Relationships Yield Results

[fgoodwin]

Reposted with permission from a post by Mark Ray to the Scoutmaster Tips Yahoo email list:

 

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Posted by: "Mark Ray"

Date: Tue Nov 13, 2007 12:01 pm ((PST))

 

Relationships Yield Results

 

On the Monday after Thanksgiving, our chartered organization (Christ Church United Methodist in Louisville) will tear down the old house our troop has been meeting in for at least 15 years.

 

That's the bad news.

 

The good news is that we've already moved into renovated space in the church's old fellowship hall. The great news is that the church footed the entire bill for renovating the space. All we paid for was hooking up our computers and phone line. We were even able to scavenge furniture around the church.

 

Why were we so lucky? For one simple reason: We work constantly to remind folks that we are part of the church's outreach ministry-not an outside group that meets in the church building. We celebrate Scout Sunday each year, we support other church functions (such as an annual church-wide day of service), we regularly promote Scouting in the church's newsletter and new-member packets, we make sure we always have church members in leadership positions within the troop, and we respond promptly to any concerns church leaders have.

 

So how are your relations with your chartered organization?

[AvidSM]

We are also chartered with a Methodist Church and the relationship is good. They are looking to add a large new addition to the building and we are asking for a dedicated meeting room just for the scouts. Our COR goes to all the meetings and is very vocal in reminding the church leaders who we are and how we fit in their youth ministry. We attend Scout Sunday there and also help out with outdoor cleanup service projects and the bazaar.

[Joni4TA]

I actually have no real idea how our relationship with our chartered organization is. Since the CC, SM, an ASM, a MC and the COR are all members of the church that charter us, I would like to believe our relations are great. But I truthfully don't know.

[hotdesk]

We are chartered by a United Methodist church. The COR is very active and attends Roundtables, Committee Meetings, Court of Honors, and serves on the District Advancement Committee as the Eagle Board Coordinator.

 

As a troop we encourage scouts to participate in helping at church events. We attend Scout Sunday and our scouts are usually commended by the members for their excellent behavior.

 

BUT, during the last year we had the first visit from the Board of Trustees Chairman to our Troop Committee meeting. He informed the committee that our local community college, who has some classes at the church, noticed their things being touched and moved. He informed us that they had felt we were doing these things and that we either needed to stop now or find a new meeting place.

 

During the past 5 years we have also broken 1 window with a basketball and were blamed for a crack that appeared in the entry door. We know we broke the window, but didn't quickly take responsiblity for the door.

 

Also we have been asked to donate to some of their different funds, which we have not done. No one on their end has made a futher point, but I wonder what they actually think.

[Gold Winger]

"Also we have been asked to donate to some of their different funds, which we have not done. No one on their end has made a futher point, but I wonder what they actually think."

 

Sounds like they don't understand what the relationship is supposed to be. They're supposed to be doing fundraising to support you, not vice-versa.

[GernBlansten]

Our CO is a United Methodist Church. Our COR is never present and only a name on a form for all I can tell. Only two of our scout families attend this church. We attend Scout Sunday (cook and serve pancake breakfast for the congregation) and the bi-annual church grounds cleanup. Do an odd Eagle project for them.

Last week, our CC attended a board of trustees meeting to pitch a new trailer idea to them, they prompty started a long list of complaints such as how noisy our boys are, furniture misaligned, doors left ajar, etc. Of course this is the first we heard about such complaints. I pretty sure that in the 50 years we have been chartered by them, the relationship has pretty much been the same, hands off with an occasional venting.

[mmhardy]

I had a bad experience while trying to get a cub pack on its feet. Our CO was the local Knights of Columbus. But the relationship was on paper only. The parish had a new fellowship hall but the group was fearful that the boys would damage the facility. We did our meetings behind the stage at the school. Our Chartered Rep was only interested in the Scout Troop...Pack not so much. I attented several KoC busiess sessions and directly asked the KoC board a meeting space and $$ for flags...no response. I finally told the district exec that this was not worth salvaging and merged our pack with another and took a leadership position. Best move we ever did.

 

Sadly the short sightedness is now directly affecting the KoC Troop. Without a pipline of new members from Pack they are seeing smaller numbers year after year.

 

[FScouter]

It is fine if a chartered organization chooses to monetarily pay for troop needs but there should be no expectation that they do so. The CO is not a troop sponsor, they are a partner. Their obligation is to select a chartered organization rep and a unit committee, and provide meeting space. Not money.

