carebear3895

Why do you think we made an outside hire for the Chief Scout Executive? Mosby can have the tough conversations about what roles need to go. I remember speaking to Mike Surbaugh at DOB (in person pro training). I truly believe he wanted to help streamline and simplify the role of the DE, but as a lifelong Pro, he ran into the problem of not being able to get rid of Sacred Cows.

Apologies for the incoming rant, but this strikes a nerve. The Scoutreach program is an embarrassment in it's current form (which is a shame because in theory it could be a great program). Yes, you are correct in how the recruitment works. Unlike traditionally paper apps, scoutreach apps do not need a parent signature or a unit leader signature. In the big metros, a DE will ask for a school roster, and all it's needs is a School Administrators signature. Most of those kids don't even know they are in Scouting. The membership fees are paid for by councils. Some will even wait to pay u

Yup. About 11 "weeks" of stare at the computer training then 1 week of in-person. And folks wonder why membership keeps dropping....We can't keep the people whose job it is to literally recruit new Scouts.

Better yet, the training staff is still based in Dallas...LOL. Every month they have to fly out now for a week away from family. I wonder what genius thought THAT was a good idea.

Ours was in Texas as well at Scouting U (formerly the Center for Professional Development), which has just recently closed. All entry level professional training has now moved to the Summit.

we had one person call her Field Director while we were at DOB (the new PDL-1) and told him she wasn't coming back.

Ibuprofen and energy drinks

I think I mentioned this before, but the #1 reason Professionals leave is due to a bad manager. It's just a culture thing. I don't think any amount of training would help a DE "survive" or not. I was lucky to know what I was getting myself into and landed in a great council. I think that's the big reason the National board went outside the Profession and hired a career HR guy in Mosby. The Professional cadre is in desperate need of a culture shakeup.

somewhat. Our basic training hits hard on Salesmanship and recruitment, not so much on how to work with Volunteers. Customer Service, not really. For example, they will tell you how to recruit a District Chair, but not how to train and enable them to do their job. I know a lot SE's like to wait until at least 6 months to send new Professionals to training to see if it's even worth sending them (50% of new hires don't make it to 6 months). I went when I was already in 7 months and I was the shortest tenured professional at mine. The next level training, District Operations 2, hits a lot

This is something that boggles myself and my colleagues minds. I had the opportunity to ask one of the ACSE something similar to this. The answer I got was that National likes to rely on the local councils to do their own marketing and PR. Personally, I think that's a huge mistake. GSUSA kicks our butts in terms of national marking. They have TV commercials and a sweet deal with Dunkin Donuts. The best local councils can do is maybe a few paid Facebook posts. Some larger councils are rich enough to have a marketing staff, but that's the exception, not the rule.

Looks like they are already changing the culture by calling him "CEO and President" as opposed to "Chief Scout Executive" Me thinks this is going to be a wild ride.

The most wonderful time of the year.

Looks like y'all may be getting your wish. The new CSE is expected to come from outside the Profession.

Yea, it's going to be bad.

How on earth is a town with that population struggling to support a Troop and already lost a Pack. Feels like there is a lot more going on....

No...they can't. What you are talking about is a CO abiding by the guide to safe scouting and ensuring YPT policies. Nothing says a unit should get should get shut down by the council for running a poor program.

You can't do that with the Chartered Organization structure. Councils (and thus council volunteers/pros) do not, and should not, have the authority to shut down or merge units.

Corporate BSA does an absolutely horrendous job at training middle managers. When i attended an advance professional training earlier this year, the staff told us that the majority of DE's leave after 6 months because of a poor manager (staff leader as we call them). It's not hard to see why. We promote based on performance (and the only measurable indicator the higher-ups tend to care about is membership growth). So obviously, you have a lot of dudes from LDS and Scoutreach districts who don't have to lift a finger and "excel" because of easy membership. They get promoted and are trash staff

Every district is different, and every DE is different (I've met plenty who had no business being a Pro.) I often think National tends to forget that. Cookie cutter training will not work.

This is exactly the reason Districts and DE's exist. To help link you to resources and help answer all of your questions.

I'm a rural DE. Supporting scout units is what I do (or at least try to do). Anything specific you neeed help with?

I absolutely guarantee you many, maybe even most, districts are not like this. I implore you to visit smaller 500 or 400 level rural councils that are dependent on Professionals for all areas of scouting. Program, unit service, youth and adult recruitment, and fundraising. (Believe it or not, councils need money to keep camps open). No offense, but you have a very short sighted view.

National does not like councils owning a lot of property. Lot of liability. In fact, I see the Summit opening up traditional summer camp weeks a direct assault on local council camps and it's despicable. The BSA needs to stop shoving the Summit down our throat. It's never going to be a thing.

Hot Take: The LDS has been strongarming the BSA for too Long. I think their exit will overall improve the Program. IMO, We didn't abandon the Church, we just realized we were being taken advantage of. I remember being a young Camp Staffer and hosting an LDS only week. Nothing about it, other than the tan shirts, felt like scouting. As a Pro, I don't have a lot of sympathy for the Pro's in councils out west. They've been riding easy streak for far too long. You have councils where the membership makeup is 95% LDS in a population area that's only 40% LDS. Roll up your sleeves and get out i

Most of the units in my Service area are not asking the parents to fork over the extra $27 and instead dipping into their unit funds to supplements the costs.. I actually don't think we will lose a lot of youth over it. Adults yes, but youth no. Now, what I really see it having a bad effect on is brand new Scouts. When you start a new unit in the fall, you do what called a "long-charter". That means you pay for the rest of your current year AND the next year. So if I wanted to start a new unit in September, I would be asking a brand new scout to fork over $75 just for registration