Are Districts Obsolete?

[moxieman 11]

Eagle92 wrote: Give you an idea on size. Up until a year or so ago, it was a 4 hour trip from the NW corner to the SE corner fo the council. With the internet spur, it is 3:15.

 

Only 4 hours across your council? Try THREE HOURS across my district from one corner to the other. Of course, we're the 2nd largest district, area-wise in the northeast and cover half the territory of our council (which has 5 districts). There's a reason, I list my location as "Maine Wilderness" in my profile.

 

That said, our district provides a lot of the things previously mentioned by other posters that we wouldn't entrust to the council based on past experience with council-sponsored events. And despite our size, we still see 50+ people at our monthly roundtable. Then again, people can't use distance as an excuse as one of the Roundtable commissioners travels down 2 hours from our district's northern-most town to run it. We're talking remote here. If you're in his town, you need a passport to buy a BigMac from the nearest McDonald's and you best be able to know a little French too to place your order for it in St. Georges, Quebec, Canada 35 miles north of his town.

[Basementdweller 608]

I have been told I need to step up and help.....

 

Ya know my plate is full....Crew, Pack and troop, rare is a free weekend......

 

 

Besides the richy boys a crossed the belt way have 29 assistant scout masters, a committee of 18 and more money than midas......Shouldn't they be doing the program....

[fred8033 1593]

I think a key feature of districts is that it creates a smaller area that volunteer labor can support for advancement, camping, fundraising, training, etc ... and that, more importantly, reduces the work load on paid staff at the council level. The existance of districts creates a cheaper business model.

[SeattlePioneer 144]

In our district you have to take a ferry boat ride to get to an island in the middle of Puget Sound where a Cub Pack and Scout Troop are located.

 

To get to the far end of the district on the beaches of the Pacific Ocean, stay on the ferry boat and drive 144 miles to a Cub Pack and Scout Troop in the town of Forks, Wa.

 

They may have a contingent of vampires and werewolves competing for influence in those units...

[BadenP 93]

 

I think with the new one megacouncil per state proposal by National that it is becoming obvious that it really is the council and professional scouting that has become obsolete, and that the district will become even more important in the future.

[Tokala 16]

They definitely serve a purpose, but need to be organized so it makes sense. My Council went to 4 Districts in 1998. Since then our youth and adult volunteer membership has declined. When I became VP of Prgram for the Council, I found out that we didn't have adult volunteers to draw to fill positions. Since this was becoming a Council issue, I proposed reducing the Districts to eliminarte duplicating positions and freeing up top quality people for other positions. Being a geographically small Council, only about 10 miles wide x 50 miles long, travel isn't a major issue. Based on membership, 2 Districts would have been the best scenario. However, 2 Districts affected the Council Executive's ability to be promoted, so he used the Council Presdient to campaign for 3 Disticts. He got his 3 Districts and we still have problems getting enough volunteers. He's grumbling that 2 Districts don't have finance chairs yet, but doesn't seem to realize that part of that problem is available volunteers and duplicity throughout the Council.

 

Our Districts seem to have good program and participation from the units. The Council level Program folks that work with me, help the District-level volunteers with determining camp fees and scheduling.

[Eagle92 110]

Mox,

 

Only reason why we have the 3:15 time frame is the highway system. SE most part of the council is Camp LeJeune, and I-95 is on the western border of the council. So a viable highway.

 

SP,

 

We also have units that need to use ferry's to get to the mainland.

 

Tokala,

 

It's a precarious position in regards to districts. My council had 9, and one was suffering. So it went to 8, merging with one district that is going strong. But in our case distance is a problem. Like your commissioner, one unit was 2 hours away according to Maqquest directions from most district events.

 

Membership suffered, leader morale suffered, and eventually they got their district back. But by the books, they should not exist as they are struggling. The strongest program is their CSDC.

[perdidochas 658]

As Eagle92 said, it depends on the size of your council.

