Day In The Life

[de4bsa]

I've noticed a few posts on here from volunteers who seem to have no idea what their DE does or how she/he spends the day. I thought I'd share my work today and hopefully shed a little light on the job for those who know little about it. I am a field DE meaning my home serves as my office. I live an hour away from my Council. This will probably be lengthy, but hopefully informational.

 

6:30-7:30- Get up. Shower, Eat breakfast (Girl Scout Tag Alongs), Watch TV.

 

7:30-8:15. Check email. I send a couple of messages and reply to a few messages from volunteers.

 

8:15-8:45. Get dressed and swing by my mom's to catch up with her for just a few minutes before I start my day.

 

8:45-9:00. Drive to first meeting of the day.

 

9:00-9:30. My first meeting today is with an attorney who has agreed to serve as Committee Member at Large on my District Committee (I'm literally in the process of rebuilding my entire District Committee). My focus in this meeting is to secure his help in FOS. I ask him to come up with 15 prospects that he would feel comfortable calling and email me the names on Monday. He says it shouldn't be a problem and seems confident he can raise me some money. I then mention that the firm he works at typically gives $500 to my FOS campaign but, for whatever reason, didn't give last year. He says he'll "fix that" immediately. I leave the meeting feeling it was very productive. At the very least I feel like I'll get that $500 contribution back this year.

 

9:30-10:15. I drive to the next town over just 10 minutes to the south. My first stop is at the local high school where I meet with the principal. I ask if the students will once again participate in our career interest survey this year. The results from the survey are supposed to be used to identify potential Explorer Post opportunities. However, I've never started a Post and probably never will because it isn't traditional membership and I am judged on trad. membership. Still, my SE wants us to do this each year so I do it to pacify him. The principal agrees and I chat with him for a few minutes about his upcoming retirement. My next stop in this town is my uncle's office. I use his fax machine to send my NCAA Tournament picks to my Council because we have an office pool going ($5 per person). I then casually ask if he'd like to increase his usual FOS gift of $200. He says he'll go to $250. After leaving his office I immediately call my Council office to get the pledge in the computer ASAP. My SE, like all SE's, is constantly comparing where we are this year to where we were last year at the same time. I have a staff meeting next week and every kid, and every dollar counts.

 

10:15-11:00. I'm now heading to the biggest town in my district which is a 25 minute drive to the south. I'm going to the local high school there with the hope of killing two birds with one stone. I want to speak to the new principal about the career interest surveys and I have an 11 o'clock meeting with a former SM of mine who is now going to be a UC (I'm also totally rebuilding my Commissioner staff). He's a teacher but 11:00 is his planning period. The principal is in with a parent. I wait for a few minutes but then I'm told it may be awhile. I leave my card and head upstairs.

 

11:00-11:45. I meet with my volunteer and once again go over what I need from him in regards to being a UC. I give him an application to fill out right then to make it all official. During our conversation he mentions another teacher at the school who just started a rock climbing club for the students. He thinks she and her husband would be ideal candidates to start a venture crew. He then takes me to her classroom (it's also her planning period) where I have an impromptu meeting with her about the Venturing program. She seems genuinely interested and I give her my card and tell her I will call her and will be better prepared for our next meeting. I leave satisfied with my second productive meeting of the morning (that might be a new record for me!).

 

11:45-1:00. Lunch with a friend. Many DE's have "working lunches" where they meet w/ volunteers or prospective volunteers. There's nothing wrong with that but I prefer lunch to be a break from work. If I eat by myself I'll read the paper, a book, or go somewhere where I can watch TV while I eat. We eat at IHOP. I'm surprised that a place that specializes in pancakes can make such a good Philly Cheesesteak.

 

1:00-1:20. My last stop in this town is to swing by an elementary school to ask the principal if I can talk to her students in a couple of weeks about cub scouts. I'm trying to get a new pack started. I have a good relationship with her and she readily agrees. Another good meeting.

 

1:20-2:20. I make the 25 minute drive back and meet with one of the few "go to" volunteers I have in my district at her office. I pick up Family FOS cards from a presentation she did for me the night before. We got $100 from a 16 boy pack. Normally, this wouldn't be considered all that bad for my economically depressed district. However, the boys in this pack are from a private Christian school and we both thought we'd do better than that. I then broach a subject I've been avoiding, which is her becoming my Day Camp Director. I recruited a guy to be my director just last year and my Council sent him to camp school. He was gung-ho for awhile but now says his son has lost interest in scouts. Consequently, he has now lost interest in being my camp director. I hate asking this lady because I feel I pile enough on her already. She says she is very interested but doesn't know if she can make that kind of commitment with her busy work schedule and already fulfilling her role as a Unit Commissioner/FOS presenter/Trainer/Whatever else I ask her to do. She asks me to let her think about it. I should note that her only son is nearing his Eagle Scout and hasn't been a Cub Scout in quite awhile. I leave feeling guilty for even asking her, but I honestly don't have another good candidate.

