Unit Commissioner - realistic expectations of the job?

[Lisabob]

I've had a couple of conversations with district staff recently about possibly serving as a Unit Commissioner. Before deciding, I'd appreciate some input from those of you who are or have been UCs. Specifically, what is the "real world" expectation in terms of the number of units typically assigned (yes I know the 1:3 guideline but I'm talking about reality), what units want their UCs to do (or not do) and time commitment. By the way my understanding is that I'd be working only with Cub packs, not troops or crews.

 

Lisa'bob

A good ole bobwhite too!

[Eamonn]

This is a very tough question.

I served as a District Commissioner for about eight years.

Number of units ?

This depends. We had some UC's that only had one unit. Some had as many as four. All sorts of things came into play. The location of the unit. Some of the units are up in the mountains and not near each other, so expecting a UC to drive a long way just wasn't realistic and having a UC drive down to look in on the units in the towns wasn't going to happen.

What units want their UCs to do (or not do) and time commitment.

As for time. The expectation was that a UC would visit a unit once a month if everything was going well. But when there were problems this might change, I have known UC's attend three meetings in a week.

Asking what units expect from their UC is a little like asking 100 people what they want for lunch. Some units will look upon anyone from outside the unit as some sort of spy. Others will just think you and your visit is a waste of time. Some will ask for your help and input while others will want you to really get stuck in and help solve whatever isn't working.

Rather than trying to find out what the unit expects from you, it might be better to find out what the District Commissioner or the Assistant District Commissioner is expecting from you.

As for working with all the programs? There are people who will say that this works and the UC can read up and get trained to cover them all. I found in most cases it didn't work. It was far better to have people who worked with only program area.

Eamonn.

[Cubmaster Jerry]

Well, I'm not a UC but I can tell you what my UC does (or as much as I know). I don't know how this compares to the actual job description.

 

She has at least 3 Cub Packs as well as two troops. She is spending a lot of time now trying to get a new Pack (1 of the three) up and running as well as trying to resurrect a current troop and just getting the groundwork laid for starting a new troop. You can imagine that she is spending a lot of time on the phone and running here and there and everywhere.

 

With the new Cub Pack she is working with, they are having problems getting people to step up to be CC and CM (imagine that!) so she is wearing those hats now and recruiting hard. She is working with the new DLs, going to their meetings and making sure they are off on the right foot. She is also attending training with them because I guess she feels that she can't depend on them to go themselves.

 

With my Pack, we are having issues with space - not enough of it. So she has offered to assist us with trying to locate a larger place for us to hold our Pack meetings. She, along with our DE, is also keeping tabs on our CO as there are rumors that they might fold, leaving us without one. So she is putting feelers out in case that happens. Our Pack is well run so, other than the space and CO issue, there really is no need for her to be around. She has attended a couple of our committee meetings early this year.

 

Like I said, the troop in my area has problems so she is working to rectify those as well as start a new one. More phone time and recruiting.

 

Then there is, of course, roundtables and UC meetings that she attends.

 

Hope that helps.

Jerry

[FScouter]

The Commissioner Helps booklet #33618 gives a prospective commissioner a good idea of what the job is and how to do it.

[Lisabob]

Thanks to everyone for your input.

 

Lisa'bob

A good old bobwhite too!

[Fuzzy Bear]

The three L's of a good UC is location, location, location.

 

If a UC is always parked in front of the coffee pot, then his/her location is not good. If the UC is parked in front of the Scout Hut each night, then it is not a good location. If the UC is parked outside a District activity all of the time, it is not a good location.

 

Parked and balanced somewhere between good common sense and a Unit's needs is generally a good location.

 

 

Also, since you are a WB'er, how would your WB training answer your question for you?

 

FB, UC

[MarkS]

I've been a den leader for three years. Until, our pack had a few issues last year and I contacted him for help, our UC was never around. He offered some advice over the phone but I saw him for the first time at our Blue & Gold banquet. He's never dropped in on committee or pack meetings and doesn't talk to the Cubmaster. Unless the pack contacts the UC, we don't hear from him.

 

I have to keep our Cubmaster on track program wise. He's great with the kids, but very weak on program planning and problem mitigation. I'm the one that lets him know about upcoming council and district events we can take advantage of, struggling dens, providing ideas for the pack meetings, etc.

 

I guess I'll have to talk to the UC about this when my den crosses over in February. Not to be bragging or anything, it's not really a good thing that I have to do a lot of things outside the scope of my position so we have a quality pack program. I'll have to have a chat with the UC and let him know that the pack may need some help fulfilling these tasks without a little coaching. They can do it, but I don't think they'll recognize it until after the quality of the program goes down.

 

I believe strongly that packs should be parent run/parent led units and when my boy joins the troop in February, I'm going to help out there, not in the pack anymore. Time to get some fresh meat on the committee.(This message has been edited by MarkS)

[MarkS]

Yep... you can dupe a post by accident. No point making you read it again.(This message has been edited by MarkS)