Linked or not linked?

[qwazse]

Our PLC doesn't vote so much as come to consensus. How much a girls patrol leader needs to attend depends on how many decisions they need to make in concert with the boys.

If you are doing the same campouts having the same activities at troop meetings you want to sync up with the other patrols in the troop.

[dkurtenbach]

Unless you're looking for a close relationship with the boys troop -- some shared meeting time (openings and closings), joint campouts and activities, etc. -- I'd suggest avoiding a shared committee.  A shared committee with the majority of the committee members from the boys troop is quite naturally going to be trying to fit the girls troop into the boys troop way of doing things.  If you're looking more at being a "cousin" troop than a "sister" troop, find a boys troop where the adults will be happy to help you get on your feet, consult, train, share equipment, etc.  At the same time, find a chartered organization that will support you in the way you'd like (it may or may not be the same CO as the friendly boys troop).  But be a separate troop with your own committee.  That will give you the freedom to shape the relationships you want. 

[qwazse]

51 minutes ago, dkurtenbach said:

... A shared committee with the majority of the committee members from the boys troop is quite naturally going to be trying to fit the girls troop into the boys troop way of doing things.  ...

I think a shared committee would only make sense if the TC of a boys' troop was "launching" the girls' troop. They would have already had a hand in picking the leaders, and the there would be extensive overlap. E.g., on paper, the SM for the boys was an ASM for the girls and the SM for the girls was an ASM for the boys. The success of such an endeavor would really depend on a unique set of personalities.

If the girls' troop was looking to take up residence at one of four possible CO's, that sounds to me like separate committees are in order. In the girls' troop, at best only 1/4 of the parents might have worked with the linked troops' committee before. But the boys' troop might loose a few good MC's that way. Volunteers can only spread their time across so many meetings.

When I ran my crew, we had separate committees with the smaller crew committee having about 20% overlap with the troop committee. The crew committee demanded far less time from members, so doing both wasn't much of an extension.

[Treflienne]

59 minutes ago, dkurtenbach said:

I'd suggest avoiding a shared committee. 

I'd love to have a thriving all girls troop.  Several patrols.  Scouts ranging from new cross-overs up to experience eagle scouts.   Plenty of experience adults (SM/ASM/committee) able to provide the support the girls need to do what they want to do. 

But the reality is:  We have no older experienced girls.  (Girl eagle scouts don't even exist yet.)  Of the three parents who have volunteered (without being pressed) to step up:  None has been a SM,  none has been an ASM, and none has been on a troop commitee.   I went and did the online SM training and I went to IOLS.   It's looking like I may be scoutmaster.   If so, I will need all the help I can get. 

1 hour ago, dkurtenbach said:

A shared committee with the majority of the committee members from the boys troop is quite naturally going to be trying to fit the girls troop into the boys troop way of doing things. If you're looking more at being a "cousin" troop than a "sister" troop, find a boys troop where the adults will be happy to help you get on your feet, consult, train, share equipment, etc.  At the same time, find a chartered organization that will support you in the way you'd like (it may or may not be the same CO as the friendly boys troop).  But be a separate troop with your own committee.  That will give you the freedom to shape the relationships you want. 

That sounds great.   Except we are so inexperienced that "trying to fit the girls troop into the boys troop way of doing things" may actually in the near term work better than trying to figure it out on our own.

The good side is that the several boys troops are encouraging the girls to visit all the troops,  see what they like,  and then collectively pick which troop to link with.   So the girls may get to pick between several different boys-troops-ways-of-doing-things.