DE Problems

[BadenP 93]

Even though I am somewhat surprised by Eamonns somewhat jaded post I do agree with some of his thoughts. A volunteer should always first and foremost try to solve any problems within the volunteer structure or chain of command. Truefully DE's and SE's do not really care about individual unit squabbles or problems, unless they involve child safety issues or adults creating a dangerous situation, or a gross/severe violation of BSA policies or program. For unit level problems there is the unit committee, COR, and commisioner staff, all who are volunteers.

 

As far as starting new units you want to try to work with the DE if at all possible. For example if there is a pack at a local school but it is small and not seem to be growing from year to year, maybe due to internal problems like a weak program, a council might determine that they need to set up another pack to pull in those boys the current pack is not reaching.

Some DE's would see the competition as forcing the weaker pack to sharpen its game and to give boys and parents a choice, rightly or wrongly. I think every volunteer here would have to agree that some units that are in so much chaos they really can't be saved. As far as boy scout troops they are dropping so fast in numbers that I think every DE would want to make sure all the troops in his district were rock solid before starting any new ones. So I guess you can make the DE your adversary or a friend depending on the way they work or refuse to work with you and the district.

[Oak Tree 15]

So much of it depends on the demographics of your area. Our district got so big it had to split. Several of the larger troops cap the number of Webelos they'll take in. With new people moving in all the time, getting new units started is pretty much routine. If I were going to be a DE, I'd sure look for a district in a growing county.

 

But as a unit leader, by and large, I never have to talk to my DE. Just run a quality program, and the let the DE do whatever it is they do.