Selecting A Webelos Den Leader

[Troop185]

Many years ago, when I was a Webelos Leader, and they did not have so many rules on what Cub Scouts could not do: I had just purchase two use canoes from a local canoe livery. Our very first Webelos meeting, was a 1 hour canoe trip down a very, slow moving river, and a cook out. The canoe livery gave us life jackets and paddles for everyone. I always remember this Webelos saying, "This sure beats making things out of macoroni!"

 

This year, we had 6 Bears crossover to Webelos in May. Two of them came on a Boy Scouts trip to Ontario, over Memorial Weekend. In June, all 6 came up to my cabin in Northern Michigan. As part of their experience, they backpacked about two miles out to a wilderness dunes area, next to Lake Michigan, and spend the night. I think we do a good job, of letting them know, that Webelos will be different than Bears.

 

Our troop invite the Webelos to just about everything that we can. Hopefully, our Webelos will know what Boy Scouting is all about. It is up to them, to decide if Boy Scouting is for them!

[SeattlePioneer]

Hello Eagledad,

 

 

>

 

 

Excellent post! I've been making a real effort in my pack and district to get Troops to take more responsibility for helping packs. I have a troop that invited our Webelos den on a mountain hike this Saturday. The Webelos Den Leader has other plans. I've e-mailed Wedbelos den parents encouraging participation and offering to help with equipment and connecting up with the troop.

 

It's a challenge! It's a new idea, that kind of cooperation, so neither the troop or pack are used to doing it yet.

 

I recently got myself appointed as the Troop Unit Commissioner, so I'm attending Troop Committee meetings and working to get the troop-pack relationship more developed.

 

But I'm convinced it the kind of thing we need to do, and usually do not do.

[Basementdweller]

SP

 

As unit commissioner it is not your place to invite Webelos on a Troop outing.....

 

It is the SM or his designatees job to do that task.......We I suppose the SM or CC could have designated you as the man.....but I doubt it.

 

 

Inviting webelos on troop outings is a delicate balance....You don't want to invite them on too many outings the Boy Scouts will begin to raise eyebrows....

[SeattlePioneer]

Hello Basement,

 

 

In the past four years we've had zero Cub Scout/Webelos on Boy Scout outings.

 

 

Last month was the first time I attended the Troop Committee meeting. The Patrol Leader Council agreed to invite the Webelos on that hike, a Troop Committee member attended council training on recruiting Boy Scouts and I've worked with him to propose a Troop fall recruiting effort at the Troop Committee meeting Wednesday evening.

 

Am I a HORRIBLE Unit Commissioner? We shall see, I suppose.

 

 

[momof2cubs]

Eagledad, that's an EXCELLENT idea. Of course it will require troops to stop thinking of packs as the mikey mouse of scouting.

 

In my area they do hardly any recruiting at all. The onus is all on the pack leaders to find and visit and explore the local troops. And needless to say, troops regularly complain of unprepared scouts.

[Eagledad]

>>Eagledad, that's an EXCELLENT idea. Of course it will require troops to stop thinking of packs as the mikey mouse of scouting

[SeattlePioneer]

>

 

 

The above BSA rule tends to be a big barrier to Webelos Den Camping.

 

It would appear to permit parents to appoint another adult, such as the WDL, as that supervising adult. Of course you would still need two deep leadership.

 

Who has experience in dealing with this Webelos camping requirement, and how do you do it?

 

 

[Lisabob]

We allowed parents to appoint another adult, if the parents c/would not attend. We had some limits though. For example: the DL has plenty to do already and shouldn't be the default approved adult. We also didn't want any one adult responsible for more than a couple of kids at a time. And we had one boy who was only allowed to attend with an adult dedicated solely to him (because he was a handful and required strict attention).

 

Those sorts of expectations need to come from the den or pack level - shouldn't be imposed from higher up, in my view, because each den is going to have different situations. In our case, most of the boys had been together since Tigers, slept over at each other's houses, knew and were known by each other's parents, etc. The parents frequently watched each other's kids already so it wasn't a big deal for Mr. or Mrs. Smith to take responsibility for 2 of the boys (son & son's buddy) on a Webelos camp out. Other dens might not have that kind of parental depth, or they might have other issues to balance.

 

 

[funscout]

When I was WDL for each of my sons, I also encouraged parents who couldn't attend a campout to line up someone else to be with their son, rather than have their son miss out. Sometimes it was another parent willing to watch his own and another, or sometimes it was an aunt or uncle.

 

I became WDL for both sons by default - no one else would do it, and I was happy to continue on with the boys I had led since Tiger Cubs. Knowing that I was by no means an expert in certain areas, I relied on my Den Chiefs and also asked troop leaders to present skills to my cubs.

 

Because only one troop helped out with my Webelos, we didn't look at the other local troop at all. Troop level involvement with a Pack is one of the best recruiting tools out there.

[SeattlePioneer]

I like that approach, Lisabob!

[ScoutNut]

>>"The above BSA rule tends to be a big barrier to Webelos Den Camping."