Apathetic council???

[cajuncody]

I am still looking for training as a future new CM and just realized that my council's website still has 2003 info on it. I am begining to wonder if I have gotten in over my head due to lack of local support. I did manage to find some dates but no locations for the training. Wow, what a bunch of winners have I joined?

How much training can I do online???

Help me in Tennessee

[SR540Beaver]

Cajun,

 

Go to your next District Roundtable meeting. The District Training Chair should be there and can provide you with his training schedule. If not, there will be other folks there who can provide you with the info. Some Councils are big and some are small. Some have lots of money and some don't. Some see the value in spending money and effort in providing timely information thru the internet and some don't. That doesn't mean that training isn't taking place. Go to Roundtable and you should gain s wealth of information about what is going on in your District and Council.

[cajuncody]

I had to stop laughing before I responded. I know its not really funny but . . .

I have been unable to find out the when and where of any district roundtable, the next one or otherwise. I did find out that there was one held back in 2003 though.

thus is my quandry

cajun

[EagleInKY]

Call your council office and ask to speak to your DE. Scout offices are small businesses in and of themselves. Many have problems keeping up all forms of communications - even websites. Your council may operate on a shoestring budget, you never know.

[Big_Dog]

CajunCody,

Man I hate to hear that. I firmly believe training is so important. At the very least, if you can get the Cub Scout Leader Book from the scout shop it will provide you with a lot of info about your job and the job of others in the pack. There is a fast start video that many coucils will let you check out and view. If you have a few more bucks, the Cub Scout Leader How-to book is very useful, also.

 

I'm not suggesting this take the place of training, but it doesn't sound like you have many options.

 

Now if you just happened to be in Kingsland, Tx on the 9/25, we'd slap training all over you, son...

 

bd

[SR540Beaver]

Cajun,

 

I did a little Google search and came up with five Councils in Tennessee. These are West Tenessee, Middle Tennessee, Chickasaw, Great Smoky Mountain and Cherokee. They all looked up to date to me. Great Smoky Mountain had some out of date material on it, but did have stuff for 2004 and even 2005. If that is the council you are in, they are having a Scouting University in 2005 that is listed under their training page. You'll be able to get a full day of all sorts of training at that. Call your Council office and ask them for training opportunity info. Get your District Executive's number from them. He can tell you when and where the District Roundtable meets. Keep in mind that if your District's training schedule does not meet your schedule, you can go to training in other Districts. In my case, five of my Council's 11 Districts are within the metro area and are within a 30 to 45 minute drive from my house. I have practically no excuse for not being trained.....which I am.

[scoutldr]

OK, I'll make a couple of assumptions here...you are in East Tennessee, probably in the Knoxville area? That would put you in the Great Smokey Mountain Council, maybe in the Toqua District?

 

Your District Training Chair is Don Lee, ph 986-2775

Cub Training Chair is John Buck, ph 693-2618

 

They also had a 2004-2005 calendar posted in pdf format, but I couldn't get it to work.

 

I would suggest calling one of these gentlemen. If you are not in their district, they will know who the Training Chair is for your district. They can probably also give you the dates of the next training...it doesn't have to be in your district...anyone can go to any training anywhere.

 

scoutldr

UT, '77

Go Vols!

[EagleInKY]

Scoutldr - Good information, but better sent via a PM. These folks may not want their personal phone numbers posted on a bulletin board. I recommend editing them out and sending cody a PM.

 

Cody - Perhaps you are looking at your district website, and not your council's. Most council sites are pretty well kept up to date. However, I have seen several district sites that are behind. That's usually because they are purely volunteer-run.

[scoutldr]

I saw your response too late to edit. But that's how I found them...off the internet using a Google search. The entire District committee is listed, with their phone numbers. They are already in the public domain.

[cajuncody]

Thanks for all the help, I was looking at the Great Smoky Mountains page but kept getting broken links or out of date info. I called the council and spoke to the "hired help" which was anything but helpful. I did finally manage to get a few phone numbers and have left messages for everyone. I also just received an email from the den leader for Webelos, who also has no training, and she said that we have a new DE and gave me his phone number. I have dates for training sessions but no one knows what they are for or where they are at, I also now have a time, date, and place for Baloo training. It seems this forum is very helpful indeed as the other den leader has been searching for this same info for 3 months now. I also now know which district I am in, the Sequoya. It seems that I am missing alot of the simplist info so I must really be starting out behind. That just means more catch up work, I will not give up.

All of this hard to find info does give me a little insight on why our pack is so small though, frustrated parents. Our pack website went with out update from Jan of this year to finally being updated at the first of this month. I have offered to help the current cm with this but he seemed to want to do it himself

Cajun

 

(This message has been edited by cajuncody)

[CubsRgr8]

Just another thought - take the training in another council. I recenty did WOLT that way because the dates offered by my council just didn't work. I was warmly welcomed by everyone and enjoyed it thoroughly.

[Eamonn]

Council Web sites can range from the spectacular to the dismal.

Our Council is for the most part a wonderful Council. Our SE,has yet to learn how to turn off his computer. It has something to do with the Start!!

He tells me me that he did sit in on a session about Web Sites at the last conference that he attended. Still I think that bringing him into the 21st Century might be a lost cause.

