A fine mess. But there is light at the end of the tunnel.

[Eamonn]

I do have an ego. I try to keep it in check.

I'm really hate not to win. But when I do lose I'm willing to admit it and move on. Even if the moving is not something that I was in favor of.

Sad to say the District I serve is in a real mess.

The DE we had was not very good, in fact even saying that is being more than kind. He was replaced in January with a really nice fellow, who wants to do a good job and is really trying.

His boss the SE is also new to the Council.

Both these guys seem to be very much "By the book" types.

While at times I think they need to smile and maybe laugh a little more. I'm OK with both of them.

Earlier this year the Council President asked the District Chairman to resign.

I was very happy doing next to nothing, but agreed to come back as District Membership Chair.

I kinda knew things were sad but I wasn't ready for how sad.

I knew that we had lost some units. I didn't know that we had some paper units. Back when I was a member of the Key 3 we most defiantly refused to allow this to happen.

I knew we had lost a lot of youth members and a lot of adult leaders.

 

What with one thing and another I kinda got busy trying to more than anything recruit more youth members.

The fact that we had dropped so many units and lost so many adult leaders was bugging me.

 

School Sign Up night came and went. We did well, not great but well. About 25% down on what we had been doing about five years back. Considering we have about 25% less packs?

That kinda seems in line.

 

With that out of the way. I started trying to find out why we had lost the units and where the leaders went.

I requested just about any and every report that Scoutnet can kick out.

It soon became clear that all these lost unit leaders had joined a Pack or a Troop or a Crew that had the same number!

They weren't lost at all!!

Looking at the charters all these units shared the same Executive Officer, who also happened to be the District Chairman that had been asked to step down.

It seems that rather than try and help any unit that was struggling, this fellow went and recruited the youth for the unit he was involved in and invited the adults to go with them.

The Lions Club charters these units.

The club is a little distance from where I live and I really don't know much about them. I did meet with a couple of them years back, one guy held the title of "Tail Twister". Which I thought was kind of funny. The other was the then President.

I gave this Ex-President a call. (They sell really good brooms and I needed a few brooms!!) I asked how the Lions were doing and how they liked the President? Even on the phone I could tell that this poor fellow thought I was a head case. He told me that he was the President.

I explained to him that he wasn't. In fact I had charters going back four years which stated this other fellow (The Ex-District Chair) was the president.

He laughed and said that this fellow was a lion but was not the president and never had been.

I ordered four brooms!

 

The headline in one of the local daily papers this week read about how our RC Bishop was having to close some churches and was moving some priests around. Once I seen that the church I attend wasn't closing I really didn't read the article.

At the District Meeting I was informed that a really nice Priest was replacing our parish priest. This new Priest is someone I know well. He is the Chaplin for our OA Lodge.

One of the units that the District lost is the Pack chartered by this church and the Pack which I served as CM for.

I have great hopes that we will be able to re-start the pack and I have my eye on a new member for the Membership Committee.

Eamonn.

[Lisabob]

Three cheers for all district membership chairs! I've decided it is a pretty thankless job most of the time, but an important one anyway. Here's wishing you the best possible luck and great turn out for all your units' recruiting drives.