Kicking off a new year, and I need advice please.

[Laurie]

I am the Assistant Cubmaster of our pack, and it was after the Blue & Gold that I filled this position. The history of our pack is that pretty much everything stops once the B&G is held. However, that's when I became busiest--checking out what we can do, which leaders will stay on, recruiting, etc. Our Cubmaster does not have the time to do any of this, and we did not have a committee chair at the time.

 

We now have a committee chair, and she and I work closely together. We, and all den leaders, are currently untrained and waiting on training--told we must wait until fall. What we have done is to pore over all resources in book form and on-line to see what we should be doing and how to improve what we are doing.

 

I have become close to all den leaders. We were on the verge of losing some, and I'm happy to say that they are now staying. They were tired, frustrated, and in need of support. I am working with the troop to secure den chiefs for this coming year. I have put up a website with our calendar and some general info; it can and hopefully will grow.

 

Some things that have come to light that we'd like to "fix":

 

There are no records kept of attendance, advancement, dues paid, etc. UNLESS the den leader chose to do this on his/her own. I have a pack planner; what else should we have?

 

There are no copies of the enrollment forms kept by the pack. That means we have no contact info, no health forms. To fix that now is rather late in the year, but heading into the new year: how do re-registered boys get handled? I'm told there is no form to fill out. If we need one, I'll create it--no problem. But am I just missing it? Our DE will be coming to round up, whenever that might be (I'm getting a little nervous with no date planned), so we will have help for new Cubs. But not for those currently registered.

 

Not one den leader knew that there were program helps, round table, training courses (once a year, but still...), or what paperwork they might need. They are great leaders! But you can see now why they'd be frustrated, right? What would your advice be to our current situation? I know that I am not the right person to handle this, but in all honesty, someone has to. Our DE and Unit Comm are aware of our circumstances, but in spite of my begging (yes, I've begged ) since this past March, we remain--IMO--in a rather precarious position. To his credit, our CM took the reigns of this pack when it would have folded had he not done so, and he's kept it going as CM for 6 years now. However, he's busy and having difficulty keeping up, and he's happy to let me do as much as possible.

 

My disclaimer: This is not a complaint nor a criticism; it is simply the way it is. I just love the people involved at all levels, but they can't always help in *my* timeframe.

[sctmom]

As a new cubmaster, here's what I'm doing right now. Our pack doesn't sound like it's in the shape yours is in. Some of these things I'm doing because the previous Cubmaster did them and it seemed to work.

 

1) Pack buys program helps for all leaders. Also, will hand new leaders the Leader handbook the night they sign up.

2) Getting records up to date -- each den handles their own den dues and attendance. We don't do attendance awards or recognition. We don't have pack dues.

There are forms in the leader handbook for Class 1 Physical (health forms) and for parent survey forms. You can also make up your own family info sheets pretty quickly.

 

We use packmaster, I have printed out den rosters and will have the den leaders get these up to date with correct phone numbers, addresses and email addresses.

 

 

3) Making a calendar for the whole year to be handed out as soon as possible to everyone. This calendar will include leader training and ALL committee/leader meetings (with a note that all adults are invited).

 

4) Making a separate calendar for the leaders about roundtable and training. Will remind them as things are coming up.

 

 

[Marty_Doyle]

I agree with Laurie.

I handed out Program Helps to the current leaders last week, along with a copy of G2SS and sections of Leader Book. They were all told they can borrow the Pack's copy at any time or ask for copies of other sections.

I updated the Pack library - purchasing Leader Books, Leader How To, D&P Ceremonies, Skits, Songs, Sparklers, G@SS and Insignia Guide. Actually any and every book related to Cubs I could get my hands on. Our Pack only had a five year old Leader Book and some leftover Program Helps from prior years as a Library.

I spoke with the COR and IH, and we agreed that each den must have two registered trained leaders, or they cannot be part of the Pack. (Not sure how or if I will enforce this - if I do I lose the Bears).

I have give each den leader flyers on Roundtable, with calendar and map, Pow-Wow, with agenda and map, and Unversity of Scouting, with syllabus and map.

