Chair told me he was going to "steal" him because I was good at finding folks to help me and that the role this person was going to assume on my committee wasn't really that important anyway, that I didn't really need him for that role, even though Council keeps asking me who is on my team, and who have I identifed to fulfill this important role. (I had gotten his adult application and had invited him to one District meeting, which he had attended.) He "stole" him to fulfill a position that was being vacated and since he didn't want to have to find a volunteer for that position or fill in himself until a vol was identified, he harvested my volunteer. To put it lightly, I'm seething. His message to me was "what you are doing is not important - this is a higher calling," Not only that, I felt humiliated as I had JUST recruited this guy ... I really believe in volunteer management - that's how you build a great team and achieve positive results - make folks feel good about their contributions, no matter how small and get to know them. In my many years of volunteer work, either through Scouts, or many other orgs I have worked with, I have never had a volunteer do something like this. I have lost total respect for this guy and am seriously thinking of resigning from the District Committee. Am I overreacting?