 

2:20-2:45. I make the short 10 minute drive back to my "office," where I pick up the mail and pack a gym bag in hopes of sneaking in a workout sometime today. In the mail is a FOS check for a $100. I'm pleased.

 

2:45-3:30. I make the 45 minute drive to my next meeting in the northwest corner of my district.

 

3:30-4:15. This meeting quickly goes awry. I have already recruited kids and leaders for a pack I'm starting in this town. This meeting today was supposed to be for the Charter Rep. of the church to sign off on the other adult apps., fill out his app,. sign the charter agreement, and pickup money from the church. It doesn't go how I planned. I have yet to meet with this man but in my meetings with the pastor she assured me he was the man for the job and I thought this was just a formality. He assures me the church will let them use the building, but that is the extent of his, or the church's, involvement. He's a perfectly nice guy, but he's not budging on his stance. I leave thinking I'll have to charter another unit under "Parents for Scouting" and get a parent to be the Charter Rep. I'm now worried the paperwork for this unit won't be in by next week's staff meeting like I projected. Missing projections is bad news.

 

4:15-5:00. 45 minute drive back from where I came.

 

5:00-5:20. I know I won't have time to workout before my next meeting so I swing by my sister's to visit my little 4-year old nephew for a few minutes. I drink a glass of iced tea, eat a few of her Girl Scout cookies (Samoas this time), watch a few of minutes of "Peter Pan" with my nephew and I'm off again.

 

5:20-6:30. I make the hour or so drive to my next meeting on the eastern end of my district.

 

6:30-7:00. I'm meeting with the pastor's council about their church starting a cub pack and a troop. I don't have much time because their Wed. night service starts at 7:00, but I've already been in talks with one of the members of the council so they have a pretty good idea about what I want. This church (like most I deal with) says they are willing open the building for meetings, but can't provide leadership. They do agree to appoint a charter rep. to oversee both units and form a committee. I know as they are talking that the "committee" won't function in any real way and will simply be names on paper. Still, they're willing and I need the units ASAP. I ask them to have the paperwork completed by next week and then we'll set school night dates for the pack and troop.

 

7:00-8:00. Drive the hour back home. On the way I talk to my wife who says she is going to the gym. Despite the couch and TV calling my name I tell her I'll meet her there.

 

8:00-8:30. I spend 15 minutes on the stairmaster and 15 minutes on the treadmill. I don't go as hard as I usually do but I figure what I did was better than nothing.

 

8:30-8:45. Head home.

 

8:45-9:00. I thoroughly enjoy a chicken sandwich from McDonald's (not being sarcastic, it really was good) that my wife picked up for me on her way home. I then eat a few more Girl Scout cookies for dessert (Samoas again).

 

Well, that's about it. I'd say the numerous meetings are fairly typical although the distance I covered today is atypical for me. I visited 3 of the 4 counties in my service area and put 282 miles on my car today. Although I travel a lot I don't usually have meetings that are so geographically spread out in one day.

 

For me, like most DE's, 10, 11, and 12 hour days aren't uncommon but it's not like that everyday. Working from my home I take advantage of the freedom I enjoy that DE's that work from the Council office don't. Occassionally, I'll call it a day around 3 o'clock to mow my lawn, clean my garage, or even play golf. Today wasn't one of those days, though. Well, hope that was helpful to those of you who don't know a lot about our jobs.

 

(This message has been edited by de4bsa)(This message has been edited by de4bsa)

[Lisabob]

I still haven't heard from anyone regarding what an SE does? Any input there? (other than making the life of a DE miserable)

[packsaddle]

de4bsa, How typical do you think your schedule is? In other words, is it fair for me to think that the average DE has a similar work day? If anyone else wants to respond I'd welcome that too.

[de4bsa]

I think, in general, anyone who has ever been a DE would read my post and think, "Been there, done that." I think your "typical" work days in this job vary depending on what time of year it is. In the fall and late spring, 11 and 12 hour work days are the norm. Your days are spent doing boy talks at schools, meetings with perspective C.O.'s about starting new units, talking on the phone to volunteers, etc. Your nights are spent going to school nights and signing kids up in addition to monthly roundtable and District Committee meetings.

 

However, in the summer my schedule slows go down quite a bit. I still set up meetings with perspective C.O.'s laying the groundwork for starting new units in the fall and I'm still working toward my FOS goal but there really isn't that much going on. Most units have their week of summer camp or day camp, but most don't meet on a weekly basis in the summer in my district so I'm not in contact w/ my volunteers as often.

 

In the winter and early part of spring I try to keep my work days to the 9-5 variety as much as possible. There are always going to be evenings and weekends in this job, but I try my best to keep all of my meetings during a normal work day. I don't know if the day I described was "typical" but it wasn't all that unusual either.

