Boy led, but adult driven

[Brewmeister]

Even though the troop should be boy led, adults must often be recruited to drive scouts to the venues of various activities.

 

What are some of the ways you have found to be effective to get the adults you need to support the transportation (and other adult needs) of the program?

[Second Class]

Simple. If we don't have enough seats to get us all there, we don't go. (this has never happened).

 

We're not going to pick and choose who doesn't get to go. We've had parents drive, drop off and go home, to return on Sunday to pick up the boys.

 

In addition, before they join our troop, we let them know that we expect them to help with driving at least twice a year.

 

 

[Scoutfish]

Same as above: If we can't get enough drivers, we don't go.

 

WE are not about to pick who can go.

 

[Brewmeister]

I never considered not going as an option.

 

At the Pack level, our practice was always, "we are having XYZ event, you are responsible for getting your scout there. If you want to carpool you have to make your own arrangements with others who are going."

 

I am finding on the troop level the practice is, "We are having XYZ event, we need X number of seats/drivers."

[qwazse]

1. Be very grateful for every driver.

2. Have reimbursement plan for fuel for someone who is above average in expense (e.g., pulls the trailer).

3. Make sure every driver knows that fuel expense can be considered a charitable contribution for tax purposes.

4. Have the boys factor in fuel costs for long trips or if you just want to have a reimbursement policy for every trip.

 

Don't worry over the fella who hasn't driven.

[Scoutfish]

Well, maybe I should have said:

 

That is the threat we use....so far we haven't had to cancel

[Scoutfish]

I guess one thing that helps us is that most of our scouts are not twins or brothers. Only one set of parents ( that I know of) have two sons in scouting, in our troop.

 

So that usually means everybody can carry at least one more scout.

 

Being that we are in NC, about half our parents and leaders drive crew cab trucks. They have room for 5 scouts and are able to put any gear that does not go into our scout trailer, into the back of the truck, and use the full seating for scouts.

 

I drive a regular cab, gas sucking, cranky as all get out, communist vehicle from hell that is disguised as a 1995 Ford F-150.

 

Since I am going to be a leader at summer camp in a few weeks, I am driving our van and pulling our scout trailer.

 

I should be able to carry 5 more passengers aside from my self. Given that one will be my son, I can carry four more people with me.

 

The AC is going for the first half of the week and drives a Toyota crew cab truck, so he can carry 3 more with him aside from his own son( SM will be there for second half of week and dives a van/SUV thingy).

 

Two more leaders who drive crew cabs are going, so they can carry 3 more scouts aside from their own sons also.

 

Right now, that give us seating for 17 scouts.

 

As far as I know, only 15 are going to this particular camp( Camp Bowers - Cape Fear Scout Reservation) while another 16 will be going to Camp Boddie next week or the week after.

 

 

Our CC drives an airplane...Ooops..... I mean a Lincoln Town Car, so she could fit 5 more scouts into the car aside from herself if need be.

 

Our treasurere drives a Crown Vic, so that means that she could also take 5 more with her too if need be.

 

So anyways, as I said before - we haven't had to cancel anything yet, but we do make the threat that if we are in a position that many scouts could not make a trip just because we couldn't get enough drivers - then we will not go on that trip.

 

At what point do we decide that this scout or that scout is not worthy or that another scout is more worthy of a trip?

 

Not saying that we cancel because one scout cannot attend.

 

I am saying that if we have 17 scouts who are planning on going, have permission slips, have had meetings and PLC meetings before hand, have made plans abouit this for a while, and suddenly we only end up the transportation for 10 or 11 scouts...then we will not go.

 

 

If it was a case of a scout not going because of some other circumstances, we are not going to cancel a trip.

 

And if circumstances work out where a leader is showing up later ( just say because of...work ) , and that is the only ride the scout can get ...we have the parents fill out and sign an circumstance specific permission form so the scout can go. You know...parent gives " name here " - as a friend of the family - permission to carry son to and possibly from scout activity.

 

Again, not something that has happened yet, nor is it something we strive for, but we have a plan in place if it does.

[Kudu]

 

Pick and choose who gets to go with:

 

First Come, First Served -- Monthly Permission Slips:

 

A month in advance, a 8.5 x 11" information sheet about the next campout:

 

WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, FEE, DEPARTING & RETURNING times, LEADERS IN CHARGE (with cell phone numbers), DRIVING DIRECTIONS.

 

Boiler-plate description of the campout (Webelos III or High Adventure).

 

"Special Considerations" section for High Adventure treks, mostly gear information: Remember that High Adventure tends to attract outdoor parents who do not attend regular BSA Webelos III monthly outings.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

RETURN COUPON at bottom of page:

 

Name & Date of campout, Name of Scout, Guardian giving permission, Current phone numbers, Another Responsible Party (and current phone number), Payment Amount.

 

CAN YOU DRIVE?

 

If "Yes," then: I HAVE ROOM FOR ____ SCOUTS.

