How do I welcome our new Den Chief?

[pchadbo]

I have a really good problem, for the first time in institutional memory, our Cub Scout Pack has a Den Chief from our brother Troop. Tonight is the first Pack meeting he will be attending and I want to make him feel welcome, say thank you, and maybe entertain everyone at the same time. Looking for something quick and easy beyond "hey welcome, here's your Den chief Cord, now go have fun and teach 'em something"

I am planning on "presenting" the Den Chief cord to him again in front of his Troop too (maybe someone will think that blue and gold cord looks cool and will want one for themselves )

[SeattlePioneer]

I found having a Den Chief was EXTREMELY VALUABLE when I was a Tiger Cub Den Leader.

 

That's a huge sacrifice of time for a boy, and I think making every effort to recognize the Scout is desireable and worthwhile. Honoring him in both the Pack and Troop is a great idea.

 

To me, the most important thing I did was to treat the Scout as my partner in presenting the den program, not my little helper. I consulted with my Den Chief on the kinds of things he might like to do or the things he was good at doing, and aimed to work those things into the den and pack program.

[Eagle92]

ALRIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Having a DC is not a "good problem," it is an AWESOME, WONDERFUL STUPENDOUS, AD NAUSEUM PROBLEM!

 

and yes that was all screaming. Can you tell I like DCs?

 

Google Den Chief ceremonies and they are out there. I've also seen folks modify DL investiture ceremonies for DC use.

 

Key points to remember:

1) Make a big deal of it as it is.

 

2) make sure a job description, whether full or abreviated is used so that all know what the job entails

But I want to say.

 

3) Make him publicly agree to various parts of teh job description, kinda like a swearing in.

 

4)Now here is where old age gets me. I want to say the CORDS are presented by the CM, or other CS leader, at the pack meeting, with the POR patch being presented by the SPL at the troop meeting. Either way, one item is presetned by the pack and represetns service tot he pack, the other item is presented by the troop reperesenting service to it.

 

ONE WORD OF ADVICE ( emphasis now, not screaming,) Please make sure you use your DC appropriately. make sure the DC does stuff and leads activities, not just 'babysit' a den for the DLs. I quit working with one den b/c they were not using me to do things, instead I was babysitting. I didn't like that, and at the end of the year I switched dens. That made a world of difference.

[Stosh]

A lot of fanfare has the potential of embarrassing the boy.

 

If it were me, I would treat him like every other ADL you have. Make sure he is treated as such all the time. If the leaders meet, he meets. If the leaders get phone calls, he gets phone calls. Think of him as a smaller real adult. He will appreciate it more than any accolades you can come up with. Give him the same expectations you would any ADL. If your ADL's get training, he gets training, etc. etc. etc.

 

Stosh

[SSScout]

((Cub Pack))

"Okay, Cubs and parents, I'd like to introduce to you Den 5's new Den Chief. Bill Smith, would you come forward?"

"Now, Bill here is from Troop 123 and has taken on a new job, and I hope he'll find it a fun one. He will be our Den Chief for the coming months. He's going to help Den 5 with all our activities, helping the boys earn their ranks and such. As a sign of his new position, he wears this shoulder cord. (pin the cord on). There you go, Bill, (shake his hand) looks good on you. Let's give him a round of applause!!" (( rooouuunnnndd of applause)).

 

((Scout Troop at Regular Court of Honor)) Here, treat it as any other POR with the Troop. Explain what the cord indicates, what the responsibilities are, award the cord, shake his hand. If the Troop has any sort of investiture ceremony for it's leaders (hand on flag pole, give the promise, etc. ) adapt that for the Den Chief.

Definitely worth mentioning, but I would not do anything out of the ordinary UNLESS he is being awarded the Den Chief Service Award, which is a little more special (" ooo, very special...") and thus deserving of abit more hoopla.

[desertrat77]

Looking back, being a den chief was a wonderful job as a second class scout. It helped me prepare for being a patrol leader.

 

All good thoughts mentioned above. I'd only add/reemphasize:

 

- Ensure the cubs know the DC is part of the leadership team and they should respect him as such

 

- Your expectations for the DC should be discussed and clear

 

- Give the DC tasks...a few should be challenging, so he can grow

 

- Now and again, include the DC in the less glorious parts of management, like the administrative part of organizing events, etc. Not to bog down or discourage, but to provide insight and appreciation for what you do. He'll be a better scout for it.

 

Best wishes to all.