Growing Troop Membership

[roguedawg]

I did not find this topic on any of the threads, but I wanted to start one to come up with ideas to encourage scout dads to get more involved with their sons and the troop. We all know as leaders that if a boy is not getting parental support, they generally do not flourish and grow. My dad, my brother and myself had a great time in scouts. So I will start out the thread with one way that worked for us in T-11.

 

When my dad took over the troop, we only had about 8 boys, 1 SM, 1 ASM, and 2 CM. Of course my dad wanted the troop to grow. So he bought a dutch oven and started to cook meals with it. His whole idea was -- if dad's come on a campout, he wanted to make sure that the following:

 

1) They had a good hot meal,

2) A good nights sleep,

3) A relaxing time.

 

Good meals - as the saying goes, "A way to a man is through his stomach." So feed the men good meals. The first year, he put a push on to cook good meals. He demonstrated to the new dads how to use a dutch oven. He would not allow them to help out. He told them to just sit down, drink their coffee and eat a donut. The following campouts, the dads got really interested in cooking (and eating). So he let them help out a little. Some of the dads would even volunteer to help clean up. He would get questions like, "What are we eating this time?" or "I would like to have this on the next campout."

 

A good nights sleep - when the troop was young, we all camped together. After a while, the leaders got tired of speaking to the boys after lights were out because they were making too much noise. So the leaders made their own campsite about 50 feet away. This is good since the boys need to self-rule and they don't need adults solving all their problems. So in the leaders campsite, people that wanted to stay up past taps could sit around the campfire and talk quietly. Those who wanted to hit the hay early could do so.

 

A relaxing time - As the troop got older, we had some boys that could drive. Since they could not carry scouts in vehicles, they could carry camping gear. They would get to camp early and set up the leaders campsite before they got to camp. The men would meet at church and bring the scouts down to camp. When they arrived, us older scouts would grab their gear, put it in the tent and instruct the dads the direction to the coffee pot. The dads would try to help the boys set up camp, but the SPL would tell them that he was in charge and everything was in control. It would end up that instead of working all week at regular work and then having to work on the week-end, they could come, camp, and just relax. They would soon learn that the best troops are the ones where the boys lead them.

 

In about two years we noticed that the men would want to get involved more in the troop. So we offered them the troop committee. They would come and help out more. Instead of complaining why things were done a certain way, they could help out and change things. So they did. We also told the men that they were part of the leaders patrol. So the men started to act like a patrol. So the comradery would kick in. Instead of finding excuses not to participate, they would find excuses to camp. Some camp outs we had more men in attendance than scouts. Some of the scouts would wuss out and attend a school dance, but the dads would buddy up and attend a camp out. We even had dads that stated that they "hated camping", attend polar bear camp outs. They didn't hate camping, they just did not like the discomforts of poor meals, working, and lack of sleep.

 

T-11 grew to about 55 boys and 15-20 adults and maintained this for about 12 years. So I know that it works. Of course there were other factors as well not just the three listed above, but a small troop has to have a starting point. I hope this thread will help some troops to grow. It took about 3-4 years for the troop to be built up, so it does not happen overnight. Enjoy and God bless. RD

 

Please add your ideas. Let's work together.

[baschram645]

Rogue,

Sounds like your dad was a heck of an SM.

 

[roguedawg]

I have to admit my dad had the gift of gab and salemanship a well as leadership. So I hope I will end up as good as he was. Of course I have met other leaders that were just as good that I have learned from. That is one of the good things about the internet and forums like this. I wish I had access to this when I was younger. You can learn a lot from the internet, but mentoring can't be replaced. As John Maxwell says, "If you want to be a good leader, learn from leaders better than you." I have not heard anyone complain about his leadership book series. Try them out. RD