Disappointing roundup -- ideas? May I have a friendly ear?

[Laurie]

Last night we had roundup. Fliers went out late, but we advertised on tv for a full month, called existing families, and had recruiting going on in many different ways. We had 46 boys in the pack this past year. We had maybe 12 last night; I'm not sure where our roster got to. Only 2 are new. We've got 2 Tigers, no Wolf Cubs, 3 Bear Cubs, 6 Webelos Is, and 6 Webelos II. We had 17 total there; I can picture these kids and recall all of them. Now, I'm not into numbers, but I am concerned. We dropped boys, a lot of them, unless they come back as the month progresses. In previous years, there was little recruiting. The dens all had leaders, and there were boys to go into those dens--except for Webelos. We'd been losing a lot of kids at the Webelos level and hadn't bridged any for 3 years. I'm still new enough to know that something seems wrong here but to be unsure of what to do about it. When I say "I", any info I get is shared with my fellow leaders. Our DE was there, and he said we'll have a second roundup. The actual night seemed, to put it bluntly, a disaster to me. However, every leader who had done this last year said it was a big improvement and that they were actually happy with how the night went. That suprised me. The Cubmaster, who I like very much and has truly kept the pack going, clearly was not prepared (he asked for and was given a typed agenda by me), so that didn't go well. He didn't know what ranks were in what order, and that suprised me, and it saddened me. He likes the way things are because he says "we've always done it this way", and even when that way has no foundation (can't find in any of the scouting books, training, etc), he says we can't change it. I feel very torn between supporting our Cubmaster and supporting the program/boys; it seems that doing would should take care of the other. Thanks for listening. It's been a rough month, lots of traveling to distribute materials and things, lots of phone and e-mail contact work, and so on. And now I'm concerned for our pack. Your ideas, suggestions, advice, and your friendly ear--it's all welcome

[CubsRgr8]

Don't be disappointed, especially since it appears the results represent an improvement over last year.

 

Most important of all - make sure you have a program plan the includes fun stuff boys like to do. Pinewood derby, hiking, camping, etc. Summer camp needs to be part of the plan, even if only a one day visit. No one willing to commit to a specific day camp session? Then list it under "activities being considered".

 

If that's all in place, then it's time to make sure the boys know about it. Schedule a day to visit the 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms and do "boy talks", maybe two days before your next roundup. It's best for the Cubmaster and another adult, in uniform, to bring along a few props (cub uniform shirt, PWD car, handbooks). Talk about activities, especially summer camp (archery! bbguns! swimming!) Encourage your scouts to wear their uniform shirts to school that day. Check with the DE for other "boy talk" tips.

 

Make sure all the current scouts, leaders, and parents know it's recruiting time and that they are an important part of the plan. For scouts, provide incentives to recruit their friends. For leaders and parents, remind them that the more scouts in the pack, the more adults to help deliver the program! Word of mouth is the best recruiting technique.

 

I don't see any mention of the pack committee or it's chairman. If they're MIA, that might explain why the Cubmaster was unprepared. His job is to be the Pack Mtg MC, not to run the recruiting drive or administer the pack. And it's the committee that is responsible for keeping the roster current - if it's missing, you can easily get one from your council office.

 

Finally, recruiting isn't just a fall thing - it's a year round opportunity. Make sure your pack is visible in the community (service projects, pictures in the local press). Make sure your scouts know their friends can join anytime. So, don't be disappointed, the first round went okay, now it's time for round two!

[dsteele]

Was the School Night/Join Us Night for new Scouts only? If that's the case, 17 is a good number. By all means, however, if you feel you can get more . . . do another roundup along with the suggestions from Cubsrgr8. He gave solid advice.

 

In your private message to me, it sounds like you've already had one meeting with last year's Cubs. Am I correct?

 

Dave

[Laurie]

Yes, we've been meeting a lot this summer, sometimes as a pack, and in other cases leader meetings or continued den meetings. Of the 17, only 2 are new. We decided to try to have new and existing Cubs this year because our current families really don't know what Cubs is. So this was a very important meeting to our leadership, and our leaders were ready and excited. In fact, the one good thing to come of this is that our leaders were just amazing. Last year, only the CM wore a uniform. Now 3 more leaders are in uniform. Last year was the first time we bridged Webelos in 3 years. We bridged 7; 5 have stayed with the troop. This year we plan to bridge all 6, and they're excited. Last year the pack meetings didn't feature the Cubs at all; this year they are the focus. Last year there was one trained leader, but his training wasn't recent. This year all leaders want to get trained. I truly believe that when changes like this take place, we will see growth--in the boys, in the leaders, in families, even if not in numbers. The thing is that we have children from 6 different schools, 4 of them very large public schools. We were all surprised at the turnout, but only the 2 of us new to roundup were disappointed with our organization the night of roundup. So, there's some good. We'll do our best in every way whether we have a small group or large group; we're just concerned at such a big drop. And we have never done school meetings. Just roundup with fliers sent out the week of it. Our DE is now going to get involved. He's concerned too.(This message has been edited by Laurie)

[Laurie]

Yes, we have a committee chairman--first time in years that we've had one. The committee is the Cubmaster, me, our treasurer, and the den leaders. I like the school meeting idea, but we may not be allowed to do that. Fliers met with resistance. The leaders had some ideas, plenty of opportunity before now to share them, but last night got everyone who wasn't thinking of how to recruit to do so now. The creative juices are flowing! We have all the fun stuff, and in fact, we've double that. Instead of 2 activities a year, we have monthly activities planned (Scouting for Food, Pinewood Derby, picnic, campfire sing-a-long, etc). Some have costs; most don't; all are encouraged but optional and put into the calendar with care. I think we've got a good program in place. What we didn't have was boy input (I had hoped for it and the boys were willing) and props. We'll work that angle. Several boys left talking about which friends they were going to invite, and they know I like to give awards, so they'll be sure to keep me posted on what they do. They don't know what I have planned (the recruiter patch and a certificate), but they want something, and know that I've got something in the works. They're a great group of boys

[ScoutNut]

Are your current scouts still holding den meetings? If so, forget the roundup for them. Have their den leaders take applications to the den meetings with them and have the parents sign their sons up when they come to collect them after the meeting (or do it before the meeting gets started, but sometimes it's harder to get the parents to actually come in when they are dropping off the boys).

 

Another roundup is a good idea. Or even a roundup for each school. For next year make sure you have someone at every school registration day. If the school will not let you set up inside, try for a booth outside by the front door.

 

You mentioned 2 things that puzzled me:

 

1)"our current families really don't know what Cubs is."

 

How can this be? Families were in Cub Scouting for at least 1 full year and still have no idea what it is??? Didn't the boys have handbooks? The handbooks do a real good job of describing Cub Scouts. Did they earn their rank? If the families do not have a clue what Cub Scouts is all about, what about the boys? How can you bridge Webelos to Scouts if they don't know what the organization they belong to is about??? I'm confused!

 

2)"Last year the pack meetings didn't feature the Cubs at all."

 

Confused again! What the heck did your pack meetings feature?? Weren't the boys given any recognition in front of their peers? Were your pack meetings just announcement/fundraising sessions? This could be the BIG reason no one wants to come back this year!

 

At any new roundups, and anytime you talk to current scouts, I would highly stress the positive changes you have made to your Cub Scout program. Also, make sure that your roundups are FUN! Search your fingers to the bone on the internet and find the absolutly SILLIEST songs, games and activities. The sillier the better. It sure sounds like you guys have a rep as a boring, bad program pack. You need to turn that image around FAST!