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'... Another bites the dust..."


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Had our roundtable meeting last night (June 4)and found out our District Executive was just promoted, he is leaving us for a bigger district. This puts us in a a kinda hole. Over the past several years this kinda thing has happened quite a bit, we break in the newbies and then as soon as they are worth a darn, they are zipped off to another District. I guess this is a complement, but it does get to be tiresome.

 

Our soon to be ex DE is a great guy and I begrudge him bettering himself, but the carousel bit gets to be real old, resl soon

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In some ways, I often feel a sense of sadness for those who opt to make a career out of that which they love...Scouting. It is a very limited market and employment opportunites can be scarce. Moving up the ladder within is unlike the ladder outside the organization. It has fewer rungs to climb, and they're scattered hither and yon. For one entering the realm of Professional Scouting, he/she must resolve that employment and/or residence in one location may be a fleeting notion if upward mobility and higher wages are to be.

 

It's really unfortunate, but within the community of Scouting, small compared to other communities of employment, opportunity to climb the ladder knocks infrequently, and usually the call comes from afar.

 

OGE's observation is, sadly, not specific to his district, but rather to the specific to the trade. And it always will be. Just about the time we realize that the DE fits the bill seemingly to perfection, the door opens for him to grow....elsewhere. And we can only hope that the shoes left behind to fill, can be.

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KWC --

 

I don't think the council could afford me! Been there, done that, plus a bunch of other stuff. Now if you're looking for a Scout Executive, that's a different story (although I have to admit that I promised my wife and current Scout Executive two more years here.)

 

However, in my case, at the end of those two years I'm going to be looking for a Scout Executive position.

 

As Saltheart pointed out, however, looking for a Scout Executive position doesn't mean I'll get one that fast. It could take much longer than that. Considering there are only 52 councils in the country that I would have a good shot at and another 85 that I would technically have a shot at, but it would be a long shot.

 

Of those 137 councils, there are 65 ( a little under half) that are in regions my wife and I have no desire to move to. One of the variables is whether or not there's a Scout Executive vacancy and the other biggie is whether it's a good fit for myself and the volunteers.

 

This doesn't address OGE's concern that as soon as the guy is worth a darn, they move somewhere else. Please do think of it as a compliment that you supported your DE well and that he has earned a promotion. Sincerely wish him well and ask that he be as detailed as possible when he writes his check out report which will be given to the next guy. Then look up the thread I think I called care and feeding of your new DE and go from there.

 

How long is the merry-go-round? If it's about three years, it's probably about right. One year for the DE to learn the ropes, one year to live with his/her mistakes and a third year to enjoy the success.

 

Then it's time to take a bow and say goodbye -- if you want a promotion. In some cases councils have the money to make the DE a Senior DE and keep him/her in place for another two years, with additional responsibilities . . . but sometimes they don't.

 

Saltheart -- Thank you for realizing that there are sacrifices we as professionals make for the sake of Scouting. There is another side of it, however.

 

My parents have grown up, live and will probably die in the same general area. I simply don't understand that. It was nice spending 10 years in northeastern Michigan, but it was getting old toward the end. It was hard to uproot and move to the suburbs of Chicago, but at the same time, it was very exciting. And I got to keep my tenure and get a nice promotion -- new home, new duties, new experiences. Vastly different than Midland, MI.

 

Four years later the moving truck showed up and we loaded up for Wisconsin. Completely different town, great people and cheese curds! My wife and I love this area and, if I can convince her and haven't found a nicer town by the year 2031 (my projected retirement year) we'll move back here.

 

In the time between 2003 and 2031, I'm sure there will be many new homes, new towns, and new friends.

 

If it's any consolation, OGE, I can tell you that a professional never forgets his first district and those wonderful volunteers who taught him/her the roots. I still call my first district commissioner (I dial his number from memory still) because of the friendship we formed in 1988-1989 (the time he was my District Commissioner.) Funny how we're both getting older. There are several volunteers I've worked with along the way that I stay in some contact with.

 

Thanks for caring. It's good to come home from a long day and see this kind of thread. It was a long day because of a parent who's complaint started out by complaining about how his troop is too lax with advancement and dumb enough to hike on railroad tracks (he communicates only via email) to, by the time I got his last email the adult leader "pointed the boys in the path on an oncoming train."

 

I haven't heard from him since I quoted from his three emails to the Scoutmaster (none of which mentioned an oncoming train) that I have copies of all his "stuff."

 

I guess by definition, all railroad tracks are the path of an oncoming train, but it's a bit of a stretch. The DE did call the Scoutmaster and gave him a bit of trouble and he agreed it was the wrong thing to do. This guy won't be happy unless I conduct an inquisition and nuke the troop. Hasn't figured out yet that it ain't gonna happen.

 

Sorry, I digressed again.

 

Wish your old DE well and welcome the new one. That's what I meant to say.

 

DS

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Well, he was our DE for 2.5 years so its about right. I do wish him well. Oh well, I guess the answer is to work with the other volunteers and make our disrict bigger than the others so we can get the broken in ones.

Anyway, its a goal

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OGE:

 

You're right on track. In our council, for example, the largest district has 51 units and raises it's FOS of $30 some thousand dollars. It does it's share in popcorn and wreaths, united way, and in camp attendance.

 

It's the perfect size for an entry level district executive. However, it's a little too small for a Senior District Executive. Our council is small and the other two districts are only slightly smaller than the district I have in mind.

 

I wish it were different and we are striving to grow to the point where we have room for a Senior District Executive -- but until that happy day, if it ever comes, I'm afraid I'll never have a position in my council higher than my own or equal to my own, to even be able to allow a DE to have an opportunity for a promotion within the council, let alone the district.

 

I, and hopefully the volunteers, then have a duty to help that DE become the best they can be in about three years and then pass their skills on to another council. If they want to stay here forever, they'll be a DE forever . . . or until we have the membership and raise the money to change our professional structure.

 

On the one hand, it's sad to lose them. On the other, I think we can be proud of the training and experience we send to scouts and scouters in other areas.

 

I look at it as "the kid has grown up." There's a tear of sadness mingled with pride.

 

DS

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