New From NC

[briveigh]

My husband was the den leader of our son's Tiger Den last year, and is the Wolf Den leader this year. Our current Cub Master added me on as the asst den leader this year, since I have joined my husban with leading the meetings. I may be becoming the Cub Master in the next year, I haven't made up my mind yet. Our current CM's son moved up to Boy Scouts last year, so he is ready to move on, and pretty much only sticking around because no one else will step up. Our ACM's son will be moving up in the spring. I'm still stradling the fence, mostly because I know there are a lot of issues that need to be corrected, also that it is a lot of responsibility. Currently there is no Pack Council (not sure if there has ever been one), the CM and ACM do everything. My plan is over the next few months is to shadow our curren CM, attend RT, and possibly, if they are willing to allow me, attend Pack meetings of other packs in the area, and learn from their CM, and find out how they are operating. I don't want to go into this blindly. I am the type of person that when I go into something like this, I try to learn everything I can.

 

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[SeattlePioneer]

Get a Pack Committee established and a GOOD Pack Committee Chair to take charge of it!

 

The "Cubmaster Who Does Everything" is not a viable model.

 

Schedule monthly Committee meetings just as you schedule den and pack meetings.

 

If you are going to volunteer for something, volunteer to be the Committee Chair and to get the Committe working together to take charge of things the Cubmaster is currently doing. Once you do that it will be a LOT easier to recruit a Cubmaster and a new Assistant Cubmaster.

[mdlscouting]

I'm in Concord NC myself. I would definately agree with SP's advice.

 

I've actually stepped down as CM myself, to focus on the Committee Chair role in my pack. I would strongly advocate separating the administrative role and the Cubmaster role. Do NOT try to do it all yourself.

[briveigh]

I understand where you both of you are coming from, my intitial goal is to fix things for the kids. Except for Christmas, raingutter regada, pinewood derby and the blue and gold banquet, they pack meetings are business meetings. Until I started doing all the research to help my husband this year with the wolf den, I didn't know it was supposed to be different. I want the kids to be able to get their recognitions at more than these meetings also (currently those are the only times they get their patches, pins etc). I want to build in more cohesion with the pack, and let the kids have more fun. I don't think this is possible with the current CM, so I hoping that once I get in the CM position, I get get others to step into a committee position. I'm hoping that maybe I can talk our current CM into letting me coordinate den meetings as we transition so they can start running as they should. My husband and I have been looking at skits (which we didn't know we were supposed to do at pack meetings), and trying to come up with some simple ones for our wolves to do, hoping that other dens will get the idea. I didn't know that pack activities were supposed to be scheduled prior to the start of the fall meetings. We don't ever have anything planned, and it's just pulled out of hats at the last minute. For example we were told about a trip to the Virginia Creeper trail that our CM wants to take on Sept 21st (granted, we were told at the beginning), but we still as of yet have been told the cost, I do know, because I have called and talked to the CM myself. He has not given out the info. Our next meeting won't be until the 10th, 1 1/2 weeks prior to the trip. We will have a bad turnout because of the lack of information until the last minute, but he will claim that it is because the parents just won't do anything. So he carries that attitude, which is due to his lack of planning, and lets that affect the entire year. I know we have another parent, who my husband and myself have talked to, that wants to take a larger roll, but not the CM possition, so I may be able to get him to become the CC. So I guess I going at it backwards from what you are suggesting, but I think in this situation it may be the best way.

[tgrimstead]

Hello Fellow NC'R,

 

1.) Love your motivation!

2.) You can't do it alone!

3.) Establish committee first!

4.) Get assistance from a Troop, it's an investment. Happy Cubs=Future Boy Scouts.

5.) Get Chartered Organization involved, they own it, they need to know any issues.

6.) Retired persons are a valuable source of leadership. Tap into it.

7.) Do not go for drastic changes, resistance will occur and you will hear the phrase I dread. "But we have always done it this way!" Baby steps.

8.) No right or wrong way.

 

Yours in Cheerful Service,

Tim

 

 

[SSScout]

CM is the circus ringmaster. She/he makes the fun happen at the Pack Meetings. If it ain't fun, the Cubs won't want to come.No Cubs, no pack, no Boy Scouts.

