Tips for the Chief

[milwscout580]

Yes, Continutity notebooks are something we are trying to organize this year. We're calling them Committee Plans, and all officers and Committee Chairmen should have one by the end of the year.

 

We have a good Service Committee that already has most, if not all, of the projects ready for the year at both of our camps. Usually, the Boy Scout Summer Camp gets neglected and we find out what the projects are a week in advance at the earliest...

 

And as for timing, we already implement the radio system. When I was activities Chairman last year, we got permission to use the camp radios (a several-thousand dollar system should be used more than just during the summer, don't you think?) and we give one to the kitchen. Communication is so much better (and easier) since we were able to use the radios. I have no clue why they didn't use them before!

[John-in-KC]

C-Team: Have them do a working rehearsal for you 1 week before first Ordeal weekend. Make sure the C-Team chairman praises what's done right, and excoriates anyone who has punted learning their lines.

 

The object of the exercise is a ceremony that matters to the Candidates. It's hard to do that when Mateu is doing dabidadabida on the prayer.

 

Same goes for the Brotherhood Ceremony. They must have it cold.

 

Ask them this: Would they want to present their ceremony as is if the National Chief of OA and the Chief Scout Executive were going to attend the next ceremony? This is "very best" level of effort.

 

Sorry, young Sir, but having been a youth Arrowman myself, lo, those years ago, this is an area I feel exceptionally passionately about.

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Area 2: Tap-Outs/Callouts/whatever they are this week.

 

I've seen the modern call-out done at a district roundtable. It was wimpy. I was grabbed by my Scout belt and run down from a Camporee Campfire to the ring, and to a member of C-Team. Got a good thumping, 3 followed by 1 and 2. Yeah, I know your generation can't do it this way anymore, but make sure whatever you do to start the Candidate down the trail makes a difference for him.

 

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3) Who's your Ordeal Master? Yeah, I know that's an obsolete term. He needs to make sure the Elangomats understand their first task is safety of the Candidates. One time the Candidates were weed-whacking wiht old-fashioned scythes... and no one was checking their bloodlines. It's really, really tough to do the Ordeal Ceremony for a Candidate in their hospital room while they're recovering from 20 stitches...

 

Key point: Whoever is your Elangomat chairman needs to team up 18-20 year olds who will be responsible for the quality of the work and the safety of the work with the 13-14 year olds who are 1st time Elangomats. You can see in other threads where we talk about adults backing off. Let your adult Elangomats be reinforcement when the adult Candidate doesn't understand the youth member is in charge!

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All this said... these are particulars from my own experience. May I more respectfully suggest you invite your Adviser and Associate Adviser to dinner, and ask them for input. They have a clear idea for what right looks like on your own home ground.

 

Enjoy your service as Chief.

 

ICS!

 

[milwscout580]

Yes, I was Ceremonies Chairman for 2 years, and so I am also passionate about this committee. We have a great ceremonies chairman returning for his second year, and our ceremonies team is getting better and better every year. When I became Chairman, we pretty much had a brand new, young group, so there has been little turnover due to aging-out, and therefore our team grows stronger each year.

 

We are in the process of redoing our callout ceremony. Right now, we do our callouts at camp, and none of the regular ceremonies team is on the summer camp staff--save for one (two, since I will be working at that camp this summer). The point being is that the camp staff seems to have little enthusiasm when doing the callout, so that makes the ceremony seem more dull than it really may be. a combination of enthusiastic, energetic staff ceremonialists and a re-vamped callout ceremony will hopefully help this. It's just hard to make the ceremony interesting while following all the rules (no legend, names, etc.)

 

As for the Inductions Committee, as it is called in our lodge, is also really good. we've got a chairman who's been on the committee as an elangomat for a few years, and our Adviser is returning for his 4th or 5th "term." Safety is a big priority, and I believe it is stressed to all the elangomats. Our Inductions team has several sessions with candidates/new members (different name depending on when the session is ) and it is understood who the elangomat is for each clan and that they are in charge. I have not heard of an instance in which there was a problem with the adults versus a young elangomat, but I'm not saying it won't happen!

 

The Lodge year started November 1, and we have our Lodge Goals planned out for the year already, so we know what we are looking for. hopefully, our LEC and our Members can come together and make our plan work!