Pack Membership Chair

[SeattlePioneer]

Who has a pack membership chair and what kinds of things do they do? What kind of training and experience do they have?

 

 

 

Seattle Pioneer

District Membership Chair

[Pack212Scouter]

We don't have one, but I think it would be a good idea. To me the Membership Chair would be someone who ran the recruitment drives (or at least organized them), school night, roundup, and made sure that the unit had all the proper Registrations, medical forms, etc; and helped with recharter. The later part would be the more important to me, as the Cubmaster can handle the first part easily enough.

[SeattlePioneer]

Well, recruiting isn't SUPPOSED to be the Cubmaster's job --- it's properly a committee function. Of course lots of Cubmasters get nailed with the job.

 

Organizing a good recruiting campaign takes time and skill. It would be desireable to have a capable person as a unit Membership Chair and to do that job for several years to gain experience.

 

Personally I wouldn't nail the membership chair with rechartering. That's really a different function in my view ---- and I've never seen rechartering recommended as a membership responsibility by the BSA. Of course, SOMEBODY has to do it!

 

 

[Nike]

I'm the Membership Chair for my Pack. I collect the membership forms, turn them in, keep up a good relationship with out DE and the Registrar at council, sit with the treasurer to see who has and hasn't paid dues, and do the recharter, since I have all the paperwork anyway. I also make the initial entries onto our internet advancement site.

 

I'll more than help out at a recruitment event, but I would rather the CM and DLs come up with an event I can attend as the paperwork queen.

 

I don't keep any other records other than YPT. DLs handle the health forms and permission slips. Event chairs handle event paperwork.

[hotdesk]

I have previously served as the Membership Coordinator for the troop that I was part of. My primary focus was Webelos. In February I would transition to the New Scout Patrol Advisor.

 

As Membership Coordinator it was my responsibility to work with our scouts, mainly the Troop Recruiter and Senior Patrol Leader, to contact all Den Leaders so that they were invited to certain outings and meetings, plan said meetings, and encourage sign-up for the activities. I would be the main contact between the Packs and our Troop.

 

When I had served in this position, I was an 18 year old adult leader. This was my first non-scout leadership role in the troop. However, I had been with the troop since the age of 11, my dad had served as Scoutmaster, and I had earned my Eagle. I believe that I had a great understanding of our troop and scouting in general.

[SeattlePioneer]

Hello Nike,

 

 

Thanks for relating the tasks you perform as Pack Membership Chair.

 

As District Membership Chair I will be holding a Roundtable in March to train unit leaders in how to donduct an effective recruiting night.

 

Rather than have this a lecture, I'm thinking about inviting Pack leaders to bring their boys and have a model recruiting night, with boys and parents constructing a raingutter regatta boat or stomp bottle rocket and then SHOWING parents how to get applications signed and such while the boys are out launching stomp bottle rockets or racing.

 

My aim here is to make this FUN for parents to attend, and thus attract unit leaders like yourself to find out about different ways to hold a recruiting night.

 

 

Would that be something you might be motivated to attend with your Cub Scout?

 

If you had additional training like that would you be interested in doing some new things with your recruiting night?

 

You seem happy as the Papwerwork Queen --- and that's a valuable contribution (I'm my own Paperwork Queen, so I know!) Just curious if you might be interested in doing more if you had additional ideas on what you might do.

 

 

[Nike]

I'm in a special situation being overseas. We live in a virtual small town of 20,000 spread out across a large metro area in Germany. There's one pack per kaserne, and we really push in both Cubs and Daisies-Juniors to join the pack/troop that's #1 right for you and #2 closest to your school so that you're in a group with class and grade mates. Our BS Troops and older girl troops generally end up sorted by proximity to home and convenience of meeting time.

 

A recruiting event really should be run by the entire committee and all the den leadership with some extra Boy Scouts thrown in for crowd control. The whole committee should want to pack to grow. A rain gutter regata is great for summer. Anything active is fantastic in winter. Participatory round robin events keep the boys moving and interested. At some point you have to separate the parents from the boys to get paperwork done.

 

The most important thing the Membership chair can do during a recruiting event is to know everything inside and out: how to fill out the form, den meeting times and days, dues, the calendar for the year, what other forms should be filled out, fundraising program, and uniform/books. I often have a line of people and several talking to me and the Treasurer at the same time. I use the covers of the apps to make quick notes for name, den assignment, and dues status.

