Christi13

Thanks for all of your insights. It has be most helpful. 

There has been one time where I voiced a question and was informed by the Council President that I was stepping outside of my perview and if I did it again that I would be removed from my positions. 

Again the questions were:

Who is allowed to attend the Executive Board meetings for a council?

Can I as an Assistant Scoutmaster, OA Chapter Advisor,  District Committee member, and Unit Commissioner sit in and listen to an Executive Board meeting? Yes or No? 

 Would I be able to look at past meeting minutes? Yes or N 

 Would I be able to request looking at those minutes? Yes or No? 

Is the Scouting program to be transparent in their work? Yes or No? 

Is the Council expected to be transparent in their work? Yes or No? 

Thanks 

18 hours ago, Cburkhardt said:

Council Executive Boards and Council Executive Committees (subcommittees of the Executive Board consisting of the principal officers) meet in private with members only, plus special guests who make presentations on pending topics.  CORs belong to the Council, which meets to elect the Executive Board during the annual business meetings.

Including numbers of non-members in Executive Board or Executive Committee meetings is disfavored due to confidentiality issues.  Non-members attending would not be bound to confidentiality and would further expect to express viewpoints and arguments.  Well-run boards develop effective ways to gather opinion from the CORs and other stakeholders and respect those opinions.

The “Owasippe” incident is a good example of when a board did not adequately solicit and take into account the views of its constituency when dealing with property matters – in this case the attempted sale of a huge property with minimal notice.  The story is immensely complex and would take hours of blogging to explain.  The bottom line is that the attempted sale was blocked through litigation and zoning moves which greatly reduced the desirability of the property to potential purchasers.  Another bottom line is that the inadvisable board moves caused years of deformed relations among council volunteers, professionals and supporters.  It can be said that bitter feelings created during the incident was a contributing factor in the overall downturn of the Chicago Area Council, which eventually lost its national charter and was merged with three other councils into the Chicagoland  "Pathway to Adventure Council".  

Interestingly, Owasippe Scout Reservation is now in the best physical, program and financial shape it has been in for decades.  As the bankruptcy causes the sell-off of many other properties, this massive and well-run operation is easily absorbing the demand of Troops from across the Midwest.   

This sounds eerily like the rumors that are going around my council right now.  That whole situation is what I've heard from other volunteers. We love our camp but don't trust the Scout Executive. 

Who is allowed to attend the Executive Board meetings for a council? Not needing to vote but to be able to watch the proceedings. Are Leaders able to request or look at past meeting minutes? How do we request looking at those minutes? Thanks