Cubmaster205 Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Since the 2011 school year, I have been either the assistant or cub master, treasure, pack committee chair, secretary, advancement chair, public relations chair, outdoor activities chair and the member and recharter chair. Needless to say I have been a bit over worked and now looking for some additional assistance. I have been trying to work with our council to try and get some help for when my son crosses over (this year). At our first meeting of the year the council advised people that as of March I'm done and encouraged people to step up and help. We were able to get two people to sign up for committee members but noting much more. I'm so tempted to just walk into a pack meeting and tell everyone I'm done but I don't want to do that because I really want my son's W2 year to be great. However if I don't get some help after our cross over that is what I'm going to do. We have never had a true committee only me and another dad who plan the coming year but it usually involves me doing all the work. the other dad is the PCC but do to his work needs to step down. Any suggestions of what I can do? If anyone has been in a similiar position what did you do? Thanks for all the ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stosh Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 You've done everything else, why not step down and be either your son's Webelos DL or ADL so he has a good year and then cross over as soon as he is able. The pack knows the handwriting on the wall, might as well focus on what's important and let it go at that. Stosh 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walk in the woods Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 If you've advised the Pack that you're done in March, be done in March. Put together a good year for the boys and move onto Scouting with your son. No regrets. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meschen Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Don't walk now. Make this a great year for your second year Webelos. Remind the Pack parents occasionally that your last day is that date of bridging and after that you're devoting 100% to your time to your son's Boy Scout Troop. They will need to step up to keep the Pack running after that date. Let them know that you're willing to help train new leaders before you go, but after that date, you will have very little time to help the new leaders. End of message. One suggestion I can make is that you probably need to ask people to step-up one-on-one. Whenever I ask the parents as a group for help, all I get is the sound of crickets. I'm usually much more successful talking to parents one-on-one and asking them to take on a specific role. If it is a signification commitment, I usually give them a few days to think about it, but will follow up with another call to let them know I'm serious. That's the best way I have found to battle the "someone else will do it" syndrome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonG172 Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 how many kids are we talking about here? From Tiger to Webs ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattman578 Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 I read this “For the Love of Cub Scouts: The unofficial guide for building a stronger pack-your Scouts will love-in only an hour a week†and it stuck home with me because it is close to what you have been saying “It is for the boys†this is a cub masters minute that he uses to recruit new volunteers. He clames he gets at least two volunteers every time he gives this speech “Start with a cash register tape that is very long-the longer the better. Use this tape to represent the lifeline of a Cub Scout in your pack-no need to name someone. Place highly visible marking at equal intervals across the tape, numbered from 0-90. Have a Scout hold on end of the tape and another Scout hold the other end so the entire tape is visible to your audience. You’re ready to deliver your message….†“Folks this tape represents the lifeline of one of our Scouts. I would like to spend a moment to a moment to explore the times in there lives when as adults; we can make the highest impact in their lives that they will remember†Walk from the low numbers to the high numbers of the tape, saying “At the far end of the tape-we can all acknowledge that it is out hope that as adults, our kids outlive usâ€Â. Tear off any of the tape beyond the number 65, and allow the scout to let it drop to the floor as he now hold the tape at the number 65 Walk back towards the low numbers on the tape and share, “of course-who among us can truly recall those early years when out parents fed us, changed our diapers and taught us how to talk?†Tear off any of the tape before the age of 6, and allow the scout to let it drop to the floor as he now holds the tape up at the number 7. Next say “Once our kids reach college age-they tent to move out for school or careers. We really don’t get to see them nearly as often from this point on-as we do now†Tear off an of the tape beyond the number 18, and allow the scout to let it drop to the floor as he now holds the tape at the number 18. “In some families, once kids reach their teenage years-it can be challenging to find ways to stay connected with our kids. They develop relationships out of the home, explore new interests-in short, it may no longer be as cool to hang with mom or dad or the family.†Tear off any of the tape beyond the number 12, take both ends of the remaining tape from the scouts and raise it up for the audience to see. “As you can see-it turns out that that years your son is in Cub Scouts are the ones that they will be the most receptive for you to make and impact in their lives that they will remember. Out pack can use your help on a task or two to make this experience memorable and impactful for all out kids. Please see us right after the meeting and we can tell you how “ Just thought you might like to read this 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonG172 Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 ^ this is very awesome ! ty for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cubmaster205 Posted September 19, 2014 Author Share Posted September 19, 2014 how many kids are we talking about here? From Tiger to Webs ? Jason- In 2011 we had 15, 2012 we dropped down to 8 then I did massive recruitment for last year and we went to 29 then year we have 27 registered and are still working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cubmaster205 Posted September 19, 2014 Author Share Posted September 19, 2014 Thank you everyone for the great guidance. I think I just needed a little time to vent and also get some guideance. I plan on hanging around until the cross over then it will be someone elses turn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNYScouter Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 I was my son’s W2 Den Leader. I was also heading up 90%-95% of the Pack activities. At the January meeting before crossover I made up large signup sheets for every event on the calendar for the rest of the year. I made an announcement that after the B&G I was moving up to the Troop and if these activities where going happen parents had to sign up to plan and run them. Any event that didn’t have a parent to run it won’t happen. All but one event had a parent sign up for it. That event didn’t happen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney Porter Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 It sounds like a lot of packs need a long term strategy for this type of stuff. In our pack we know who will be the next CM. The current CM has 2 years. The current CM knew for a year that he was going to get the role so he was able to plan and look at it from that perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cubmaster205 Posted September 19, 2014 Author Share Posted September 19, 2014 Sidney- I thought at last year that I had a replacement (an Eagle scout) however I was told at our B&G that due to his work schedule he is not willing/able to take on more pack responsibilites other than be the den leader for his son's den. I hadn't expected that so over the summer I'm been trying to get more people involved but it's been really difficult. I like the idea of CNY and will consider doing that for some of the activities. My concern with doing that is what happens if no one picks up and helps? Then my son's last year is a let down! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey H Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 I served as a CM for 2.5 very active years. It was fun, but I needed to step away and transition out earlier than I had originally planned. I gave 3 month notice to the Pack. I let the Pack Committee and Pack leadership know of my resignation date and how I could help with a transition of leadership. Fortunately, our Assistant Cubmaster was more than happy to step up and the transition went pretty smoothly. That said, if no one had been willing to step-up and take my place, I was going to have to leave anyway. Those that were considered good candidates for CM were approached individually which is the best approach. We did not do a general "who would like to do it" invitation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoutergipper Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 "I can't get anyone else to help" is probably the number one complaint Cub Scout Adult Leaders have. It's really a shame because volunteering for Scouting is by far the most rewarding volunteer work I've ever done. Lots of parents are missing a great experience with their child - one they can never get back. Every Pack and Troop should have a succession plan, and it should be made clear to families - in person as said above - that the Pack (or Troop) is not a babysitting service. Packs cannot run without quite a number of Adults, and if people want their son in Cub Scouts, they better step up and do something. Not everyone has to be a Cubmaster, but pretending it's all just going to get done when they won't lift a finger is a great way to ensure failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKdenldr Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 80 percent of a cub experience is the den. Make that a terrific experience and your son will have a good year. Especially webs who should be out growing many pack experiences. Plan some web camping. Do some outdoor activities with troops. Follow the other 2 ideas for pack recruitment. It Will be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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