moosetracker 132 Posted January 11, 2012 Author Share Posted January 11, 2012 Wow!! Just never knew! Actually it was not that long ago I watched a canadian TV Series "Murdoch Mysteries" whose storeline is turn of the century Toronto.. In one of the early shows, Murdoch was denied a promotion to Detective because the interveiwer took exception to him being Catholic.. I was never sure if it was the man's personal prejudice, or a "Canadian" thing.. I guess it wasn't just a "Canadian" thing in those days.. As his immediate boss was very angry about the reason he was denied the promotion. But, I was also surprise when the same show had an episode about an Indian who was good at police work. Murdoch wanted to get him into the police force, but at that time his immediate boss said he was sorry but due to his being Indian it would never happen, and he didn't have enough clout to fight the system.. That I was a little surprised by, due to the fact that when I was giving a Boy Scout presentation, during the rehersal I made a comparison that Australias history with the Aborigines was similar to that of how America treated the Indians.. I was told to change it to say it was similar to how the United States treated the Indians, because Canadia had treated their Indians very well.. Link to post Share on other sites
noname 10 Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Back to the topic- fix sinking pack? I say yes! Easier to build a boy than fix a aman isn't? My pack is the same way, no leaders, no commitee and no help from council. So we have 2 pack meetings a month with advancements done at home. We had to wait for the non fun parents to cycle out.Now the pack will have brand new leaders next year and brand new boys. I for one only do scouts for my boys, yea Im a selfish parent. If others want to come along for all of the fun then come on Link to post Share on other sites
Tampa Turtle 1011 Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Why two pack meetings a month? Why not den meetings? Link to post Share on other sites
noname 10 Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 No den leaders=No den meetings, they quit after recharter. The parents we had wouldnt even put their garbage away after the blue and gold. You cant make this stuff up! Link to post Share on other sites
moosetracker 132 Posted January 11, 2012 Author Share Posted January 11, 2012 Do you know who the incoming are? That would be nice, if all the deadwood left in one big crossover, but I fear if you have some left behind, they are there to poison the minds of the incoming and have them learn quick, that you don't need to do a thing, just elect one person to do it all, and make sure you are not the guy elected.. It is easy to convince someone to be lazy, and pass the buck. Link to post Share on other sites
noname 10 Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I am already the guy elected to do it all-Cubmaster...The ones that yell at the kids, disrupt the meeting and hold us all back are gone. Hope your ticket freind sticks it out as well! Link to post Share on other sites
qwazse 4352 Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 MT: A circus by any other name is a recruiting night. Go for it!!! I think one of the goals would be to drum up 1/2 dozen tiger families for the pack. What would be gravy would be if one dad was a former scout and therefore cub leader material. As CM, MIB can figure out if the pack can have the hall on a different night than the BS. He can grab the COR and say, "I need a little history so I can do my job better." (Maybe there is a little religious persecution or something else going on!) He can pull the line: "I'm in college, I got mid-terms right before your B&G, so I need you all to step up a little more to make things work for these kids." Each parent may need to consider an open house night/activity in their respective neighborhoods. The pack might just need to get out and get recognized. If folks don't step it up and provide these boys a program for the next 6 months, then you both will have to let it slide. Link to post Share on other sites
John-in-KC 311 Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Moose, This is one of those times where the unit and the Chartered Partner need a lot of support. - When was the last time the DE did a business call with the head of the Chartered Partner? What was the assessment of the unit/Partner relationship he got at that time? - When was the last time the District Commish, ADC, and/or UC visited the unit? What does the Unit Visit Tracking system say about the unit? - The key question in the two above: Who is looking in on the unit? How did they get here? A bit of backstory is always helpful. FIRST KEY ISSUE: - Recruiting. This Pack is 1 year away from failing to recharter. District Committee and Commish staff have to combine resources to offer this unit lots of recruiting assistance? -- Recruiting youth: This Pack needs more youth. Gotta have 5 to qualify to recharter. Depending on when the Web 1 crew crosses, this Pack is less than 20 months from closure. -- Recruiting adults: It's about sharing the work. 1 person will find this effort superhuman. The lady needs help. Even if that help comes from Commish staff giving a year as Den LEaders etc to get the ball rolling, no help ... 20 months to shut it down. SECOND KEY ISSUE: - Program? What do they have planned? What have they done recently? Pinewood? Blue and Gold? Day Camp? Webelos Camp? Summer activities? It's been said again and again: PROGRAM, PROGRAM, PROGRAM. Kids want to do stuff. If they're not out in the community doing stuff, they're not going to come back, and the Pack is going to fail. THIRD KEY ISSUE: - Money. This Pack needs some budget funds to do stuff. Even craft supplies cost a bit. Moose, take a step back, and help this lady figure out how to eat this elephant one bite at a time. Trust me, this elephant is HUGE. Link to post Share on other sites
