How far in advance are your Den meeting scheduled?

[cubbingcarol]

I must echo John-in-KC...

ROUTINE ROUTINE ROUTINE

With my older son's den we met the first 3 Monday's at 5:30 for 5 straight years. With my youngest son's den we did the same for first 2 years and only this year did I have to change it by 30 minutes due to a change in my work hour. People can't retort about inconsistency!

[IM_Kathy]

wow, I only have 2 kids and there is no way I could put up with this.

 

having been a den leader, boy scout adult, girl scout leader, and girl scout unit manager... scheduling and communication is very key!

 

when I had a den (and do the same with my GS troop) we meet on a set day of the week at a set time. We do not meet every week, but I have it scheduled out which nights we are meeting and give that info out with month advance notice on info sheets that go home with scout after each meeting. On that info sheet it will say what we were doing that meeting. I normally did not say what we would be doing at future meetings because it sometimes depended on if we got through every thing that meeting and also because my plans on what to do next changes (though the next date is still set)

 

if I communicate via email it is hardly ever "the day of" and in emails I always include "reply to me that you recieved or I will call" So say we have a meeting scheduled for next week and the school just announced the band concert is that same night and I'm cancelling meeting I will send out email... I keep track of who replies and then couple days before actual day I will call those that didn't reply. It saves on me calling everybody... saving my time. But, if I have to cancel the day of, then I call everyone.

[jmwalston]

"I think our CC and CM are afaid to talk with the DL.

He's the VP of the council executive board (but told me he very rarely goes to the meetings).

I have talks with our CM about this DL and since September the Cm expressed to me that he didn't know if he made a good choice in the DL."

 

It's funny, Unit Leaders either are impressed (intimidated) or indifferent to district or council committee/board members. Most of the ones I have served with don't have time or don't have a clue about what goes on at the small unit (den/patrol) level. If this leader got back into unit level scouting for his son, he apparently didn't pick up on the concept in training. Your CR and CC need to talk with him, he doesn't outrank them (the CR has a say in Council Committee) and steer him toward his responsibility to the unit, which he voluntarily assumed when he took the position. This year is probably a wash for the TL spot, focus on the future and next year. If other parents in the den share your concerns, then start the Shared Leadership NOW! One parent take responsibility for next month, and another the month after. Get through this year and have a game plan for next.

[GopherJudy]

I do hope that things get more organized & soon for you!

 

I have the whole year on a spreadsheet & made additions as necessary (pack events, field trips, etc.) & I hand them out to the parents. My den meetings are always on Monday nights at the same time & location. If there is a change, I notify the parents by calling them & e-mailing them! If I have to cancel due to bad weather (snow & ice) or a family emergency, I call the parents & if I have their cell phone # I'll call that too!

 

Have you talked to the CC or CM about this? Maybe the DL needs some help! There are times that I've had a family emergency & I had another DL run my meeting for me so I didn't have to cancel it.

 

Good luck!

[Pepe]

I am the DL for my son's wolf den. Our mtg schedule is agreed upon by the parents involved usually a week after school starts in the summer. We make it easy, like the firt and third thursday of every month. The den leaders, CC and CM meet once a month to plan the pack mtgs and pack activities. All of the dl's try to schedule their den mtgs at the same time so we can use our church's mtg hall at the same time every month.

 

As a DL, I go through the program guide at the beginning and then plan out all the achievements for the year. The parents get a copy of the plan for the year and must bring it to each mtg ina folder or binder. This keeps everuone omn the same page.

 

I communicate all activities via email and emergencies are handled by phone.

 

 

 

[MarinesWife]

We have our den meetings on the same night, same time, every week except the week of the Pack Meeting.

 

If the den leader can't be there, then the assistant leads the meeting.

 

Set times are so much better for parents.

 

If our den meetings kept changing days/times we would have quit long ago.

[918denleader]

We set the schedule at the beginning of the year. Same day each week. Since we have to ask the county for permission to use the school rooms, we need to commit to this when we submit for the permit. As a Tiger Leader last year, I was told "if you volunteer, you can have input on the schedule" this is a strong draw in our pack to get adult leaders to give their time. After almost two years, the meetings are on the same nights, same room, same everything. This way, when considering other activities, (sports, etc.) my den parents know they will have meetings those nights. We also post all this on the pack calendar and send weekly emails reminding people of all upcoming scheduled events.

 

It is unfortunate that your DL is too busy or not making the effort. In our den we have addressed the business travel issue by having multiple Co-DLs. This allows meetings to take place as planned even when one of us is traveling. Hope that helps, good luck.

 

[bfloyd]

I served as the Wolf den leader last year, and have assumed the role of Tiger den leader this year. At our very first "Welcome to Cubscouts" meeting of the year - I handed each of my Tiger parents a folder that basically explained and outlined everything we would be doing for the course of the year. I also included a "den meeting host family" signup sheet that we passed around. I let the parents review the available dates of when I needed a "host family" to host a weekly den meeting at their home and have them sign up, months in advance. In conjunction with the "shared leadership" theme in Tigers, it really lets the boys and their parents feel like they are doing something huge when the den meeting gets to be at their house. The boys really like it.

 

We meet once a week - every Tuesday night at 6:30 NO MATTER WHAT. The first Tuesday of the month the den meeting is always at my house for one hour. The second Tuesday of the month we meet at the "Host Family's home" at 6:30 p.m. for one hour. The third week of the month is always our "Go See It" @ 6:30 p.m. Our Pack meeting is always held in the school cafeteria on the 4th Monday of the month at 6:00 p.m.

 

Every month we follow the same schedule and or routine.

 

(This message has been edited by bfloyd)

[John-in-KC]

A Pack I am a friend to meets in the Chartered Partner's church for Den Meetings during the month, as well as monthly Pack meetings.

 

The church is very popular. One of the Cubmaster's chores is to consolidate requests for footprint and get them on the schedule at the churches' quarterly space allocation meeting.

 

In addition to the program matters above, you need to know how your host (if not done in a home) administers his space.