We had a number of meetings over the last three months to plan next year's calendar(Scout year starts with school year in September). Every leader has a copy, and as part of each month's activities, Roundatble, NLE, CSLST, BALLOO, and WOLT are listed, with times and locations.

Youth Protection ands Fast Track are requirted before the September PAck Night (both arte on-line). NLE and CSLST are offered by our district in conjuction with Septenmber's Roundtable. All leaders are supposed to attend. (No one aside from me is "Trained").

I developed a newsletter, which gets sent out to everyone registered in the PAck by e-mail and snail mail. The first one (one page) went out last week, and September's (four pages) will go out when I get back from camping in Maine the first week of September.It lists all Pack events, Council and District events, and highlights Training.

We are developing a Parent's handbook and a leader's handbook, that should be finished by September's Pack Night.

I stress training all the time. Cannot get enough...

I just got Packmaster, and am starting to work with it. We have similar problems with not all advancement being communicated to the Council. Our Council, as an inducement to help speed up re-charetering, offers a discount in the initial unit registration fee if you use Packmaster, and will supply you with a diskette with their records of your unit to start things rolling. As for enrollment and re-chartering, Packmaster practically automates it.

Call your DE. They can be extremely helpful, especially in situations like these.

[Laurie]

Thanks! By the way, our program is pretty strong on the surface; it's only when you get involved that you realize it's not as organized as it can and should be. I did call our DE, and he is helpful, but only to an extent as he's incredibly busy. I'm not sure how much help he should give, but as I learn about Cubs, it seems the boys come first with den leaders to provide their program. We didn't appear to have anyone supporting and encouraging our den leaders, and I kind of took on that role (I was a volunteer coordinator in another non-profit organization and knew this was a need). Then there's the CM and Asst CM, and the CM likes Cubs and is committed but honestly didn't know there was more to be done behind the scenes and even in making pack meetings more interesting. They are--and he agreed--rather dull. Why? The boys aren't involved. To his credit--again--the CM loved the idea of getting the boys up front. But I am concerned that somehow he was not told what he needed to know, that the communication within the pack was tough, but that the communication from pack to those who could direct/help didn't seem to be there at all. Being told to wait to fall is frustrating. Do I understand why? Yes, I do; there are far too few trainers. I asked. Does that make it easier to function without training though? No, it does not. Our den leaders have asked me where they can get training. I'm kind of the "know-it-all" (not a hat I like to wear), and I've been directing them to sources of on-line training and to the Cubmaster Leader book--a book that noone knew existed. You see, I don't think the pack should be unaware of these things. But, it is, so now--how to most effectively prepare and move forward until these answers are provided during training is my concern. You both haven given me great ideas. Thanks so much! By the way--any more? Keep them coming

[dancinfox]

Laurie,

Buy the Packmaster computer program. Ask your council registar to download the pack information form ScoutNet. Packmaster will let you upload the information on the Scouts and adults. This will include Names, addresses, phone #'s etc. You will have to print out advancement sheets on each scout and information sheets on the scouts and adults to gather further information (ie: rank advancement, parents, auto's etc.) This will keep your advancement organized, will do advancement forms for the council. You can give each Den Leader a copy of the program to use for just their den. Then they can give you a disk with their den's advancement to upload to the computer holding all the information. This is a good first step in getting organized.

Dancin

[jbroganjr]

Laurie

identifying the untrained is the first step. Your district has a training chair, ask your D.E. for their name and see if you can set up a "pack" training event.

I also suggest round table, where you are given the will to do and the skill to do, plus loads of information on district/council events like camporees, cub o ramas, etc.

I also would council you to get some more help on board, in addition to you and the CC, to help implement the program. (An advancement person, a treasurer and a secretary would be a nice start).

The information of registered scouts can be gotten from your D.E. or the registrat at the service center. The copy of the charter roster would be your starting point on where you are at with number of tigers/cubs/webelos in your unit.

And scouting should be a year round program. After the blue and gold, a pack night a month and in the summer The National Summertime awards program (which is an outing a month in June/july/Aug). and no, you don't and shouldn't be running all this. There will be plenty of adults in your unit who would be willing to org. and run one event, like a summertime outing.