Twocubdad 665 Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 John-in-KC is getting down to the brass tacks. You need to do some due diligence. Is there really a pack here to save? I agree with John the first step is to talk with the DE and get the back story. He has a vested interest in keeping the unit going which means he could give you all the support and help you need but that he may also blow sunshine up your shorts. Beware. Next visit would be with the IH and COR to see if there is any real support for the pack. Do they want a pack? Are they willing to support it or are they another "name only" CO? Where are their hearts? Enthusiastic or over it? Are they willing to front seed money if necessary? If things check out, I think you approach this like you're starting a new pack -- see JKC's list. Make a clean break. Pick a new meeting night and get away from the bad habits of the old regime. Start by building the Tiger and Cub program (you know you can put the Wolves and Bears into one den, right?). Let the W1 den continuine doing their thing. Plan a nice send off for the W2s, but don't Otherwise, I think you help the Wolf and Bear Scouts find a new pack and come up with an action plan to help the Webelos I's through their last year. Then wiz on the fire and call in the dogs. Link to post Share on other sites
Tampa Turtle 1011 Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I agree with Two Cub. The existing is not working; it is either reboot or go. Link to post Share on other sites
SeattlePioneer 144 Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Oh, I have no doubt the pack can be fixed. 3+ years ago I undertook to rebuild a pack down to a single 1st year Webelo. As of Jan 1, I'm COR and CM, and the pack is shakily adapting to more or less providing most of its own leadership. But doing that has been a big job. Link to post Share on other sites
moosetracker 132 Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 Yeah, it just concerns me if my son is up to this BIG job, with finishing college, getting his first "real" career job, and planning his wedding with his fiance.. Plus all the other things he does for Scouting.. Being ACM for another Unit, Being on the Eagle Advancement Board, and this spring at least, I have dumped alot of the Training Chair position on him, as being on woodbadge staff this year it seems every staff training day fell on a day we had scheduled for District training.. Link to post Share on other sites
John-in-KC 311 Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Moose, What is your personal, and your sons', relationship to this Chartered Partner? To pump up Tigers, Wolves, and Bears, you need a CM, 2 DLs, a CC, and 2 other Members of Committee. You don't need 1 committed person, you need SIX. That's the minimum it will take to recharter this unit next cycle. You've already said many leaders are paper ghosts. To quote Colonel Sherman T Potter, "Hooey!" You need folks who will engage and give. Otherwise, you're asking the one person who will step up to burn out by the numbers. Isn't this stuff part of what your WB learner needs to be doing for her ticket item? BTW, are you a Commissioner in your District? What's your District Commissioner say? Link to post Share on other sites
AnnLaurelB 10 Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 You know, back when my son was a Tiger, and I got-roped-into-I-mean-promoted as CM halfway through the season, we did all-Den meetings for several months. We only had 2 or 3 of each Rank, so I would print off the Lesson Plan for each Den, throw some basic supplies into grocery bags for each group (I have a background in curriculum prep), and after an opening, I sent each Den to a different table, and told the parents, "Read those highlighted parts, dig through that bag, flip through their Books, and see if you can crank out Chapter 4." (or whatever) I got pretty good at combining a group game or activity at the start so that each Rank could sign off something that night. Then at their tables, hopefully they'd sign off some more stuff that they went over, together. It wasn't perfect by any means, and there was the argument that they'd NEVER stop being spoonfed if I kept it up, but you know, when there were only 8 boys there, we actually had a lot of fun together, and it wasn't too difficult. If the boys are having FUN, and showing interest in their grade-level subjects (Bears and their Magic Elective, etc...) and you have someone who CAN put together a weekly package, why not? Traditional? No. Fun? It was. And the boys DID earn stuff and advance just the same. It actually worked out okay, for that season and for where we were. Link to post Share on other sites
AnnLaurelB 10 Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 P.S. What is a ticket counselor, please? Link to post Share on other sites
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