* Minimum ceremony, but don't leave it out. Flags enter, PoA, CSP, LotP. "GOOD EVENING CUBS!" Save the announcements for LAST. The adults should have them IN WRITING to take home. Don't trust to oral.....

* Do some awards, then a cheer or "ROUND OF APPLAUSE"....

* Recognize the Dens and what they've done. Encourage bragging rights...Another set of cheers. There are lots of books and internet sites about this.

* Feel free to act silly and if it's fun for you, it WILL be fun for the Cubs. If it is a CHORE for you ("oh, geez, it's wednesday night again....") then guess what?

* If you have many Dens, let each one, in turn, take charge of the Pack meeting. Do a Skit, make it appropriate to the months theme.

* One more SHORT craft, or celebrity presentation? NASA will send an astronaut with stuff to look at, for instance. Be open to suggestion....

* Make it a point for SOMEONE to attend the local Roundtable. A good Cub Roundtable can do wonders for inspiration and ideas.

* Don't forget the traditional stuff: PWDerby, Camp outs (get SOMEONE BALOO trained), sleepovers, hikes, Scales and Tails (park service), dirt shifting (conservation projects!), Blue and Gold Banquet, etc.etc. Get a volunteer to wrangle ONE of these. Don't be averse to asking the individual directly. It rarely works to announce "we need a leader to..." but don't leave such announcements out.

* Occassionally do an ADULTS only thing. This takes planning, let someone entertain (Scales and Tails?) the Cubs while you (the CM and CChair) regales the parents with plans and ideas and schedules and encouragement. And requests for help (!)

* Which underscores the previously mentioned: DO Not Do This Alone. The CChair is (should be) the muscle behind the show. Ours takes care of arranging training, camp reservations and fundraising stuff. That is to say, he asks Tom, Dick and Mary to handle these things. Folks talk about Scouting being Leadership Training for the boys, well guess what, it's Leadership Training for adults, too.

* Speaking of Training: Make sure you get yours. Most, if not all , official Cub Leader Training is available online. Avail yourself of it. If you see something listed on your Council website (Cubarama, University of Scouting, Cub Round Up) for "in person", try hard to join in. I've had people say they come to our U of S because the coffee is better than at work. Goodareason as any.

 

* Keeping order: If the DenLeaders will help, you will have an easier time of it. If the boys have a chance to yell and have fun, they will be more likely to sit and listen when you ask. Call them "Cubs", "Scouts". Not "guys" or "kids". Insist they WATCH for the SIGN and make it a game. Time them . You may first have to TELL them about how to respond to the Cub Sign (put YOUR sign up, quiet down and watch), but they will. Don't let yourself yell quiet or hey or even signs up... Train your Den Leaders to do the same thing in their meetings so the consistancy will be reinforcing. The game is the thing.

"Okay Cubs, MAKE SOME NOISE!!!" (put sign up, watch clock) "15 seconds, not bad... Let's try it... AGAIN!!" (wait for it, sign up, watch clock) "8 seconds, getting better! Now we're gonna hear from Den 3. Ms Jenkins?"

 

** Comes time to close the meeting, try to make it worth waiting for. SHORT reminders, (pass out the "silent announcements") and then go into the flag retrival and CubMaster's Minute. Remind the Cubs what fun they've just had, remind them to be kind and good to each other and shake their hand as they leave, or use the "friendship circle" to break the meeting.

 

Show'em how it's done!

 

YiS

 

 

 

 

 

 

[briveigh]

I have taken all of the Fast Track and Leader specific training available at Myscouting.org. That's what got the bug in my ear that things were running right. The den leaders will help, we offered to help the current CM, and we talked to the bear DL who said he has also asked to help. The current Webelos II DL is also the current ACM. Our current CM said the pack would pay for my husband and I to get BALOO trained, which will be in November at the local council's POW WOW. The CM and ACM as far as I know are the only 2 BALOO trained in our pack. My uncle is a Park Ranger for the county, and I actually went to the main park that he is stationed at today to talk to him about some things our pack could do for the parks, and also since he is a bird finatic, if he would be willing to do some bird walks next spring. I am excited because he is 1 of only 2 people in our state certified to band hummingbirds and he said he would do a banding time for just our pack/den, whoever we could get to go.

[tgrimstead]

Park Ranger and Hummingbird band'r. Jackpot! well played.

 

Your In Cheerful Service,

 

Tim