Good Luck and God Bless

singed feathered owl

[Laurie]

Ok, this is great--thanks again. It sounds like we are on the right track.

 

The comm chair does have packmaster, but has not yet begun to use it. Knowing that ScoutNet has this info is news to us both--will contact the registrar next.

 

As for identifying untrained, that's all of us. I do have all the appropriate names of trainers (we have 3 total--I've met them all), but we are told to wait--our situation is known to all who need to know.

 

I have Program Helps, the Program Guide which has next year's training dates & round tables, and several training items as well. We do on-line training though our council does not yet do so. At least we can get the info.

 

I am the one who planned all but one summer activity this summer, and you know what? Noone else will do it. In fact, there's so little help that I planned the camping trip that I didn't even go on. I couldn't this time, but will next year. We hadn't camped in at least 2 years, and the pack was happy to turn that over to me. I was told summer just wasn't very doable, and though it is extremely difficult, we managed a carwash, a picnic, a baseball game, a camping trip. Not bad for all last-minute stuff. We are all in agreement that we will simply plan a year-round calendar for this coming year. Those who can come will have a program. We've had no graduation; we are planning one for next year. Since we've little help now, what I am hoping is that as we organize, it will show that we are organized, and that will draw more to take part in helping out. Let's face it: most don't want to try to plan events or activities without knowing what they are doing, nor do they want to tackle recreating records. So thanks again!

[Sparkie]

Hi Laurie! Sounds like your doing a great job! You've also received alot of good advice here. We used to use our own Pack Emergency Form, instead of the one used when a scout registers. However, i just had the brainchild (after 4 years of being CM) to utilize the Class 1 & 2 Medical forms used by council. This would have been helpful for me this summer in organizing our kids for daycamp, since i would have needed only to verify info., and then make copies.

 

In regards to communication, we also have a pack newsletter that is distributed at each pack meeting. So between den leader notifications, the web-site, and the newsletter, i will never accept the excuse from a parent "well i didn't know" or so-and-so didn't tell me.

 

In regard to your current member list, your council can give you a print out of all your registered boys and leaders (it will also show training if applicable). You can even request it to show the boys highest earned rank. However, it will not list medical info., but at least you'll have a roster to go by, and update councils records if needed.

 

Sparkie

 

 

 

 

[dsteele]

All very good advice so far.

 

Another tool I suggest you check out that can be of a great deal of assistance in mapping out the pack's program year, and it's free, is the Ideal Year of Scouting stuff offered through wwww.trails-end.com It's geared heavily toward the popcorn sale, but you can create a password for your pack and enter in all the stuff you want to do for the year. A template will help you develop a pack calendar and, not coincidentally, tell you how much popcorn each boy needs to sell to pay for his year in Scouting.

 

It sounds like you've found out about fast start training online, and can take it through another council. The record of the training won't go automatically to your council if it's not through your council's website, but you'll still have the knowledge. Just do a search for BSA councils or go to the netroster part of Scouter.com and keep clicking until you find one with the training links.

 

Also, if you can't get a formal training set up, call your District commissioner, Training Chairman, or local Den Mother Superior (I'm kidding with that one) and have them over to an informal "coffee" to spend some time letting your fellow leaders know what's out there.

 

Good luck.

 

DS

[snc55]

Several things in addition to your DE get in contact with your district commisioner. He/She should be able to direct you to the District members that can give you help and support. If you are lucky and have a strong district you will have a training director and a unit commisioner that should be able to give you lots of help. Also your den leaders if properly register should be recieving Scouting magazine, not only does it have articles of interest and help, but all den leader and Cubmaster copies also automaticlly included the "helps" program for several months in advance.

 

Another tool I highly recommend is Scouttrack.com, it is a web based administration tool that provides many of the same features that Packmaster does and also has the flexibilty to have any leader and/or the cubs parent to keep track of progress towards rank. It also provides a calendar that has a E-mail reminder for all events. Leaders can also send E-mails amongst themselves or thier den or the entire pack.

 

I also think you have a leg up having found this web site, Which I believe is the best on the net bar none.

 

yours in Scouting Scott

 

[Fat Old Guy]

If Pack Master is anything like Troop Master, I would be impressed by it. The program has some big usability problems. I looks like it was written by someone who had a bare minimum of understanding of software design.

