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Adults with no sons in the unit


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This weekend I met a new neighbor. He's a nice guy and it turns out he is an Eagle. He's about 40 and has one daughter. Naturally we started talking about Scouting and how great it is for boys and their dads. He misses it a great deal and wistfully said he wished he was still involved. Of course, I immediately invited him to one of our meetings. My question is, if he shows and wants to participate, how should I involve him? (We have ~20 SAs for our 80+ troop). Any advice/thoughts?

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Well, I thought of that and started to pursue the idea. However, he said that for a while he was active with another council's legal team (he's a lawyer, but I like him anway) but that just didn't appeal to him. I get the sense that he wants to camp and hike. I also get the feeling that he wishes he had a son.

 

I guess I want to make sure that I don't mis-step here.

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With 1 SA for every 4 boys you don't really need any help from outside your own Troop. If he is really interested give him the name & number of your DE. He could put him in touch with Troops who are hurting for help or tell him about volunteer oportunities at the District level (there are other things he could do than just legal related).

 

But - You know, there is an organization called GIRL Scouts of the USA that he could volunteer for with his daughter! GSUSA has male leaders too. Maybe he could share his love of Scouting with her instead of just wishing for a boy!

 

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All have posted good suggestions.

 

However if what he really wants to do is hike & camp once in a while, and occaisionally mentor younger scouts, I'd suggest the MB counselor route. He could do some of the outdoor skills MBs and do those while on camping trips.

 

 

 

SA

 

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I agree that the best way to get him involved is probably as a Merit Badge Counselor. This might be a way for him to gauge the time involved. If he still wants more, get the DE to introduce him to another unit.

Just make sure this doesn't happen to him (my story).

I was in scouts as a youth. Only got to Star. When work and school changed, got back in as a MBC. Then a member of my church, whose sin was in a troop at another church, asked if I would consider helping with paperwork. Since I did that each day, I thought why not? Went to my first meeting. Met some of the adults and youth. About half way through the meeting, the SM said :"Now I would like to introduce you to the new Scoutmaster."

Guess what, it was me.

I had a choice: leave with everybody looking or take the job. Sixteen years later I left. The SM that introduced me never came back.

By the way, I am married, but have no kids. I did the job of SM as a way to pay back my SM for the great times. I saw him a couple of years after I took the position and he just grinned.

Don't let him get away. There is always a place for him.

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I'm glad to see all the positive responses. I figured there would be some who would question the intent of a man without a son wanting to be in a troop. We have a man in our troop without a son. He was an Eagle. He got married fairly young and ended up divorced. He went thru the daily task of getting up and going to work, but felt empty. He needed something to belong to. His mom told him that the happiest she ever saw him was when he was in scouts and urged him to find a place to serve. He came back to the troop he earned his Eagle from even though it had had complete turnover from his days in scouting. He is now a committee member and never misses a campout.

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OGE, is right about him and his interests.

If he is serious about wanting to help a troop, it would make more sense to introduce him to a troop that needs help.

If he just wants to hike and camp, maybe he might want to think about joining an organization that just hikes and camps.

I would see about setting up a meeting with him and a member of your district key3.

Eamonn.

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Just FYI, a few posts back someone suggested that he become a MB counselor and then he could go on hikes. It is my understanding that you need to be a paid registered member to go on outing where you dont have your child going. I could be wrong but I think MB counselor wont qualify.

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