New First Class requirement: "invite" a friend

[fgoodwin]

Effective January 1, 2006, requirement no. 11 reads:Tell someone who is eligible to join Boy Scouts, or an inactive Boy Scout, about your troop's activities. Invite him to a troop outing, activity, service project or meeting. Tell him how to join, or encourage the inactive Boy Scout to become active.How does your SM (or whoever is signing off on First Class requirement) verify that this requirement has been achieved? Are you taking the Scout's word for it?

 

The requirement doesn't say the friend or inactive Scout actually has to attend the meeting nor does it require that the Scout produce an application from the friend; any of those, if required by the Troop, would be adding to the requirement as written.

 

Some of the boys who crossed over last spring are probably wrapping up their Second Class by now, and I was curious your Troop handles this?

[evmori]

It's a stupid requirement that the SM might as well just sign as completed since there is no way to verify it has been completed. If the Scout says he did it, he did it!

 

I don't expect to see membership numbers soar based on this requirement.

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[Lisabob]

So far we've just accepted the scout's word on the matter too. I'm with Ed on this one.

 

Lisa'bob

[EagleInKY]

Agreed. I ask them to tell me who they talked to, what they did, how was the response, etc. I try to use it as an opportunity to coach them on how to sell scouting. I don't think it's going to make a big impact either, but I guess it's worth a shot.

[jr56]

Also in agreement. We've just accepted the boy's word. I also don't really see the point in this requirement.

[Eagle69]

Not having had to worry about First Class scouts for awhile I wasn't aware that they had added this requirement. It's stupid! I wonder what MBA genious at National thought this up? Obviously someone that never has worked in the program, which seems to be the case on a lot of the rules and requirements they come up with.

[gwd-scouter]

In our Troop, we will just accept the Scout's word that he did the requirement.

 

One of our Scouts just completed the requirement - he spoke with a friend and gave that friend my email address. The friend sent me an email stating our Scout had talked to him, but unfortunately would not be able to join the troop.

 

I was quite surprised to receive the email and really don't expect anything more than a Scout telling me he talked with a friend.

 

 

[Trevorum]

I think this is a very good requirement. The whole point is simply public outreach: get the scouts (who surely know best what appeals to other boys) to talk about the program with their buddies. Some boys may join; most won't. That's OK.

 

We cover this requirement in the SM conference. The SM typically asks "What do you like about Scouting?", which is a good segue into the new outreach requirement. We don't require any "proof" - a Scout is Trustworthy.

 

We've already seen some new faces at meetings as a result of this requirement.

[campcrafter]

I think it is a pitful requirement, and is one more indicator the mentality of the corp honchos. Didn't another thread there is something like the Million Dollar Round Table for Execs who do good job of marketing?

 

Makes us look like some kind of MLM scheme like A L Williams or Amway.

 

But it is a requirement now so we'll tell the boys to tell a friend and then tell us when they have so we can sign off.

 

Of course if a boy is having a great time in Scouts he'll tell his friend without beign told to and if interested the friiend will come check it out.

 

cc

[Trevorum]

Oooh, that's a great idea Ron!

 

So if I recruit someone and get a patch, and then HE recruits someone, can I get TWO patches, and then if HE recruits someone, I can get FOUR patches, and ... my mind boggles at the math!

[scoutingagain]

I'm on the fence as to value of this requirement. While I recognize that peer to peer recruiting is probably the best way to recruit new scouts, I'm somewhat dubious as to making it a requirement for advancement. There was already a recruiter award which I thought did a good job a recognizing those scouts who recruited a new member.

 

As for verification, it is no different than any other requirement that must often be done by a scout outside of a meeting or outing where we don't actually get to witness the activity. Yes, we take the scout at his word, but the discussion should be more than,

 

"Did you talk to a prespective scout about our troop and encourage him to join?"

 

"Yes."

 

Requirement passed.

 

I like EagleinKY's approach. So who did you talk to? What did you say about our Troop? How did they respond? Did they show any interest? etc.

 

Would you simply take a "Yes" during a Scoutmaster conference on, "Do you live the scout oath and law in your everyday life?"

 

SA

[molscouter]

Our first years have already figured out that all they have to do is talk to the Webelos when they come to visit. For technicality's sake, we probably should make sure that some of them are 11.

[fgoodwin]

Unless the Webelos is eligible to join the Troop then and there, I'd say merely talking to visiting Webelos wouldn't cut it.

 

And note there are three parts to the requirement: (1) tell; (2) invite; and (3) tell again.

 

"Inviting" someone who is already there hardly meets the spirit of the requirement. "Inviting" someone who isn't eligible to join certainly fails to meet the requirement.(This message has been edited by fgoodwin)

[evmori]

1st you tell someone then you invite them. But they must be eligible. Does that mean they must be eligible to join right away? The requirement doesn't say. A den chief for a Bear den could meet this requirement by telling the Bear den about his Troop & inviting them to a COR! Requirement completed!

 

It's still stupid.

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[GernBlansten]

Ed: 1st you tell someone then you invite them. But they must be eligible.

 

So, should the 2nd class scout make sure they are eligible by asking them if they

 

Believe in God

Are heterosexual

A scout should be thorough, don't you think?