 

I came from a fairly good sized pack, about 50 Cub Scouts. Our Advancement Chair designed a fairly simple form to track advancement for all of the Cubs. There was a sheet for each Cub Scout, on the front of the form were spots for the ranks, plus arrow points for Wolf and Bear. All Webelos activity pins had a place as well as the Compass device and compass points. The date was recorded when each was earned.

 

On the back, all of the Academic and Sports loops and pins were listed. Other information on the form included service stars awarded, religious awards, and a big section for other stuff such as Pinewood Derby.

 

Den Leaders tracked indivual advancement toward ranks and the Advancement Chair didn't need to worry about that. It does seem a bit anal retentive for the Den Leader to have to tell the Advancement Chair every time a boy completes another requirement.

 

 

[SagerScout]

My "den leader" type experience was actually GS Troop Leader, but I thought I'd share some things our service unit director (similar to pack leader role) did that were very helpful: I don't know how many of these will apply. Our SU had 51 troops, about 300 girls registered, and the SUD is responsible for knowing where everyone is going as far as field trips or campouts. If any of these are adaptable to your situation, steal away; if not, sorry to waste your time...

 

1) Gave us all her email address and answered questions promptly

2) Kept a box on her front porch for GS "mail" - we could pick up forms and junk from it, and leave our camp notifications for her, without bothering her family.

3) Did the first "fast start" training for new leaders; council training picks up after that. Helps a lot for new leaders to have a face and name of a nice, helpful person first off.

4) Paired up experienced leaders with new leaders as informal advisors. Also, established program level advisors at the SU level (all in the neighborhood) that leaders can call on for help, when required.

5) SU meetings are the same function as roundtable, and she always made ours rapid and fun. Started on time every time, ended on time. An older girl troop catered snacks as a fundraiser, mutually beneficial as some of us couldn't get dinner beforehand. Made the meeting more pleasant.

6) The SU has a leader/family event every year, and all volunteers get thank-you pins or whatever - and we do appreciate them!

 

 

[AdvanceOn]

Fat Old Guy -- which version of TroopMaster did you look at? We're now using TroopMaster ME and I wouldn't give it up for anything at this point. It's improved our recordkeeping. Just had a scout call asking for a Board of Review. I pulled up his report and was able to go over what he's still missing. Couldn't have done that without TM.

 

For someone who knows computers and can set up their own database then go for it but for most of us TroopMaster or PackMaster (or a similar software) is the way to go - IMHO

[Fat Old Guy]

We have ME, I still think that it sucks as software goes.

 

I don't understand what there'd be to go over when he calls for a BOR. It is easy for him to look in the book and see if anything is missing. In fact, if he had his Scoutmaster Conference everything should have been checked at that point. What am I missing here?

 

Do you get continuous updates, "Jimmy passed his swim test. Johnny served as patrol cook."?

[AdvanceOn]

Actually, I do get pretty regular updates. But more importantly, I can track the attendance of the scouts at camping, service projects, troop activities, etc. This scout, in particular had scheduled a scoutmaster conference and knew we would be holding a BOR so he called to set up his BOR. As it turns out he didn't have ANY service hours. Would the scoutmaster have caught this? Hopefully (but unfortunately, he may just as likely have signed it off assuming the kid had done the hours). I also print out the information occassionally for the SM, assistants, and the scouts.

 

Now back to Laurie's original topic -- tracking, whether it be on paper, computer, whatever, needs to be set up in such a way to ensure that the scouts get the advancements and recognitions that they deserve and have earned.

 

As far as the enrollment forms -- since you don't have them I would suggest you have every Scout and leader complete a Class I medical form (they're available online) every year so that you get updated medical and contact information.

 

Again, PackMaster or some kind of database would help you maintain this information. When I was a den leader I also developed my own forms to help me track. I would then submit the information to the Advancement Coordinator so the boys got regular recognition at Pack meetings. I wasn't involved from that point on. I know I always got the stuff I requested but whether it was systematically maintained, I don't know. Now it's something I look for when meeting with my units as District Commissioner.

 

Good luck.