Attending District Committee Meetings

[SeattlePioneer]

Most Scout leaders remain buried in their units, often with little contact with district and council leaders. Maybe they participate in Roundtables, but often that doesn't happen either.

 

The result is a lack of information for units on what is happening at the district and council level and lack of information at the district and council level about the needs of units.

 

I would like to propose that more unit leaders attend district committe meetings, usually held once per month with the time and location to be found on district web pages or by request from the DE or District Chair.

 

District Committee meetings are where district issues are discussed, such as planning various district events such as camporees, organizing recruiting nights, Commissioners. organizing rechartering, district training events and so on.

 

In my experience, anyone is welcome to attend district Committee meetings. At our last District Committee meeting I suggested that the Chartered Organization Reps, who ARE supposed to attend be sent an e-mail invitation each month in hopes that at least some would attend. Longer term, if CORs are asked to attend perhaps units and Chartered Organizations will appoint people as CORs who WILL attend.

 

In my district we have a desperate need for more district level volunteers.

[ScoutNut]

If unit leaders do not attend Roundtables (where they can easily get that info on what is happening at the district/council level) why would you expect them to attend District Committee meetings?

 

If COR's do not attend District Committee meetings why would you expect their unit leaders to?

 

The bottom line is, you are not really looking to address "a lack of information". What you really want is some warm bodies to fill your "desperate need for more district level volunteers".

 

Perhaps that is why no one attends your District Committee meetings?

 

Improve your Roundtable programs.

 

Get the word out that they are new, improved, and worth the time, effort, and gas, to attend.

 

Get the Scouters to the Roundtables, get them engaged, and you might end up with some new district level volunteers.

 

Or not.

 

But, at least the units will have benefited by having their leaders attend good, useful, Roundtables.

[SeattlePioneer]

Hello Scout Nut,

 

 

Well, I just handed over the Cub Scout Roundtable to someone else after two years as Commissioner. My Roundtable program usually aimed at addressing the issues units needed to solve in the upcoming few months, such as a program on selling popcorn effectively, spring or fall recruiting, rechartering, or whatever.

 

That's quite a different objective than attending the district committee meeting, where you can learn about the nuts an bolts of how the Camporee will be organized and carried out, or getting help customizing a recruiting plan for your unit or whatever.

 

The Roundtable is a package plan that is top down. The Roundtable program is what the leaders think the units ought to know.

 

The district committee meeting ought to be a bottoms up program --- where unit leaders tell the district leaders what they need and co-operate in providing those services.

 

After all, that's why the Chartered Organization Reps are members of the District Committee and are supposed to be there participating in the program.

[ScoutNut]

Charter Reps - yes. Unit leaders - no.

 

Most unit leaders are solely invested in their own particular unit. They do not care about "the nuts an bolts of how the Camporee will be organized and carried out". They are just interested in the end result.

 

If unit leaders need "help customizing a recruiting plan for your unit or whatever", they can, and should, contact their Unit, or District, Commissioner.

 

The unit owners, the Charter Org Reps, are the ones who should be invested in how the district/council is run.

 

 

[desertrat77]

SP, good thoughts, but I agree with Scoutnut--improve the RTs first.

 

In my experience, district committee meetings are interesting to district folks, but not alot of value to unit scouters. Sure, they are welcome, but it's another two hour meeting to attend after a long day at work.

 

Also, in some districts I've belonged to, the district committee meetings weren't much value to the district folks either. Rehashing the same issues, no resolution, same intrigue amongst the old timers, etc. Waste of time. I'd attend but bolt for the door the minute we were adjourned.

 

Most unit scouters must balance work, family and scouting. Adding another meeting to the mix doesn't strike me as necessary.

[SeattlePioneer]

Hello Scout Nut,

 

 

Right out of the book. Nice and neat.

 

 

But the fact is it doesn't work that way.

 

The CORs don't attend, the district leaders tend to be isolated and lacking in resources, and the units where the resources are are isolated from the district leadership and issues.