 

Personally, I do so much recruiting for youth and volunteers at post fairs, fundraisers, random e-mails, that I assume every interaction is a possible recruiting event. I would not go to a training in order to participate in a model recruiting event. I'd rather hear what events were successful for other people, see their photos if they have them, and take that back to my committee with good meeting plans, equipment/supply lists and vendors, and After Action Reports. Never re-invent the wheel if you don't have to is my second motto. (The first is: If you can do this job better, it's yours. No one ever takes me up on that.)

 

What are your units' biggest recruiting headaches: getting bodies in the room, the pitch, making the sale, getting paperwork back, or dues turned in?

[SeattlePioneer]

Thanks for your comments Nike.

 

 

It's difficult to motivate unit leaders to come in for training on how to do effective recruiting.

 

One of my recent bright ideas is to treat the unit leaders and their Cub Scouts to a model recruiting night that will be FUN and ATTRACTIVE for them to do with their Cub Scout.

 

I was interested in whether you or other pack leaders might be motivated to attend such an activity in place of a more conventional Roundtable.

 

My aim is to give this a try at our March Roundtable and see what happens.

 

It sounds like you have your role well defined, so that might not be helpful to you. I appreciate that input!

[bbender]

With the caveats that All Scouting is Local, and Big Packs and Small Packs are gonna be different, and Use your Resources no matter the size of your pack (including dealing out parts of jobs to those who can take them on, and finding others to pick up the leftover parts . . . but know that some Cubmasters and/or Committee Chairs might have skills in these areas and like to do them by their own selves because they are good at this), we describe the Membership Chair "idea" in the following ways, some of which are paperwork (because it must be done by someone) and some of which are program (to inspire people to join), so the jobs may well be split among several folks:

 

"Membership Chair the Membership Chair (in cooperation with Rank Level Membership Coordinators to make a "membership team") solicits and signs up new members, ensures that all are signed up with the BSA and have what they need to get started in Scouting. Details are:

 

1) Back to School Signups, ideally by deploying Rank Level help:

During back to school sign up periods, obtain (or pull from School Directory) contact information for possible Scouts (email and/or call);

Develop advance information programs by email, School Website/newsletters, other methods to let families know what we do;

Organize sign ups of new Members at and before Registration Day at the Schools, and get volunteers for those days at School during the "extracurricular bazaar" time in the gym;

If school will provide time, organize a "buzz up" about what we do (in a school assembly, or classroom by classroom);

Enter likely signups into Packmaster and import into Website pending final organization (this will likely involve calls to pin down the undecided and the changed minds);

Deliver membership items to paid members (Council, Pack Number and Fleur de Lis patches; Handbooks; T Shirts; Leader Patches) and monitor supplies of these items.

You might ask Rank Level Advancement Coordinators to assist, since use of Packmaster software and Scout Shop buys are involved in both and advancement is not busy at the start of the School Year.

 

2) Coordinate the paperwork signup, ideally by deploying Rank Level help:

collection of dues from everyone (PayPal is an option on the website, but many will do checks)

coordinate the collection of Scout and Adult Applications from new members and new leaders (last years members of our Pack do NOT need new apps);

review and enter Application Data into Packmaster software to complete our website Roster, and allow annual Recharter to go smoothly;

submit new Member Information to Atlanta Area Council and pay Registration Fees from Pack Account; learn and apply the Recharter paperwork process;

 

3) Do Annual Recharter Paperwork through our Packmaster software, and file on time, with correct signatures.

Will involve coordination with Treasurer (for check) and Pack Chair (for signatures) and School (for signatures).

 

4) Ancillary Jobs: in addition, the Membership Chair could:

be, or recruit, a Kindergarten Liaison, to see that Kindergarten Kids and Parents are informed about Events (Pinewood Derby, end of year Pack Meeting?); cultivate Kindergarten Parents and assess interest and questions and leadership options.

 

Certain of our "local" issues obviously involve how our School runs signups for after school events, and the fact that we use Packmaster and a Soar Website.

 

For what it's worth, while this is how we write it up, we always end up with folks doing "part" of the job, but not "all" of the job . . . just based on the ebb and flow of the adult leadership skillsets. Some of our membership people have been all over the paperwork and data, but allowed the Cubmaster to be the ambassador to the kids; other times, the Membership person is more active, but lets others run the paperwork part.

 

Just a couple of cents.

 

Bert Bender

Pack and District Trainer

South Fulton District, Atlanta Area Council