Quality Pack Committee Meetings

[SeattlePioneer 144]

Three years ago I stepped in as a district leader to rebuild a Cub Pack that was down to a single boy. Three years later we are still struggling, but we have always had an effective a reasonably well attended pack committee meetings, usually monthly.

 

Never a flop.

 

I'm guessing there are two main reasons for that:

 

1) meetings last no more than an hour.

 

2) They are reasonably well planned and clearly directly linked to carrying out the pack plans in the immediate future.

 

What experiences do you have with pack committee meetings?

[ScoutNut 147]

We hold them monthly.

 

They accomplish what they are intended to.

 

They work well for us.

[Basementdweller 608]

Whats to flop.........they approve the expenditures, make sure all of the dens are advancing and having fun, address any parent concerns complaints.

 

In and out usually just slightly longer than an hour.

[Scoutfish 16]

Ours last from an hour to an hour and a half.

 

If we would stop joking, yakking and stay on subject and just do the buisness end of it...mayb 30 to 45 minutes tops!

 

I guess we are lucky in that we all get along and are on pretty much the ame page - or at least similar enough that we might make teeny tiny concessions and not argue major differences of opinions!

[momof2cubs 10]

Pack committee meetings are a hit or miss for us. I don't mean in terms of getting accomplished what we need to accomplish, but in terms of how efficiently we are able to do it. We suffer from an over abundance of Class A personalities. And that's not really a bad thing, everyone wants to get stuff done. But you know how it is when there are too many generals and not enough soldiers.

 

All in all, there may be a few blows and more yakking and joking than there maybe could be; but things get done. We meet monthly and meetings usually go over an hour. Probably more like an hour and a half.

[Scoutfish 16]

I think one of the things that helps us is that the CC and myself ( CM) talk to each other about 4 times a week outside of any scout based meeting. We are friends. And almost every conversation ends up turing into a scout related conversation:

"Hey Mark ( me) , Can you get me a price on a garage door?"

In ten minutes, that coversation will be about some up coming scout or pack event , or about something to do with how we run things or what's ahppening in the district.

 

I gues that means most of us are pretty well aware what we need to do and how by the time we have a meeting. The meeting just formalizes it.

 

[Jeffrey H 25]

We schedule our "parent and leader meetings" monthly and keep them to 30 minutes (yes, 30 minutes) just prior to our den meetings. Our CC will have an agenda to discuss only the most immediate upcoming events and announcements. All parents are encouraged to attend but voting is limited to committee members. Fortunately, voting is rare because we always come to a consensus.

 

Our biggest meeting is the annual planning meeting in the summer which can last easily last two to three hours.

 

The CC and I (CM) communicate frequently, we are friends, and keep each other informed. Frenquent informal communications with all leaders reduces the need for long scheduled meetings.

 

 

[jrdalys 10]

Yeah....that's an area our pack could do better at.

 

We have so far had only one 'committee meeting' since back to school time in September. We are short on adult leadership, with only two people who might attend such a meeting that aren't also program leaders (den leaders, cubmaster).

 

I do wish we got together more, but I think I'm the only one who wants to be more organized and involved...which does concern me for the future

[ScoutNut 147]

Keep in mind these monthly meetings are NOT just for the Pack members registered as Committee Members.

 

These are Pack Leaders Meetings, and are for ALL registered leaders in the Pack.

[AnnLaurelB 10]

~snort~

 

In my book, a successful Comm Mtg would be one in which one person didn't spend inordinate amounts of time telling other people what hoops they were failing to jump through.

 

That being said, I think in a way a Comm Mtg is a little like a Pack meeting for grown-ups. Pledge, prayer, perhaps a funny story from the last event. Even do a 3-minute ice-breaker.

 

Money. What needs to be done, if anything? Who's going to do it?

 

Calendar. What's coming up between now and next Comm Mtg? What needs doing, and who's gonna do it? You? You? Fabulous.

 

New business. Oh! Add a roller-skating party for Beltloops as a Pack in March? Sound fun? Okay. What date? Okay. Who's calling the rink? Awesome.

 

I think the "FLOP" is when folks try to settle Every.Little.Issue at a Comm Mtg. You just get bogged down in excruciating minutae. But there's no reason a Comm Mtg can't be fun.

 

Edited to add: Not that I would know, never having BEEN in a fun Committee Meeting. But I'm convinced that it is possible.

(This message has been edited by annlaurelb)