Council and District Support?

[arronisoutside 13]

Howdy from Washington State!

I have questions regarding the support from the Council and/or District.  In my example, they will be one in the same/interchangeable.

Our Troop does a yearly planning camp with the SPL/ASPL/Scribe/Troop Guide and the PLs.  They review the previous year, discussing the goals they had set, did they meet them etc.  They then determine where the Troop is headed, what they need to get there and set 3 more goals for the year.  Its a long weekend, but when they are done, they have a full year planned out that is beneficial to the Troop in general.

Our Council and District do not provide them with a yearly calendar for planning.  Rarely are events scheduled more than a month in advance.  They told our SPL to make a guess on the dates.  I was a little miffed to say the least.

Do you guys get support from the council/district for planning?  Are they as loosy goosy everywhere?  In my mind, they should be planning at least a year out, just like we are supposed to do.  

[gblotter 372]

Loosey-goosey here in California, too. Our district/council events typically get scheduled about 3 months in advance. It does introduce calendaring frustrations because we need to make campsite reservations 6 months in advance for desirable locations. Partly for this reason, we have changed our troop planning from an annual cycle to a semi-annual cycle.

[The Latin Scot 961]

Our district is pretty good about keeping their calendar public and accessible. The June Roundtable is our yearly planning RT, and all district and major council events are posted on the district's website online. I'm lucky to be part of a well-run district. If you want to take a look at the website and maybe give your district commissioners some ideas, here's a link: 

saddlebackdistrict.org 

[ParkMan 1293]

I find that our district and council are indeed very different when it comes to planning.  We're in a large, very professional council.  Council dates are generally on the calendar at least a year out.  Sure, things like trainings pop up with less notice - but major things like Council Camporees are known very well ahead of time.

Our district tries to be that planned, but are not to that same level.  Generally, district events are known about 6 months out.   But again, some major things like District Pinewood Derby or District camporee are closer to 9 months out.

I'll profess though that I've got very little sympathy for districts that don't plan at least a year out - preferrably 1.5 years out.  There will always be things that pop up more quickly.  But, there is absolutely no reason why a council or district cannot plan 18 months out.

Just my .02

[arronisoutside 13]

I'm glad to hear that I am not asking too much of them.  Its frustrating.  My scouts do their planning, I merely guide and play devils advocate to make sure they think things through.

 

Thanks!