Unit Commissioner Activities

[fred8033 1591]

Unit commissioners and unicorns. Two things I've never seen. Don't believe anymore that they can possibly exist.

[WalnutDC 10]

In my District, UC's have a great presence. Always at Roundtable and I get most of them at my District Commissioner meetings. They do their visits and work hard to keep the units healthy. My DE works closely with her District Committee members and we do our best to support her. It is a symbiotic relationship when done properly. We are a large council in a big city - and I do think some of the outlying districts have some trouble recruiting UC's so depending on where you are, a DE might just be strained to do their job effectively and may not have a full set of District-level volunteers. They need to do the legwork to recruit them, get them trained, and turn them loose. Again, it is sad to hear of those who aren't getting the full benefits.

[Cito 12]

We have one who I see at roundtable and at least a couple pack meetings each year. We copy him on the emails. Honestly we need a lot less help than other units in the district, so he should be out working with the underperforming ones. I think the ratio in our district is about 6:1.

 

No uniform inspections for our UC, he's not in uniform pants or silver shoulder loops.

[WalnutDC 10]

Cito - you can always inform the District Commissioner or at least ask if the UC is visiting the underperforming units. They should visit or at least email/call you six times a year at a minimum. They should be in proper uniform - field Class A shirt, silver tabs, Unit Commissioner patch, field pants, etc. There is a possibility though that they could have listed another volunteer role on their registration, although UC should always be primary. The tabs must match the patch they are wearing. For example, a multiple-registered UC serving on the Troop Committee, wears the TC patch and green tabs if they are at Troop Meetings for their own Troop - otherwise, a UC patch and silver tabs should be required. Many of my commishes have dual roles and have multiple shirts (or Velcro strips). Oh and by the way, no UC should be registered as a Cubmaster, Scoutmaster, or Committee Chair. There just aren't enough hours in the day to do both jobs the justice they need.

[Cito 12]

WalnutDC, I appreciate that. I think our district has made great strides in the last two years with regards to both unit commissioners and proper uniforming so I'm picking my battles. Our district chair doesn't seem to have a pair of scout pants either...my big concern is about the units that receive little support and really need it. As usual a lot of that comes down to having enough volunteers.

[NJCubScouter 1389]

What WalnutDC is leaving out is that he is accessing the Internet from his home on Neptune (also known as the Planet of the Plentiful Unit Commissioners) by bouncing radio signals off the passing New Horizon spacecraft.

 

Just kidding. At least mostly kidding.

[WalnutDC 10]

Nah, I am from Alpha Centauri.

[Twocubdad 665]

In the 12 or so years I've been with the troop or pack we've had two UCs. One was an existing unit volunteer and the other was a new volunteer we steered to UC. Both attended basic training but dropped the pretense of being a UC after about 6 months. Both complained it was a meaningless job with no real purpose. The first went to being a full-time den leader, the other is still active helping with merit badges and boards of review.

 

Now, our district commissioner is considered our UC. I think two years ago, he and our DE stuck their heads in during a troop meeting -- they were next door for a Cub recruiting activity. That's what passed as a unit visit.

 

But we get FOS presentations like clockwork!

[SeattlePioneer 144]

Hello Walnut,

 

 

Sorry, I don't think much of the rules you've identified for Unit Commissioners. The position of UC is far too fluid to impose a lot of rules on what someone does when they do unit visits or identify problems, in my opinion and experience.

 

I see three basic conditions units may be in:

 

1) The unit is doing OK. No real action needed.

 

2) The unit is doing pretty well but has some issues that need attention (recruiting would be an example. Finding new adult leaders another common one) Chatting with the unit leaders and Committee members ought to be enough to start dealing with those.

 

3) The unit has major issues that are being neglected and no one is dealing with them. This is the toughest situation for a UC to deal with, and the most important.

 

Whether the UC is in uniform or what color tabs he wears isn't especially relevant to dealing with these situations.