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It's so great to know I was ahead of the curve! I did this exact job...as the Membership Chair! I spent a lot of time with new parents selling the troop and reassuring them that there was a method to the madness. I also emphasized that if they had regular old questions they should check out the websites and/or approach the Committee Chair or another committee member since the SM and the ASMs were up to thier eyeballs in boys.

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Interesting to find out that the ScoutParents website is not from National. Really thought is was the way our Council people pushed it.

In my Council the idea to get more adults involved is to have each unit register one additional adult each year thereby in 20010 we will have reached our goal. They suggest that the new Scouters be used in the units for some job to free up another Scouter. No real plan on how to use the new people.

How is the Inner City handbook brought into my discussion? It was a good idea (?) that did not work. In fact caused the lost of of over half the boys and adults that were members. I hope that bringing in a million new members without a plan on what to do with them will work and not backfire on us. What could go wrong - I don't know but some law (I think it was Murphy's) may apply. Hope I am wrong.

 

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Guest OldGreyEagle

Before we go nuts here, can anybody tell us how many Scouts and Scouters were lost in the 1972 emphasis on "urban scouting"? I have seen half mentioned a lot and I am not so sure it was half, does anybody have a resource who can tell one way or the other? Perhaps it was half, but lets not agree on it because someone says so

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Here is data from the 2000 US Census for BSA membership:

 

1970 - 6,287,000 members in 157,000 units

 

1975 - 5,318,000 members in 150,000 units

(-15% in members, -4.5% in units from 1970)

 

1980 - 4,318,000 members in 129,000 units

(-19% in members, -14% in units from 1975)

(-31% in members, -18% in units from 1970)

 

1980 to 1999 it shows a increase every year

 

1999 - 6,248,000 members in 145,000 units

 

http://www.allcountries.org/uscensus/443_boy_scouts_and_girl_scouts_membership.html

 

(This message has been edited by CNYScouter)

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OldGreyEagle - you are 100% correct. We should be using correct figures. I was told in the late 80's that we have lost about half. Did not mean to go off half cocked and you were right to bring me back. Thanks.

CNY - thanks for the correct figures.

We had 1,382,000 Scouters in 1960.

1970 - 1,604,000 Scouters.

1975 - 1,385,000 Scouters.

1980 - 1,110,000 Scouters.

1999 - 1,292,000 Scouters.

Between 1970 and 1980 the BSA lost over 554,000 Scouters or 31% of the adults. The figures only go up to 1999 and we were still below our the 1970 figure by 312,000 adults. Hopefully by 2008 we have gained back the adults to the 1975 figure.

I am using the figures for Scouters not Scouts. After over 30 adult years in Scouting I have never had any problems getting boys into the program. The boys come to the program if there are adults who will give up their time.

Back to the subject. I just hope that adding a million new adults to the program will help but it seems that we are trying to get the new adults without any real plan to put them to work. It sounds like the idea it to just fit them in the cracks and hope for the best.

Is BSA ready for all these new adults. For example, are the training teams across the US getting ready to train a million new adults in the next two years? Are the Scout Shops ready to sell a million new uniforms in the new two years? I would hope that after about two or three years about 100,000 of these new adults would like to take WoodBadge - are the Wood Badge teams ready for this?

My time is up for now. Thanks again for the correct figures. Bye.

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According to the BSA 2007 annual report there are 1.2 million adults and 2.8 million youth (4.0 million total members).

 

I see unit positions being created but no mention of training courses being created

 

Will every Parent be required to register as a PA?

Will they be required to take Fast Start, YPT and NLE?

If not, I dont see any use for this position except to Pad adult numbers.

 

Doesnt a unit have a person whose job is to be a Parent Coordinator?

 

Isnt one of the jobs of the CC to make sure the unit has the resources to run a Scout program which would include getting parents involved?

 

I always though it was the SMs job or an ASM designated by the SM to introduce the Boy Scout and Troops program to the new parents.

 

Why does the Parent Coordinator need to be a required position and not just registered as a Committee Member?

 

It would seem that if the BSA was going to add positions we would see codes for Treasurer and Secretary which I think are more important positions to have than a Parent Coordinator.

 

Will this required position be the same as the required Pack Trainer?

I only know of a couple of Packs that actually have one of these.

 

Unless they are specified on the Charter as required, such as SM or CC, I dont see many units fulfilling the PC position.

 

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I wonder if soon in the not to distant future, there is a knot made available for Parent Coordinators. You know, trained in the position, hold the position for three years and reccommended by the Unit Committee. Think the positions would get filled then?

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Scouters can be funny creatures they complain that there is not enough parent support, then they say that parents are too involved. They demand that every parent help out on something during the year, then they complain that theyt don't want the parents around. They argue that the training is no good, but then they want every parent trained or they are worthless.

 

Yes Scout leaders are funny creatures indeed.

 

The ScoutParent program started as a pilot program in a single council and has since been adopted by the national program. The purpose is to help balance the units need for adult resources. The role of the ScoutParent Coordinator is to recruit parents with skills and resources that could be of benefit to the uit program and help coordinate their specific involvement in support of the needs of the unit.

 

Think of it as the Parental HR director. The ScoutParent Coordinator would be present at committee meetings to listen to the manpower needs of both the program and administation teams of the unit, and to match willing parents with the work needed by the unit.

 

Why ANYONE would be opposed to this kind of support is anyone's guess, but then scout leaders can be unusual creatures.

 

I think that some leaders want scouting to be a family activity just as long as it is THEIR family and not someone elses.

(This message has been edited by Bob White)

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CNYScouter does raise an interesting question. Will this position be required when new units charter? Will it be "5 boys, a SM, a COR, CC, PC, and Committee Member?" Or in the case of a Pack, "5 boys, a DL, a CM, CC, PC, and PT?"

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Required position? Individual units will have the position filled if it is required, whether there is a person or not. Just like units today have committee members, assistant SM, COR, CC, Cubmaster etc. Some of these folks aren't even aware somebody put their name on the charter renewal. Some charters have names the unit doesn't even know anymore yet they get renewed year after year.

 

Making a position "required" doesn't mean the unit will have a functioning person.

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I also heard a presentation at PTC, and while I am still trying to find the handout amid all the stuff I brought back, my personal recollection is that that it is a "registered" position and not a required one.

 

I find nothing at Scoutparent.org that says it is required, and I looked at the Scoutparent information on my council's website and other council's as well and find nothing that says it is required.

 

 

 

 

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My Council newletter from the beginning of July mentions the position, but not that it is required either. In truth, I just skimmed over that section of the NL when it came out, but looked at it in more detail when the subject came up here. The Scoutparent website is like a maze, I don't know where to begin to find my way around. As stated earlier, poor judgement (on my part) led me to believe that PTC information clarified what the Council NL didn't.

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