Speaking of Chartered Orgs...

[TundraHawk]

Do y'all find that your COs take an active role with your pack/troop? What type of things do they do? I know what their "official" responsibilities are per the Cub Scout Leader Book, but I'd like to know y'alls experiences and what your expectations are for your CO.

 

Our former CO (we are between COs right now) wasn't involved with our pack, except for providing us with a place to meet and approving adult applications. Come to think of it, I've never even met our COR.

 

(edited to add...and that should have read "Charter Orgs" not "CharterED Orgs")

 

 

 

 

(This message has been edited by TundraHawk)

[Fuzzy Bear]

The challenge is to involve them in their stated responsibilities.

 

The other equally challenging act is to get the unit go to their CO as if they belonged to them. Also the unit should be challenged to: Do Good Turns for them, Have a Charter Presentation Ceremony with them, Request and get leaders from them, and Use the COR as a resource when planning and implementing their program.

 

These acts are more than enough.

 

FB

 

[SemperParatus]

Your former CO is probably the norm, in that they do the minimum that is expected and want little or know involvement with the unit. In some cases, that is a good thing in that the CO is not intrusive in unit operations.

 

Our CO (a church) views scouting as an important part of its youth ministry - not as the primary, but as a supplement for those with interest in what scouting has to offer. The CO provides the basics - meeting space, equipment storage, signing forms; but also supports us above and beyond - elaborate Scout Sunday services, church leaders showing moral support with attendance at COHs, promotion of scouting activities through CO bulletins, annual Scout Expo show on grounds, financial contributions, etc. The church gets good local press because of our units and genuinely shows its appreciation through support of the church leaders and parishoners.

 

As you search for a new CO, take the time to meet with the CO leadership and the proposed COR before 'closing the deal' and discuss how together you can establish a mutually beneficial relationship. Carefully listen to the CO prospect to understand what they are seeking in the sponsorship of your pack. And be honest with them as to what you would like from them as a CO.

[Eamonn]

The longer that I'm around this organization, the more convinced I'm becoming that we have the good, the bad and the ugly. This is true of units, districts, councils,leaders, commissioners and trainers.

A few years back I packed up the car with wife and kid and took everyone off to Philmont. I knew that our District and Council had soft spots, but hearing the goings on in other Districts and Councils was enough to curl my silver locks.

I have over the past few years made it part of my quest to improve things in our District. Looking at the big picture I seen it was just too big. I seen that I wasn't going to have much impact on the Scoutmaster who has been in office for ever, doing what ever it is /was that he has been doing no matter what I might have thought. Kinda like teaching a pig to sing.

I did see that we could do a better job working with our CO's.

In the past our DE's had been lax in meeting with our CO heads. This became a top priority. The Relationships Division at National has newsletters and updates for different organizations, we made sure that our CO Heads were receiving these. Where possible I went with the DE to these meetings. I took a unit report with me. How many boys had advanced, how many had attended summer camp, how many leaders had got trained. At these meetings we discussed what was and what wasn't working. We took this back to the Commissioners and the District Committee. To see what we could do to improve things. At times we had words with the adult members of the unit. At times this was a pat on the back and at times it was more along the lines of a wake up call.

At times trying to get hold of COR's is like a Snipe Hunt. We now send them postcards and E-mails reminding them about the District Committee meeting, so far we don't seem to be making much headway. Bad thing is that I think the leaders are having as bad as time as I'm having getting hold of these guys. Which is a breakdown in our lines of communication.

A couple of times a year we have Flare ups. Times when the Scout people and the CO people have a falling out. Most times these are about Scouts not taking care of the meeting place or leaving the bathrooms in a mess. These things happen and as a rule if they are taken care off quickly, things seem to fall back in to the normal routine.

We still have the units where people just don't get it, and we have a us and them. The Scout people think they are all alone and the CO doesn't take ownership of the unit. We as a district are trying to involve the CO. At times I think we are trying to dig a hole with a teaspoon, but we will just keep plugging away.

Eamonn