Finding a New CO Delemma

[CNYScouter]

I am involved with a Pack, a Troop and a Crew that all meet at a church in the center of town and have the same unit number and there are are few of us registered between multiple units.

 

The Pack is charted by the VFW and only does Pack meets at the VFW

The Troop is co-chartered by the VFW and the church

The Crew is chartered only by the church

 

This church has charter the Troop for close to 75 years and even though the Pack is not chartered by them they have been holding dens meeting there almost as long. The crew is about 3 years old.

These are currently the only Scout units left in this village.

 

Early this year this church merged with another church and sold the building where we meet.

We are welcome to meet at the merged church but it is a long ways away (15-20 mins.) and not in the same town.

 

The church that bought the building doesn't seem interested in charting units.

They have told the Pack and Crew they can no longer meet there and the Troop is on a week to week basis.

 

The VFW is willing to charter not is really big enough for the Troop to meet at. They also run a bar down stairs and the smell from smoking is pretty bad. The VFW also bump the Scouts anytime they rent out the hall (which is quite a bit)

 

We have a couple of places that would take all 3 units as a CO but they are outside the village and have other units near by or we have places willing to be a CO for one of the units in the town we currently meet in

 

Would stay in the village/town you meet in and split up the CO's or move to just outside the town and go with one CO?

 

 

[desertrat77]

New COs are always a challenge....

 

If I'm understanding correctly, it seems that geographical proximity is important in your case.   If 15 - 20 minutes seems a long ways then it would probably be best to let different COs charter each unit right there in town.

 

I know it seems inconvenient to split the units, but if the town is small, it shouldn't be an issue.   I think it is fortunate that you have folks willing to be a CO.   When I was stationed in CA years ago, I tried for a year to find an organization to sponsor a Venture crew.   Not a single one would commit.

[qwazse]

Definitely split the CO's and stay local.

 

Find the most enthusiastic and flexible supporters in the village even if space isn't optimal. It's really important that kids know who in town wants to support their scouting. And if it's multiple organizations on account of space, that's fine. Our pack has outgrown the CO, so they use the school's primary center for pack meetings.

 

Explain to the new church that a chartering on a week-to-week basis is the scouting equivalent to living in sin! The boys are counting on a more substantial commitment.

 

It sounds like everyone is easy-going about numbers. But I would still offer the original church the opportunity to retain the troop # in case they want to host a unit in the future.

[blw2]

Can you meet under the picnic table shelter at the local park?  Then maybe it doesn't matter who the CO is....

(just an example, thinking back-up venues)

 

I agree, I'd personally rather stay local and wouldn't care if the units were split to different CO's.... if that's what it would take.

 

A long time ago, I was thinking of how it might work to have multiple but related units like a troop and pack, share a CC and committee

but that's just theory and isn't happening anyway, so why does it really matter?

[Stosh]

There's not much to see in a small town, but what you hear makes up for it.   There's some group in town that will eventually step forward if it comes down to losing the scouting program in their town.

[CNYScouter]

These units are in a pretty urban area where the towns all border each other.

Between the town where the current meeting location is there is one other town to the south and then the city of Syracuse, NY.

This is where the majority of our youth are recruited from.

We are the only Troop left in these northern suburbs (and I don't think there is a Troop left on the north end of the city either).
Back in the 60's, 70's and 80's there were well over a dozen Troops in this area.

One of the big issues is none of the organizations have a place big enough for the troop to meet (40+ Scouts plus adult leaders and parents).

Meeting in a park is great for the summer but it's tough when it gets below zero in the winter to meet outside.

The Troop and the Crew are also in kind of a limbo as the CO on the charter has been dissolved and no longer exists.

From further email exchanges it sounds like the unit leadership thinks it can just take everything and just switch CO's.

I just was asked to get involved with this and was asked to attend a meeting next week with a possible new CO.

[Beavah]

Yah, tough circumstance, @@CNYScouter.

 

Da only idea I have to offer is the same as @@blw2, eh?   While it's ideal for da CO to provide a meeting place, there are quite a few out in da real world where the CO is a church, but the unit meets at the local school (or business, or community organization) that has the room for 'em.    So yeh don't have to meet at da CO.   Yeh can meet at a school for part of the year, and the park pavillion for da rest of the year.  In a lot of ways, havin' meetings outside (even in the rain or snow) is great scouting.

 

Seems like your area should also have some private schools, eh?  They're free to charter in ways that public schools can't, and they'd certainly have the space for kids.  Your county's got about 40 private schools so I reckon there have to be a few in your area.  Maybe yeh can add a STEM unit to da mix for 'em even. 

 

Beavah

[CNYScouter]

The private schools were the first place that we asked.

The issue with them is that because they don't have the restrictions of the public schools every outside group has gone to them and they just don't have any open nights for us to meet.

The public schools charge to meet there. They even charge the PTA/PTG if they want an open house at the school.

Same with all the community centers - they all charge a fee to use their facilities.

 

There is a church less than a quarter mile down the road whose troop folded less than a year ago. They have been very wishy-washy about us moving there - first they said no, they then contacted us saying  we could meet there but we had to switch meeting nights - then it was OK to meet on the night we wanted - they now came back with they are not sure.

 

We have a couple of other churches who said that were interested in being a CO - but had to check with their board first - this was 3 or 4 months ago and still haven't decided yet.

 

One of the things that the old CO did was for a community outreach they allowed Scouts (Boy and Girl Scouts both) along with many other non-profit group (like a square dance) group meet there for free or little change. The new church doesn't seem to want to let outside groups in.

 

I am pretty sure we will find a place it's just finding the right one or ones

[blw2]

...... In a lot of ways, havin' meetings outside (even in the rain or snow) is great scouting.

 

.....

exactly along the lines I was thinking.  This is just my adult perspective

but in my thinking

the best meeting place would be a troop's very own scout hut.  A place the scouts could hand the stuff they want on the walls, where and how they wanted, and so on....

the appropriate folks have their own keys.....

it's just a place of their own.

 

the next best thing is outside.... for an average meeting anyway.  It just seems like it would add a flavor to scouting that you don't get in a classroom, school cafeteria, or even a church function hall.... which still has that "school" feeling in a way....

 

Maybe a local library.... or perhaps a store, business, or warehouse type thing might have space for you for say an occasional quarterly indoor type meeting after business hours... then the other meetings could be in the park, or around a campfire someplace else....???

 

or perhaps at a farm or someone with a bit of land...one of the scouter's places perhaps.... small towns are a bit rural, so I would think open spaces are maybe a bit easier to come by....

 

just trying to brainstorm a bit more.