You might be better off phoning the Service Center. Ask for the phone numbers of your District Commissioner, DE and Training Chairman.

Ask if the Council has a newsletter and why you are not receiving it. They ought to be able to update the mailing list while you are on the phone.

Call your District Commissioner and ask who your unit commissioner is? Tell him that you want to meet him or her as soon as possible. Give him the dates of your Pack Meeting and your Pack Committee meeting. If he says that there isn't a commissioner assigned to your unit, ask him to send the Assistant District Commissioner Cub Scouts or that you expect him to come and meet with you. Be pushy. Don't take no for an answer. If he knows the Training Dates have him give them to you. Ask if there is a Council Calender tell him to mail you one and that you will expect it in the mail this week.

Call the Training Chair. and sign up for the training's. Call the DE say Hi. Let him or her know who you are. Say that you have spoken with the District Commissioner and that you are expecting a visit from the Commissioner Staff and you have asked that you be put on the Council Newsletter mailing list. You might want to ask if your COR is attending the District Committee meetings? Ask if an invite is being sent out to the COR.

Phone the CC say that you have talked with the DE, ask the CC if the COR is attending the District Committee Meeting? Mention that the COR is invited to this meeting and really ought to attend and that maybe the CC should mention that he or she might mention it to the COR.

If you know of someone who is a web site designer who might be willing to help the council. You might mention this to the DE when you see him or her at the training.

Apathy can be turned around. If you are a little pushy and let the District know that you are willing to work with them and you expect them to do what they are supposed to do. The more your unit gets involved with the District: Attending Roundtable Meetings, having your COR attend the District meetings, the more information you will receive. Work with your Unit Commissioner, let him or her know that you expect to see them at least once a month. If you don't see him or her complain to the District Commissioner or the Assistant District Commissioner Cub Scouts. If you don't get the Council Newsletter, phone the Service Center and ask why? and tell them to put one in the mail today. They are there to be of service. Let them know that pack 123 is enthusiastic and will work with and for the District /Council.

Tell them please don't come asking to do an FOS presentation if that is the only time that you will see them. Invite members of the key3 to pack events, Blue and Gold Banquets and the like. They might not make it every year but they like to be asked.

Eamonn(This message has been edited by Eamonn)

[cajuncody]

DANGER DANGER, DANGER Will Robinson

 

{spins dizzily and falls to the floor,}

Phone the CC say that you have talked with the DE, ask the CC if the COR is attending the District Committee Meeting? Mention that the COR is invited to this meeting and really ought to attend and that maybe the CC should mention that he or she might mention it to the COR.

 

Wow I don't even know what half of those letter combos stand for.

 

That was more information than I could process at one time, It took 3 reads but I copied it and made a file just for it. That one post alone should keep me busy this week.

 

One question though:

Won't they think I am being a little pushy as the current CM hasn't resigned yet and plans to stick it out this year?

Cajun

[EagleInKY]

"Oh the horrors, the horrors" - Dr. Smith

 

Won't they think I am being a little pushy as the current CM hasn't resigned yet and plans to stick it out this year?"

 

They shouldn't. In fact, they should be thrilled that an incoming CM is so excited about the job that they want a headstart.

 

Definitions:

CC - Committee Chairman: This person should be running the pack committee. Often, they are a figurehead and the CM really runs it.

 

DE - District Executive: A paid scouter whose job it is to support the distict of which you are a part of.

 

COR - Charter Organization Representative: A truly unique species. Sometimes invisible, sometimes very involved, sometimes totally unidentifiable by anyone involved in the program. The COR serves as the communication between the unit (you) and the Charter organization (your sponsor - church, school, rotary club, etc.). He or she should be involved with what you are doing, so they can adequately represent your needs to your CO.

 

Did I pull the battery pack in time, Will?(This message has been edited by EagleInKY)

[Eamonn]

I must apologize, I do think that acronyms are a pain.

CC is the Pack Committee Chair.

COR is the Chartered Organization Representative.

The pack is chartered by an organization, could be a church, a service Organization or a organization that shares the same values as the BSA does. When I was a Cubmaster our pack was chartered by a local Catholic church. The pack is an extension of the church. The church or who ever charters the pack owns the pack. The top man or woman in the Chartering Organization is the Executive Officer. As most of the top people are very busy. The BSA asks that they appoint a Representative to act as a sort of middle man. He or she reports to the chartering organization and to the Scouting unit. He tries to keep everyone updated and aware of what is going on. If you have a good one he will let the church know how the pack is coming along and what events they have planned. If the pack wanted to do a car wash in the church parking lot he would be the guy to ask the church. If the church wanted the pack to be part of a youth mass or some sort of ceremony the church would tell him and he would ask the pack. As the Chartered Rep, he has a standing invite to attend the District meeting. He or she is also a voting member. When the District presents the slate of officers for the coming year, it is the members of the District at large and the COR's that do the voting.

A DE is a District Executive. He or she is the professional Scouter in your District. Many people think that the DE is the one with all the answers. If your District Executive is a good one the first thing that they will ask is "Have you spoken to your unit commissioner?"

As for being pushy? I like people who push for what is right and push for the best deal for our youth.

Eamonn.