[BrentAllen]

Lisa,

The SE recruits and hires the DE's. He is responsible for finding the people that can be successful as DE's. He also promotes or fires, as is required, such as deciding who gets promoted to FD, etc. He is responsible for the staffing at the Council. He is responsible for making sure his finance director knows what he is doing, so the council doesn't go broke. He is responsible for setting goals for the council, and working to achieve them. As we have seen recently, he is responsible for making sure the membership numbers are reported accurately. He is responsible for seeking large corporate and philanthropic donors. When things go bad, he is the one who has to answer the tough questions. I view him as the president of a franchise who runs the business and also has to report back to corporate headquarters. I assume he also has a large voice in deciding which camp improvements get made, and which don't.

 

Better yet, why don't you call your SE and ask him? It can certainly be done in a friendly manner, and he might welcome the opportunity to let some volunteers know exactly what he does. You are both on the same team, right?

 

A few years back, one of my WB Patrol mates was the weekend volunteer Camp Master at Woodruff, our most popular council camp. We were camping there that weekend as well. A mom (from another unit) fell into their campfire ring, hands first, and burned her hands and lower arms pretty badly (just like in Survivor). The Camp Master told me the SE, down in Atlanta, about 2 hours away, was on the phone constantly, making sure the mom received all the medical attention she needed at the hospital. He said the response from the SE and the council was pretty amazing.

[BadenP]

de4bsa

 

As a former DE and Sr. DE myself I echo your work schedule as typical long hours, we figured it out once in our council office that the new DE averages about 50 cents an hour with all the overtime we put in. By the way you mean to tell me you actually had time to play a round of golf each week, lucky you. As for the summer time though we had a choice of assignments, being the camp director, organizing and coordinating all the cub scout day camps in the council, or meeting and setting up new businesses to host a career exploring unit in the fall. Since I lived in one of the two districts I served, you also were always cornered at the grocery store and restaraunts by volunteers with another emergency crisis. All in all though I really loved it, but I do not miss those long hours and few weekends for family. So I can sympathize with you, but I sure don't envy you. YIS

[scoutldr]

Thanks for the insight, de4bsa. As Covey said, "Seek first to understand, then to be understood." I once entertained the idea of a career change to professional scouting. After all, what could be better than to get paid for this! I quickly realized that the role of the professional is VERY different from the role of the unit or district volunteer. The pro is first and foremost, a salesman with defined performance quotas. Don't perform, and you're history. Most volunteers don't realize the demands put on the DE and can't understand why they can't accept every invitation to a B&G or PWD, and don't have time to hang out around the coffee pot at the Camporee. Unfortunately, this is sometimes misconstrued as being unresponsive to the unit's "needs".

[nldscout]

I am trying to figure out what your attempting to tell us and why?

 

Is it for eliciting sympathy for the long day?

 

 

[DugNevius]

ahhh Friends of Scouting...

[de4bsa]

"I am trying to figure out what your attempting to tell us and why?

 

Is it for eliciting sympathy for the long day?"

 

 

I thought I was very clear in why I made my post. I noticed some posts on here from volunteers who didn't understand the role of the DE or what they do on a daily basis. What part of that was hard to understand?

 

Oh, and I'm not trying to elicit sympathy for the long day. I hardly know anyone anymore who doesn't work a lot irregardless of their line of work, so I wasn't looking for anything out of that post.

[gwd-scouter]

Our District has had 6 DEs since I've been involved in Scouting (14 years). A couple were good, a couple were terrible and a couple were excellent. While I never fully knew what their job entailed, I certainly could tell the difference between the good and the bad.

 

It always bothered me in the past when our DE didn't immediately return my phone calls or email. As I became more involved at the District level I found out why he couldn't return my calls immediately. I was more often than not many calls down the line from the 50 plus other units that were having a crisis that day. And let's not forget the meetings, meetings, and more meetings that our DEs must attend daily whether trying to recruit volunteers, start new units, helping with plans for district events, smoothing ruffled feathers of some disgruntled scouter. If our District is any example, our DEs always struggle with the additional burden of doing the jobs that are supposed to be done by volunteers - because we can't get enough volunteers.

 

My hat is off to you de4bsa - it's a tough job without a lot of thanks from those you serve.

[John-in-KC]

De,

 

I've seen professionals who see the young men behind the dollars, the units, and the adults. They keep remembering those young men, and wanting to make a difference.

 

Certainly, sales on salary for a non-profit is not the fast path to riches. Many of us know and understand you're overworked and underpaid.

 

As for me, I simply ask you to keep looking back to the Cub Scout, Boy Scout, or Venturer as a touchstone to your vision. If you keep remembering why we're all in this, you'll be one of the great ones!

 

YIS

[jr56]

I have always believed that if they do the job right, DE's are overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated. I love scouting, but I wouldn't want to do that job.