What does an assistant CC do?

[mbscoutmom]

A Tiger mom has volunteered to be assistant CC, and I'm trying to figure out what jobs to give her to do. At the same time, I want to get our pack leadership organized better. Presently, I'm doing some things that other pack leaders should be doing, so I don't want to perpetuate that situation by giving my assistant jobs that actually should be done by someone else. Do you think these jobs would be appropriate for an assistant CC?

 

Signing up new scouts when they show up at a den or pack meeting, getting the cubmaster's signature, and turning in the application and money to the council.

 

Updating the pack roster.

 

Maintaining the pack e-mail list and writing e-mail reminders.

 

Can you think of anything else that I could ask her to do?

[Eamonn]

I can't say that I've ever heard of an Assistant Pack Committee Chair. before? Most non-program types just joined the committee.

Reading your examples it seems clear that the way things are done in the pack you serve are different than in the Pack I served.

Not that I'm right and your wrong just different.

While most of the new Cub Scouts we got were from some kind of a Sign Up Night, if a little Lad happened to arrive at a Den meeting the Den Leader would take his application to the Leaders meeting and just give it to the Cubmaster. The Cubmaster would inform the Committee at the next meeting.

I think what this person does depends a lot on what your plans are!

As a retiring District Chairman, I have spent the last year grooming the Vice Chair to take my place. Taking him under my wing and showing him who to and where to go in order to get things done. So a lot will depend on where you see yourself in a given amount of time.

I think passing on the role of Nominating Committee Chair to this Vice Chair, might be a good idea. You don't have to wait till there is a crisis to have the Nominating Committee meet.

If you don't have a Pack Trainer, she could look after the Training Records and work behind the scenes to promote training for all the adults in the pack.

Eamonn.

[rkfrance]

There is no such position as assistant CC.

 

She can (and sounds like probably should) be a committee member. It also sounds like you could use several new committee members.

 

You are CC. Part of your responsibility is to find leaders. Don't burn yourself out (or do it to someone else) because there's too much to be done by one person. If you are having a hard time getting parents to commit to being leaders, contact your Unit Commissioner. Your COR might also be able to help.

 

Once you get parents signed up to be leaders, get them to training and hold them accountable to their position. (And if you haven't been trained as CC, get it done ASAP.)

[Eamonn]

"You are CC. Part of your responsibility is to find leaders. Don't burn yourself out (or do it to someone else) because there's too much to be done by one person. If you are having a hard time getting parents to commit to being leaders, contact your Unit Commissioner. Your COR might also be able to help."

 

This is NOT the job of the CC !!

Unit Commissioners can tell you how to go about it -But chances are they may not know the people who would be acceptable to the CO.

This is the job of the Nominating Committee.

Eamonn.

 

[mbscoutmom]

We do have leaders signed up for all the positions listed in the Cub Scout Leader Book. However, three of them are assigned to one person. At the last leader meeting, I asked for volunteers to help with those jobs; instead I got a volunteer to help with mine. So should I just let her follow me around for the next year and a half until my son crosses over and she becomes CC?

 

I hear repeatedly that the Unit Commissioner and the COR are supposed to help recruit leaders, but what can they do that we're not already doing? We make announcements at pack meetings, write about it in the newsletter, send e-mails, talk to people personally, etc. Our Unit Commissioner is very helpful with lots of things, especially dealing with the district and council, but I haven't even met our COR.

[mbscoutmom]

Eamonn, I don't see anything about a nominating committee in the Cub Scout Leader Book. It sounds like a nice idea, though.

 

You're right that the CC job description does not include finding pack leaders. The only place I see that in a job description is for the COR--"Help select the right leadership for the unit." But, as I mentioned before, I haven't even met the COR, much less received any help with selecting leaders.

[Eamonn]

mbscoutmom

I never seem to have much luck with links to the BSA Site!!

But if this works I feel sure you will find it helpful.

http://www.scouting.org/commissioners/resources/13-500.pdf

Eamonn.

[Lisabob]

MBscoutmom, it sounds like what you have here is someone who would be happy to be your committee's round-up chair, or membership chair. There's some flexibility in terms of positions on the pack committee, beyond certain basics (CC, COR, and treasurer are "must haves"), so get creative if you need to but give her a specific title and a specific job while she's still excited about volunteering. After several months, if she ends up doing a good job and wants more, start talking about her becoming CC next year in the fall, while you're still around to offer advice (if needed).

 

Eamon and others, having worked on pack committees, I must say I **wish** we could all be lucky enough to have a nominating committee, and/or a really helpful COR and UC to aid pack-level recruitment. Unfortunately that wasn't my experience though. While I've met UCs who had great networks, they tended to know people who had been involved in BSA for several years, rather than people who were just entering the program with their elem.school aged children.

 

And when you refer to this "nominating committee," do you mean at the district level? If so, I've had the same problem there. Cubbing, imo, gets the short shrift because of this - but maybe that's another thread. If you mean a nominating committee at the pack level, gosh, you mean I need to find yet more volunteers to sit on this committee, separate from the existing pack committee??? Sigh.

 

Lisa'bob

A good old bobwhite too!

[mbscoutmom]

I talked to her this morning, and she has agreed to be Membership chair instead of assistant CC. She just wants to help in any way she can, and I think she'll do very well in this position. Thanks for your advice!

[Eamonn]

I think if you read http://www.scouting.org/commissioners/resources/13-500.pdf

material you will see that it is for the pack (There is also another one for a Troop.)

We talk a lot about selecting Quality Leaders and then seem happy to take the first person who comes along.

There are some who will say that there are far too many steps or just plain don't like. But I found it to work really well and far better than begging, pleading and browbeating.

Eamonn.