Real District Service.

[ScoutNut]

SR751Fox, I am confused. If your Quality District, in your Quality Council does not expect it's Unit Commissioners to actually visit the units they serve, then what DO they expect them to do? How do they know what their units are doing, or if they are in need of help or counseling. How do they serve their units? How do they manage to fill out their UC Worksheets for their units? What is the point of their attending the Commissioners meeting if they have not visited their units that month? What would they report on?

 

BTW - I am also in a Quality Unit, a Quality District & a Quality

Council.

[SR751Fox]

>>If your Quality District, in your Quality Council does not expect it's Unit Commissioners to actually visit the units they serve, then what DO they expect them to do?> BTW - I am also in a Quality Unit, a Quality District & a Quality

Council.

[Lisabob]

A couple of thoughts on district service and "quality."

 

I've had the experience of working in a unit that needed district service pronto or else there would be no unit. That's how I became a scout leader. Up to then I was mainly "just a parent" with a minimal committee assignment.

 

When we really needed it, our UC and a whole host of other district people suddenly arrived on the scene. I'm glad they did, though at the time I questioned their utility; they didn't seem interested in "fixing" our problem, which is mainly what I wanted from them. What they did do was to provide support and encourage some of the more stubborn among us to step up and become leaders. Bone headed move on my part but yeah, they got me. (I blame them for all the fun I've had since then as a Scouter!) Turns out this was their goal - develop leadership from within the unit rather than impose it from without. In this regard I agree with SR751fox.

 

Now I would like to have seen the UC be more involved with the unit to start with. Had he been, maybe, he could have helped us avoid crisis mode. As it was, no one in the unit even knew who he was until after the crisis hit. If he had attended any of our meetings prior to this, it must've been in "stealth" mode; I can't see how he could have honestly claimed to be in "close contact." How much of this was his fault? Hard to say - I later heard he had been assigned to 5 or 6 units, held a couple of other district positions, was staffing a WB course with all that goes into developing that, and I know he frequently worked out of town. So maybe the fault lies elsewhere in the district for over-burdening existing leaders. But in this regard, I agree with Eamonn; a pro-active, rather than re-active, district staff could've been helpful to the unit.

 

As for the professional staff. As you might imagine, the prospect of a unit folding caught the attention of our DE and since then I've gotten to know him pretty well. Thank goodness he isn't like some of the DE's I've seen described on this board! He is nearly always available to answer questions (usually correctly!), ready with a smile and, incidentally, another training session or program that I ought to convince our unit to attend. I credit him with helping me see what the possibilities were for a unit to create a great program and grow in the process. Sure, this helped him look good too. But this is how it ought to work - the pro's give support to the units. The units thrive. This helps the pro's meet their goals. None of the silly games and fudging that some have described. Oh, and by the way, our professional staff (at least at the district level) is remarkably stable over time so there are few incentives to play for the short term and then skip out of town just ahead of their latest mess.

 

Quality Unit? Sure, it's a bit laughable sometimes and people fudge it too, we all know that. I think it is all in what you choose to make of it. If that's the high water mark for your unit then maybe you need to reach a little. If you aren't earning it? Something is very likely missing from your program. The units I've come to know who say "well it's just a game and doesn't matter to us" tend to be missing some pretty BIG parts of the program! So while I'm never going to base my personal assessment of a unit solely (or even mainly) on the fact that they have QU patches on their sleeves, a lack of QU status is something I want to know more about.