 

My intention is to start by INVITING CORs to attend --- every month. Perhaps some will, and perhaps some units will start appointing CORs who will attend.

 

But absent that, I don't give a hoot if a Cubmaster or a COR attends a district meeting. They are both welcome as far as I'm concerned.

 

 

In my view, the book is a good guide. But if it isn't working you had better find something that does.

[BadenP]

SP

 

The great flaw in your plan is actually thinking you will actually get the COR's out to attend district committee meetings, why should they?? Most COR's, at least those who are more than just a name on paper, are really only concerned with are the units their organization sponsors.

 

COR's could care less about camporees, popcorn sales, cub day camp, etc,etc. and again why should they? You need to seperate what should be, in your view, with what the reality truly is.

[ScoutNut]

Not sure what "book" you are complaining about.

 

But, yep, it does "work that way".

 

Unit leaders are invested in running their own units. They have neither the time, or the need, to attend district meetings. That does not mean they are "isolated".

 

In my experience as a Unit Commissioner, we are there to help our individual units. I attend my unit's committee meetings, and I attend my district's roundtables.

 

If you can convince unit leaders that the district roundtable is worth it to them to spend more of their time to attend, then for units that need help, they can often find it there. Even those units that do not have an assigned Unit Commissioner.

 

In my experience, as a Unit Commissioner (and as a district level volunteer), UC's bring district/council information to their units. Unit needs, and issues, are brought by the UC's to the District Commissioner at their monthly Commissioners meeting. The DC then brings those issues to the District Committee meetings.

 

No one is "isolated", or "lacking in resources".

 

If you have no UC's in your district then the District Commissioner should be hauling butt to get units visited by someone, and to recruit UC's.

 

As for the District Committee meetings, I never stated that anyone be unwelcome.

 

Also, as I stated, YES, Charter Organization Representatives SHOULD ATTEND. Inviting them formally is a good thing. Getting a personal invite from the District Chairman might encourage some to attend. Getting an e-mail blast from a misc district volunteer will probably not work as well, but hey, it is worth giving it a shot.

 

 

[Eagle732]

Invite the CORs to District meetings? There's a novel idea that just might work.

That's assuming that the Key Three actually wants the CORs to attend and voice their opinions.

 

Our DE and DC won't even talk with my COR, even after repeated requests for a meeting. That tells me they are really not interested in what the units have to say.

[Basementdweller]

Yep Eagle that is sounds exactly like the old attitude here......We will see with the new group coming in....

[SeattlePioneer]

Hello BadenP,

 

 

 

[BadenP]

SP

 

Go ahead and invite the COR's and unit leaders to your district meetings every month, just do not be surprised when they do not show up. As I and other posters have said these people have other priorities in scouting and the district committee meetings is just NOT or ever will be one of them.

 

While your intentions may be good, the reality of how the scouting district truly works seems to elude you.

[desertrat77]

Scoutnut, really like your description of how the UC works in this process, well said.

[qwazse]

Yep, your swimming upstream.

But if you want to hear from COs and get some idea how scouting is working for them, that's as good a way as any.

 

If you're thinking that you'd get good volunteers for committees, brace yourself for disappointment. For example, our COR is not a nuts-and-bolts guy. He just wants to make sure the church and the pack/troop/crew are working well together.

 

When we did have an involved COR, he ran afoul of the SM at the time. His hanging around district folks only helped sew further mistrust. Dysfunction? Yep. One more disincentive for a COR to bother with district stuff? Yep.

[SeattlePioneer]

>

 

 

Units tow the line to do rechartering, a council function.

 

 

I imagine that 30-40 unit volunteers help organize and present our Cub Scout Day Camp.

 

If you can make a case to Troop and Packs that they need to do more to support district activities, perhaps more help will be forthcoming.

 

I can't say I've figured out how to prove this theory though. The idea of inviting CORs to attend is an opening shot. After all, they are supposed to be there anyway.

 

 

 

(This message has been edited by seattlepioneer)