Who Should Attend Committee Meetings

[5thGenTexan]

Is it always appropriate for den leaders to attend den meeting or just let the committee members do their thing and tell the den leaders what they need to know?  If a den leader is there should they provide any input or suggestions or just sit in the back and be quiet?

 

(Asking as a 1st year Den Leader)

[David CO]

Not always. Some issues should be handled in a closed session.

[ParkMan]

In our pack, we always wanted the den leaders to attend.  So much of what we covered involved them.  Pack meeting plans, campout plans, join Scouting plans, advancement, etc.  These always had some impact on, and needed the involvement of, the den leaders.  So, we were glad to have them.

If your pack is organized in a way that you cover this in a different forum, then it may be less important.

 

[qwazse]

Except for issues like camperships or waiving dues for specific scouts - which involves some privacy - committee members benefit from the presence of DLs at their meetings. But that starts asking for more than one hour a week from your DL!

[The Latin Scot]

Wow I thought this was a joke at first ... As a den leader, I would be appalled if I wasn't invited into the monthly committee meetings. In fact all parents, den leaders, and interested parties expected to be at our committee meetings, and we have a great program going. But I would hesitate to be part of any program where the den leaders, the very core of the Cub Program, are not welcome. 

[Jameson76]

Somebodies got to do the jokes and heckles from the back of the room, they aren't writing themselves

[ParkMan]

I understand that some packs have a Cubmaster/den leader program  meeting and a separate committee meeting.  The committee is just business talk.  

Unless you're a huge pack, I like the combined model myself.

[EmberMike]

Since the majority of my Pack's committee is Den Leaders, the committee meetings would be pretty quiet if we weren't there. 

 

[5thGenTexan]

1st of all I'm a first year Tiger DL that has been involved all of 5 months now.  I don't know enough about whats going on to have any valuable input in the meeting.  As far as I can tell DLs aren't voting members.  I kinda feel I would be better off waiting for the CM telling what I need to know.  Already in IMO overstepped by asking the CC something and he told me it was something to bring up in the committee meeting.  Last night it came to me that I had too many ideas and just making the CMs life harder than it needs to be.  I feel like I haven't served the time to deserve to be in that room and as a newbie need to keep my ideas to my myself...  In a nut shell.

[ParkMan]

Welcome to Scouting.  Thank you for volunteering!

It sounds like you're enjoying Scouting and will have a tremendous impact on the Scouts in your den.  In my experience, Packs all have a certain culture.  Coming in and trying to change things can result in lots of extra work for those other volunteers around you.  That's when leaders get frustrated.

As a new leader, my recommendation would be to attend the meetings and learn. During that initial time, attend the meetings and see what goes on.  You will very quickly go from being the new leader to one of the experienced folks in the room. Having been there will be very helpful in a few months when the next group arrives.

Having a bigger impact on the pack is easy once you figure out what the Cubmaster is trying to do.  Figure out his goals and how you can align yours with the CM's.

[plumchas]

Greetings,

 As a father to a new cub scout (Tiger) I would like to weigh in on this topic. As an outsider's view, I see the Den Leaders as the backbone of our pack. We have a medium ish sized pack of 80+ scouts. I feel we as a pack are asking a lot  for the den leaders to shoulder. I have recently been accepted onto our committee as the Outdoor Activities Director. I could never imagine planning any programming or events without the advise of the Den Leaders. However, the committee meeting is a place to conduct pack business not to conduct den meeting programming and planning. We do have den leaders as part of our committee, but they have separate roles during the meeting  and representing the committee to the pack. A clear written out structure and job duties/responsibilities goes a long way to help ease the confusion of Committee/versus Den. At least it has for me. This model probably could not work for every pack, since much smaller packs will have to adapt to lack of adult volunteers. Much larger packs, need to and should be ran more like a business, as far as structure goes. The BSA guidelines for committees is just that a guideline, and can be adapted to fit your  packs needs.  Our pack is going through major leadership change due to aging out of scouts, and the parents want to move with them to the troop. So far as I can tell we are on the right path, its just taking some time to get up to speed. Bright things appear on the horizon!!

[RememberSchiff]

@plumchas , welcome to scouter.com

[blw2]

yeah, my old pack's committee was mostly the den leaders....and I as cubmaster was basically the defacto committee chair.

    not that I wanted it that way....

The way I feel would work best...in theory (assuming a properly staffed and active committee separate from the 'program' scouters)..... Just as I had posted recently about PLC meetings....I think a great analogy is a stereotypical corporate meeting

the key players, voting members if you will, all have a seat at the table.  It's their meeting.  They can invite others in as guests for various purposes. 

• to listen for awareness
• to answer questions or give input
• to present information
• etc.

these guests might stereo typically be seated in chairs against the wall, not at the table.....   I think if everyone had that in mind....in attitude and in spirit, not in rigid 'seating chart' protocol, then I think things would work nicely.  I agree with David in CO is right that sometimes there could in theory be things where others shouldn't be there for.

Another reason I think they should not be 'required' is that the DL's are the hardest working positions if it's done right..... they are running weekly meetings.  they have enough on their plates.

Personally, I think this 'spirit' would be good to carry through most all scouting 'business' meetings...pack committee's, troop committee's, PLC's....

   basically, it's important I think for everyone to know their place...are they a "voting member" or a visitor.

and that generally DLs would have an open invitation and be 'encouraged' to attend

[ParkMan]

Welcome to the forum @plumchas!

Removing extra tasks from the den leaders is a great idea.  They indeed have the hardest job in Cub Scouting.

We had a Committee Chair who led the meetings.  We had a treasurer and advancement chair.  We didn't fill the other pack committee roles.  What I think I found is that our committee meeting really was a pack leadership meeting - probably 50% pack committee and 50% Cubmaster/den leader meeting.  We didn't really ask them to do a lot extra, but they were generally involved in all the decisions about what was going on.

[Eagledad]

I believe anyone should be allowed to attend committee meetings. How the meetings are run determines who wants or needs to attend them. Each unit is different.

Special closed meetings are called for sensitive discussions. And I find the fewer the better for those meetings.

Barry