[Eamonn 61]

Districts just like any other Pack, Troop or Crew are only as good as the volunteers who are involved.

Just like Packs, Troops and Crews, Districts work well when all the adults are team players and do their best to get along together.

A big part of this is the selection of the right people for the right job.

Sometimes it is a chore to fill the positions, sometimes positions are handed out because someone feels that the person has earned it, even when everyone knows that it's a square peg in a round hole.

To my mind the harm caused to Districts by the lack of any real Commissioner Service is great.

Commissioners were the eyes and ears of the District. Reports from U/C's got the ball moving that helped struggling units. When unit volunteers seen that the District guys were not just stuffed shirts with lots of knots and had the opportunity to work with the District guys relationships were formed, people got to know and trust each other and there was a network in place that down the road very often paid dividends.

While of course it is the job of the District Committee to help the Council reach goals. Districts fail when they fail to see that all these goals are dependent on strong units who offer good programs.

Program is what builds units and after that everything else falls into line.

DE's are not and should never be the District Program guys.

The District Key 3 play a very big part in the success or failure of a District.

The District Commissioner needs to recruit and communicate well with the Commissioner Staff and be willing to step in when things don't seem to be going well.

The District Chair. Should know the strengths of the people selected to be District leaders (Training, membership and so on.) He needs to ensure that these people are doing what they should be doing and not just warming a chair once a month. This means that open two way communication is very important.

When it looks like the District is only working for the Council and seems to not care about the volunteers or the units the District will fail.

A good DE does help, but most well established and well run Districts could work almost just as well without one.

Districts will remain relevant so long as the people in the District care, same as with any Pack, Troop, or Crew.

Eamonn.

[OldGreyEagle 5]

I think BadenP is correct, as we trend to larger and larger councils, then the District becomes more important, not less.

 

That is not to say all Districts, or District Execs are created equal, they certainly are not

[SeattlePioneer 144]

To Eamonn's excellent post, I would add that districts provide a lot of the continuity for programs and volunteers.

 

District Executives come and go all too rapidly. Even good ones are a rope of sand to try to build upon. But districts often attract volunteers for a decade or more at a time. Those people can really learn their job, and the jobs and contributions other are making and forge those variety of programs into an effective program that leads both to unit organizations and the council.

 

Of course this doesn't apply to Basement's district or council, mores the pity.

[Basementdweller 608]

Well not sure whats up the the bulk of the district committee resigned tonight.....

Cub and Boy scout roundtable commissioners, training, advancement, activities and camping chair resigned tonight effective immediately.....

 

makes ya wonder whats up??????

 

Emails are a flyin....Just the roundtable commissioners, advancement and training chair actually resigned for personal reasons....(This message has been edited by Basementdweller)

[dkurtenbach 348]

You don't suppose they read this thread . . . ?

[Basementdweller 608]

Ya know I don't care........

 

I haven't said anything here that I haven't said at roundtable or committee meetings...

 

Why are their no district cub events?

Why No camporees?

Why is it the only time I see you, DE, you want money or applications?

Why is there no program tonight, roundtable,?

Since when did FOS become mandatory???

Since when did quality unit/JTE become mandatory????

(This message has been edited by Basementdweller)

[Tampa Turtle 1011]

I am in the Tocabaga district. We used to be the "Rough Riders" after TR (who stayed in Tampa before shoving off to Cuba). I understand *ahem* why "Rough Riders" may conjure some images of unscout-like behavior but I miss it. The boys still we wish we had it.

 

I could drive across our district in 30 minutes. I have seen our District Guy at my old Pack meetings as well as some of our Committee meetings. Makes suggestions but in general seems supportive and helpful. I am less impressed at the Council level--all my interactions with them --on anything--is that we are always doing it wrong and that they are the REAL scouts. So a move toward a "super council" may be a move in the wrong direction. But that is just my opinion.