WalnutDC

The day before the postponement of the decision was announced, we heard from one of our LDS Stakes that they were not going to recharter their units if the decision went to change the policy. That is 35% of our units. Take that for what it is. They are now rechartering but it could all be up in the air again in May.

I had to drop my position in my son's troop committee when I took on the DC role. It was a requirement in JTE for the District that both the District Committee chair and DC had to not be registered with a unit. I have one ADC who is a SM, but he is stepping down when the district recharters at year-end. The only ones I can't have a say in are the LDS units. There could be dual-registrants there. Just don't know as those folks get moved/called/recalled a lot.

Nah, I am from Alpha Centauri.

Cito - you can always inform the District Commissioner or at least ask if the UC is visiting the underperforming units. They should visit or at least email/call you six times a year at a minimum. They should be in proper uniform - field Class A shirt, silver tabs, Unit Commissioner patch, field pants, etc. There is a possibility though that they could have listed another volunteer role on their registration, although UC should always be primary. The tabs must match the patch they are wearing. For example, a multiple-registered UC serving on the Troop Committee, wears the TC patch and green tabs if they are at Troop Meetings for their own Troop - otherwise, a UC patch and silver tabs should be required. Many of my commishes have dual roles and have multiple shirts (or Velcro strips). Oh and by the way, no UC should be registered as a Cubmaster, Scoutmaster, or Committee Chair. There just aren't enough hours in the day to do both jobs the justice they need.

In my District, UC's have a great presence. Always at Roundtable and I get most of them at my District Commissioner meetings. They do their visits and work hard to keep the units healthy. My DE works closely with her District Committee members and we do our best to support her. It is a symbiotic relationship when done properly. We are a large council in a big city - and I do think some of the outlying districts have some trouble recruiting UC's so depending on where you are, a DE might just be strained to do their job effectively and may not have a full set of District-level volunteers. They need to do the legwork to recruit them, get them trained, and turn them loose. Again, it is sad to hear of those who aren't getting the full benefits.

Truly shameful what some of you are describing. We have an enthusiastic DE, great District Chair, and my commissioner staff consists of 14 UC's, 2 RTC's and their staffs, and three ADC's. I encourage them all to use the Unit Visit Tracking System, and I also do Unit Visits and attend as many events as I can. A good Unit Commissioner can be a unit's best friend. How some councils can permit the bare minimum described by others above is beyond me. I make sure Unit Commishes do their jobs or they get replaced. If you wear Silver Tabs, you do the job. If you wear a Wreath of Service patch, you do the job. I guess I am a true believer of sorts, but it comes from being inspired by a great DE. She was originally going to leave, but now has decided to stay with us and hopefully will get promoted to Senior DE (attending PDL3 soon). Our District Committee has upwards of 20 active members and our Key 3 works great together. Some of you are getting short-changed and I admire how you manage without them - but having good commissioners, DE, and District Chair can go a long way towards a more successful program. Sadly, it is what it is, and you make do.

It's a shame the councils overwork and underpay the District Execs. The closer to the boys you get the less you get paid (of course I get paid nothing). I love the program but certain parts sure seem like some sort of racket to me.

Yeah, I know her reasons are both personal and professional. It is sad to see that it has become a numbers game - I think she thought she could serve the youth better but the higher-ups are the ones putting the pressure on FOS and membership. She enjoys interfacing with the volunteers and yes I also agree she has been torn on leaving. It can't be an easy decision....

I have heard the DE has been looking for another job for over a year so given the economy it may be awhile yet. I want to make sure the DE stays motivated. Our DE is awesome and it would be sad if she left. Our district has over sixty units and a greenhorn would probably not work out well. She reports to a DD, who reports to an FD, who reports to a DFS. I think if they would see their way to promote her to SDE or even DD, she'd stay - but I am not sure if money is the primary reason. I find it hard to believe with the pressures and stress and low compensation that anyone would stay on for so long. It is a credit to those who do and to those who try. I am hoping if we volunteers can continue to take some of her burden off of her maybe she will find the role more enjoyable.

I am a District Commissioner with less than a year tenure. I was informed that my District Executive is seeking employment elsewhere and was wondering what the process is when one leaves. Does the District Director fill in? Do they rotate a current DE to our district, or hire one from the outside? Should I expect a radically different Key 3? Just wondering what your experiences are. Thanks in Advance!

YIS