[Gold Winger]

"It is fine if a chartered organization chooses to monetarily pay for troop needs but there should be no expectation that they do so."

 

Be that as it may, the CO shouldn't expect the unit to donate anything other than time to them.

[allangr1024]

We meet in an independant church. They have always considered us an outside group who just use their facilities. We only heard from them when something got broken and they thought one of the boys did it. We started to feel that we should look for a CO that really liked scouting and would partner with us. We pitched our troop to another church, met with their elders, showed Power Point presentations and explained our vision and our mission. Unfortunately they did not choose to bring us in.

 

Then we decided to do the same presentation of the Scout troop and program for the present church, our CO. We found that some of the personnel had changed, and the attitude is now much different. They have upgraded our meeting room arrangements, and seem interested now in doing more together with the troop.

 

I guess we did not consider that regular communication is more that talking to the COR every once in a while. I am thinking that we might do a service project for them, like serving the refreshments at a church function, or doing some renovation of the playground equiptment, or something like that. It would generate a lot of goodwill.

 

[Gold Winger]

" I am thinking that we might do a service project for them, like serving the refreshments at a church function, or doing some renovation of the playground equiptment, or something like that. It would generate a lot of goodwill."

 

Ah-yuh. Eagle projects are also a great way to build goodwill with your CO. Invite the COR and IH to your annual dinner, courts of honor especially Eagle courts. Heck, ask them to come and visit a campout. Make them feel involved.

[GernBlansten]

We tried inviting them (CO members) to our functions. No interest.

 

But as our CC said after his meeting with the trustees, people over 70 shouldn't be running things. They are just too set in their ways.

[Gold Winger]

Mother would have said, "even if they never show up, keep inviting them."

 

The flip side of your age-ist comment is that young people are too reactionary. There's a reason that generals are older and lieutenants are young. Wisdom comes with age. Enthusiasm goes with youth.

[BrentAllen]

Our relationship with our CO is great, couldn't be better. The church (Dunwoody Baptist) used to sponsor a troop, from 1973 to 1997. We (DE and myself) approached the pastor and found that he and the church really wanted to sponsor a troop again. After signing the paperwork, the pastor asked how much money we needed to get started - $500? When I didn't answer quick enough, he raised it to $750. He then insisted the church pay for the new Troop flag ($200), and they are fixing up the old equipment trailer for us. They even let us set up and sell popcorn at one of the Wednesday night suppers (they don't normally allow selling anything at the supper), and the pastor made a big pitch for us.

 

On our side, we set up a table at the Fall Festival and had a "rescue rope throw" with candy given out to the kids who hit the (big) target. It was a great way to get rid of extra Halloween candy, and it was very popular with the younger kids.

We will observe Scout Sunday there, and maybe do a breakfast. I received my Red Cross Trainer card recently, so we may set up a CPR/AED class for the membership.

 

It probably helps that the SM (me), CC and Advancement Chair all attend the church.

[ASM915]

Our Troop is lucky to have a cinder block Scout House in the local park.

 

The 5 years that I've been involved with our Troop the local VFW has been our CO. The COR has been involved with the Troop for the last 7 years, but less over the last 2 years. The IH (a gent in his 70'2) is very interested in the Troop. He attends our COH's, ECOH's and any meetings that we request his presents at.

 

The VFW supplies flags and poles for any projects that we do that need the items. Other money to us is dependent on their budget.

The IH supplies all of our new Eagles with paperwork for the VFW Scout of The Year. Last year one of our Eagles was Ohio VFW's eagle of The Year.

 

We do Operation Flag for them at Memorial Day and march in the parade.

 

They supply us with an upstairs meeting room right off the street for Comm. Meetings and COH's, or if we need a Troop meeting place due to bad weather or flooding of the park. We occasionally get a TO NOISE complaint from the members downstairs (behind locked doors) at the bar area. They must have some good hearing aids down there to be able to hear us over the ballgames and noise at the bar.

 

Our former CO was the local Catholic church. The relations were good until the whole Diocese Youth Protection thing started up, and all the adults had to be fingerprinted for the background checks. The church had no problem covering the cost for the church volunteers, but didn't feel that the Scouters were church volunteers, refused to pay insisting that the Troop pick up the tab, and so we're now with the VFW.

 

The church thing was to bad. Almost all of the leaders were parish members as well as 90% of the Scouts.