Everything Went Wrong - And I Had A Blast

[Eamonn]

In the past we have held a Corn Roast. This is the kick off meeting for the new Scouting year.We covered a lot of stuff at this meeting. Maybe too much? We handed out the popcorn packets to the units and covered School Sign Up.

A couple of years back the District Committee decided that we needed to spend more time on Sign Up, so we added an ice cream social. This year some bright spark in the Council Service Center said that we couldn't hand out the popcorn packets at the Corn Roast and we had to have a Popcorn Training. To make matters worse we had to do it at the Ice Cream Social.

I wasn't very happy. I moaned and groaned and sent E-mails to the pros. At one stage I was winning the SE said that we could hand out the popcorn packets at the Corn Roast, but the Council Popcorn chair worked on him and he then said that we couldn't. Not long after it was in the Council newspaper that the popcorn packets would be passed out at a Popcorn Training which would be on the same night as the Ice Cream Social.

Our District Popcorn Chair. Is the mother of four and she informed me that she couldn't make it. No problem, I can do that. I said.

I was out and about all day. I return home to a message from the Membership Chair. He is in hospital!! No problem, I will have to do that.

I have a power point presentation ready for the popcorn stuff but it all revolves around a DVD that Trails End has made. One of the pros is bringing it from the Service Center.

The meeting is at the Camp site. The key is in a box with a combination on the box. The Box refuses to open. They have changed the combination!! I phone a friendly camp master he gives me the wrong combination. By now the windows which are all locked are becoming very tempting. OJ, is playing with the lock box. We try all the easy combinations (it's letters) We try BSA no luck. We try the first three letters of the camp name - Again no luck. Going back to the camp masters wrong combination we come up with the idea that this is close to the name of the other building which is named for a departed Scouter. His real name was Edison but everyone called him Pete. So we replaced the "E" with a "P" and we were in. The ice cream was nice and soft by now!!

We unload tons and tons of papers. We have popcorn papers, School Sign up papers, posters yard signs the whole nine yards. OJ sets up the A/V stuff a laptop and a projector. The pro from the office arrives. Soon I have him mixing up bug juice. OJ, is doing a dry run on the power point. I ask where the DVD is? He has brought a VHS tape!! We don't have a VCR !! So dispatch someone to go to my house to pick up a VCR.

Of course we don't tell anyone.

I start into the joys of School Sign Up Night. I am doing this by the seat of my pants. Soon I have everyone singing silly Cub Scout repeat after me songs. In the past we have set goals for the units, tonight I ask them unit by unit to set the goal and shout it out. I then chided them into adding one or two more. The VCR arrived. We break for cookies and soft served ice cream. We do the popcorn stuff. I suggest that every family be set a goal of $500 in sales. I thought that this would land me in hot water - It didn't, so I explain the scholarship and $2,000 in sales they ask if they get the scholarship and the prizes. We get two more units to sign up for the sale.

By now I am worn out. But boy did I have fun.

We need 180 Cub Scouts for Quality District. The goals that they set will bring in over 200.

We need 10 Boy Scouts their goals will bring in over 60. We need 2 Venturers their goal will bring in over 30.

The Pro from the Service Center said as he was leaving "I thought that you didn't want to do this?"

Eamonn

[boleta]

Sounds like you did a fantastic job. Now the real challenge begins. Get 4 or 5 more adults to be your assistants so you can spread the "fun" around.

[Eamonn]

In 16 months and 3 days, my term as District Chairman will be over. The new Chair has been selected. He has been busy working with the Finance Committee. In 2005 he will become the District Vice Chair. And I while I'm unsure what I am going to do in the District or Council, will be busy serving on the Area Committee.

The next year is going to be a little rough. We have a new DE, who is new to the profession. In fact this is his first job since college. The Vice Chair. Is a super nice chap. A father to a Lad in the District, active in the community and president of our small home town bank. He was a Cub Scout (My Mother in-law was his Den Mother) But was never a Boy Scout. He is not going to have the time that I put in, but I'm aware that I stuck my nose into a lot of stuff that really wasn't in my job description.

At times me being a program person worked against me, or I allowed it to work against me.I have to admit that I don't think that this role and I were a perfect fit. I enjoy being where the people are. Not that we don't have people on the District Committee!! In fact I take a lot of pride in the fact that we no longer have Committees of one. As was the case when I took office. Working with the Nominating Committee we now have a lot of good people working in all areas of the District. Sad to say we only had one person in charge of popcorn!!

My role on the Area Committee will be done near the end of 2007, after the World Jamboree. What follows that is so uncertain that I haven't really given it much thought. I will go where I'm asked to go. If I'm not asked I hope to remain as a member of the Council at large.

Eamonn.

[boleta]

I am also a District Committee Chairman. We have the fantastic individual members of the Committee who do the heavy lifting, just as Eamonn did here. They have 2 or 3 jobs and do them well. But, they are overextended and need help. I find the hardest part of the job to be getting interested members of the District to get active.

BSA has created a dysfunctional arrangement. The Committee is supposed to be made up of the Charter Organization Representatives. At each meeting we have 3 or 4 CORs out of 20 attend. This, in spite of repeated calls and e-mails asking for their attendance. I propose regularly that CORs that do not attend the District Committee meeting be appointed an assistant from their unit who wants to and can attend. This to no avail.

All of the other members are Scouters who are interested in Training or Programs or Membership and do all of the work. They are hard to find, difficult to replace and need help.(This message has been edited by boleta)

[Eamonn]

Hi Boleta,

We have 48 units in the District, which are chartered by 21 different organizations. Like you we don't get that great a turn out for COR's at any of the meetings. Like you we have sent post cards to each and everyone of them, for each and every meeting. We used to get two or three, we are now up to five or six.

It is a sad fact of life that most of the people who now make up the District Committee are friends of mine. Sure they are a very diverse bunch, but they are people that I knew who I could ask to serve and would. It is sad that nearly all of them like me. I didn't invite my enemies!! Some of these people had little or no Scouting knowledge before and what they have now has mostly come from our DE and myself. I am aware that one of the reasons that I was asked to do this job was because I knew so many people thanks to being a business owner in the community for 17 years. Still, while none of these people are what might be called "Yes Men." I know that in most cases they will follow my lead.

Needless to say I think that I'm a very fair level headed nice guy. But to my mind it would be far better if the committee was not so one sided.

As an example. My ongoing battles with our Field Director are well known. I am not one to suffer in silence. We now have Committee members who don't like him and they have never met him.

I know that I have overplayed my hand with the nominating committee, but I needed people to do the work that needed to be done. In time if things go well things will sort themselves out but when I think of someone else bringing all their old cronies on board it makes me shiver!!

Eamonn