A new low for a DE

[Basementdweller]

Gotta love this one.

 

Got off the phone with a lady who signed her young man up for scouting. Seems our new DE held a sign up night for a unit that folded in May. Well, she signed up the end of August and has yet to be contacted for a meeting or anything.

 

This knucklehead, DE, Went, held a boy talk, then a sign up night for a unit that doesn't exist, now there are a number of parents who I am going to bet feel like the BSA stole their money.

 

She got my number off of the yard signs advertising our troop.

 

Beyond the Pro stupidity, I invited them to the Meeting night which is the halloween party with costumes and games, going over to their home tomorrow and having mom sign the transfer app, and signing them up for our Pack, Also giving her our info sheet to pass along to the other parents who signed up and are not receiving the scouting they paid for. Might pick up another 10 boys or so.....

 

growing my troop thru the Pack...A shame more SM's don't understand that.

[qwazse]

Hope they enjoy your troop and pack. I'd take their paperwork to HQ asking to waive the transfer fee.

[King Ding Dong]

I was told by my UC it is a big deal when a unit folds under a DE. Sounds like he was trying to resurrect the unit and then dropped the ball.

[Bando]

I was told by my UC it is a big deal when a unit folds under a DE. Sounds like he was trying to resurrect the unit and then dropped the ball.

The lower-level pros do indeed get grilled on the numbers game, and it seems the likely scenario that this DE was trying to save face and not have to report a lost unit. So the DE tries to resurrect the unit, maybe has problems finding SM/ASM/etc., maybe has to find a new CO for the unit, can't get funds together or enthusiasm up for it, lets it simmer, and all of the sudden it's Fall. Good on him for being proactive and trying to save the unit, but sounds like he failed on execution. One also has to wonder why the folks who signed up weren't just as proactive to figure out why the unit didn't get off the ground, either. If it was the end of August and this is the end of October, what happened in the two months since?

 

I guess it's easier to just assume the worst and blame the usually-underpaid and overworked DE, but there are a number of ways this could go down. And the blame isn't solely on the DE. It's unfortunate, but it happens.

[dedkad]

growing my troop thru the Pack...A shame more SM's don't understand that.

 

Tell me about it. As a Webelos DL, I have had to go way beyond the extra mile just to get the SM's to return my call about visiting their troops. My suggestions for having some kind of joint activity fall on deaf ears. Just because we share the same unit number doesn't necessarily mean my boys are going to move on to their troop. They are going to go with a troop where they feel a connection, and that connection is more than just a number on a patch.

 

On the topic of recruitment, 10 boys is pretty good! Did he really think just taking their money and getting their name on the roster was going to be enough? He had to have a better plan than that....I hope.

 

[Basementdweller]

I was told by my UC it is a big deal when a unit folds under a DE. Sounds like he was trying to resurrect the unit and then dropped the ball.

Really?

 

You would think if he was trying to find a New CM he would at least talk to the parents of the boys involved. This morning I spoke with the Previous CM and told him what was going on and he said in no uncertain terms the unit was dead and the DE did not have permission from the Still registered unit leadership and the CO to do anything on their behalf.

 

Far as sympathy for DE's???? Not so much. I have been screwed to the tune of nearly $1k by one from day camp expenses and an expense report that he lost. Been Lied to by 2 others and now this????

 

Shame our Pro's can't live the scout oath and law.

 

 

It is dog dirty what they did to these families. I am seeing less and less good from Parent organization, now they are busy locally giving us black eyes. How many of those parents will tell other parents about what happened. This affects us locally in a huge way.

 

Now we, volunteers, have got to try to make the situation right for the families.

[AKdenldr]

We had a new pro do exactly this, but at our meeting place, sort of borrowing on our success and assuming that we would take on this problem for him (we did not, as we could not). (We could have done some things to help and could have taken on a few well organized dens, but he operated as a lone wolf.) Recruited somewhere in the 20's. Tried to organize the new pack for a few months without our help, not realizing how challenging forming a pack is. Appeared to be set on this course by his boss. Disappointed a lot of boys and families. (And made our pack look ungenerous and exclusive.) DE left the job within a year.

[scoutergipper]

I was told by my UC it is a big deal when a unit folds under a DE. Sounds like he was trying to resurrect the unit and then dropped the ball.

Just resubmit the missing expense report.

[moosetracker]

Yeah.. Resurecting a Pack is hard.. I am going through it now.. I get a high of "yes, this is going to work".. Then two lows of "Shoot", "Shoot", "Shoot"..

 

Still keep introducing myself as the UC.. My job is to show up once a month and say "Hi, how are you?" and then take off again.. I am starting to get laughs as it is starting to be a running joke.. I am unfortunately the glue holding the Pack together right now..

 

Right now I have a den of 1 bear scout, 1 Webelos one scout and 1 Webelos 2 scout.. And working to get the parents to all take on parts of the Den Leader coming together for group participation and seperating for some rank advancement. Then last year we had our 3 member committee.. This year I have no one in the committee and I am taking on the CC position, and holding the meetings amoung the Den Leaders.. If this doesn't change by early December the Pack will not recharter..

 

With the increase in the registration fees I need to talk people into paying $50 if one son or $75 if 2 sons because of the $25 they need to pay $25 so they can do a job they are being pushed into taking on.. All my parents even my parents from last year have sticker shock.. In fact they don't think they paid last year.. And I am starting to figure out how that may be.. I wasn't at the recruitment night.. The DE had all pay for the scout registration and Boys Life.. No one got the Boys Life last year.. So I think the DE re-appropriated that to the Adult registration fees.

[skeptic]

If they paid for Boys Life, they should have gotten it. That is not something you let slide. Not sure how that could happen if you are auditing the paperwork correctly. Registration and BL are listed separately, which means money for BL should be allocated to it. Most issues suggested can be mitigated by simply paying attention and not paying until the figures work out as they should. Granted, with bigger groups, it is a bit more challenging; but it should not be nearly as hard as we seem to want to make it.

 

Due diligence and simply actually reviewing things will eliminate 90% or more of common errors and complaints. Follow through on noted issues will bring the problems down to probably 1%-2%; but someone needs to actually do it. If we abdicate our responsibilities, then we only have ourselves to blame. Sort of like not voting, then complaining about our leaders.

[moosetracker]

Yeah, like I said, I wasn't involved in the recruitment night.. They needed a UC to get them started, so I volunteered about a month later.. No one said anything about the missing Boys Life until this years recruitment and they were pushing it again, that's when the returning Adult leaders said something about paying for it last year and never getting it. Then when I brought up the Adult leader payments, they were shocked as they didn't pay that last year.. So I don't know what happened.. But, something sure did.

[qwazse]

Time to call the registrar and reprint the charter. MT you need to print your units to figure out what was paid for whom. BD you need your registrar to print up the wannabe retired unit's so you can contact the parents and apologize for everyone else's graft and corruption.

[Basementdweller]

They will not give the registration info till the pick does not recharter

[Basementdweller]

I was told by my UC it is a big deal when a unit folds under a DE. Sounds like he was trying to resurrect the unit and then dropped the ball.

I Ade the mistake of not making copys....what can happen he is a scouter and I can trust him. Well an expensive lesson

[qwazse]

They will not give the registration info till the pick does not recharter

I'm not saying anything about them doing it for YOU! Ask a favor of the retiring pack's key three. By now I shouldn't have to tell you if a door closes you can wait for the good Lord to open one for you, or you can find where He left the sledgehammer and knock out the wall.