 

If "No," then: MY SON(s) WILL RIDE WITH ________

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

See:

 

http://inquiry.net/outdoor/equipment/coh_campout.htm

 

Return coupon provides a convenient record on your clipboard of trip information for each Scout.

 

Making the Scouts or their parents ask other parents about transportation provides adult peer-pressure to share driving responsibilities.

 

Providing driving directions enables parents to envision the trip. Unexpectedly, it gets some parents to think of making a weekend vacation of a long trip. One grandmother always stayed with relatives in the area while we backpacked twice a year in the National Forest (of the trip detailed at the above URL).

 

I started using informational Permission Slips to improve communication in a Troop in a rough neighborhood. Most of the Scouts had jobs and paid their own way, so they weren't in the habit of asking their parents for camping money. As a result, it happened that one month two brothers somehow forgot to tell their parents about the campout. When we returned their mom said, "We didn't see them Friday night, but noticed their packs were missing (frequent Patrol overnights). When they still were not back by Saturday afternoon, we figured they must have gone on a Troop campout."

 

Yours at 300 feet,

 

Kudu

http://kudu.net

(This message has been edited by Kudu)

[qwazse]

K,

 

How much of your permission slip info (location, dates of trip, etc ...) was completed by the PLC? Or did you do it in their presence? Or did you do make up the slip on your own after they settled on the calendar and a rough plan?

 

I'm still trying to figure out the right balance between having youth complete tour plans, make announcements, etc ... Ideally a crew VP admin or VP program would do this, but with my 18 y.o. venturers going off to college or war as soon as they become proficient with paperwork, my VP's are more equivalent to SPL's.

 

So, I figure how you and other SM's would involve their SPL in the process would parallel how I should be involving crew VPs.

[Brewmeister]

Remember that High Adventure tends to attract outdoor parents who do not attend regular BSA Webelos III monthly outings.

 

I have no idea why you so frequently need to work in this pejorative into an otherwise-helpful response. Is this just a nervous tick or something? What does mentioning the nonexistent "Webelos III" add to the discussion AT ALL?

[Tampa Turtle]

We go by:

(1) Sons of Leaders who are going on trip go automatically. (so we dont lose adults--even if they are not driving)

(2) Senior Boy Leadership. (SPL, ASPL, QM--they are often too busy working to get all the paerwork in)

(3) In order of response,paid permission slip.

 

Once we hit the limit we start a stand-by list. There is usually a parent willing to drive his son of he really needs to. That can be an inducement.

 

I screw things up--I have two sons but usually cannot drive the one family vehicle. On the offer hand we have a Troop van. But it has been close.

[resqman]

We have 1 SM and about 6-8 ASMs. We have permission slips turned in at least 1 week but preferrably 2 weeks before a trip. We count heads. If not enough drivers, we send out email to the troop dist list requesting more drivers. So far no problems. Been tight once or twice waiting to the last minute.

 

Last month was more difficult because we had two trips to different parts of the state the same weekend. We needed a miniumn of 4 uniformed adults with YPT. We had 5 so had enough leaders and vehicles.

[Kudu]

 

qwazse writes:

 

"Or did you do make up the slip on your own after they settled on the calendar and a rough plan?"

 

Yes, the permission slips were based on the PLC's annual planning session in August. I did them on my own: Just standard boiler-plate stuff that only took a couple of minutes to cut and paste from the Troop Website.

 

We did not waste leadership talent on a "full-time" SPL, because we needed our best Natural Leaders for Patrol Hikes, and camping 300 feet apart. Usually the most "senior" (mature) of the Patrol Leaders would attend Committee meetings with me, and maybe call for reservations and fill out tour permits, but getting teenagers to jump through paper hoops depends on the personalities of a Troop's Patrol Leaders at any given time. Some 15yos are as good at such office skills as adults, some gifted outdoor leaders could not care less. Some are good at both: The missing brothers' Patrol camped out almost every Friday night, but the Patrol Leader also liked leadership theory.

 

As for our Brewmeister's question: Organized Scouts who hand in their Permission Slips early, will nail down the available rides first. Tampa: If that excludes the Senior Patrol Leader and all his ASPLs, then good riddance! If it excludes a Patrol Leader, then maybe he is not very organized (After I added the request for transportation details, we always had enough seats).

 

qwazse writes:

 

"So, I figure how you and other SM's would involve their SPL in the process would parallel how I should be involving crew VPs."

 

Remember that in Baden-Powell's Patrol System, the Patrol Leaders' primary responsibility is leading Patrol Hikes without "adult association." You might want to read John Thurman's "fly on the wall" PLC meeting where the Patrol Leaders report on their individual Patrol Hikes and outline their ideas for the next Troop campout, but actually delegate the creative and logistic details of the Troop campout to the adult leaders:

 

http://inquiry.net/patrol/court_honor/coh_session.htm

 

Yours at 300 feet,

 

Kudu

 

[acco40]

Come to the realization that life isn't fair. There will be parents that offer to drive to every event and other parents who will find an excuse to not drive ever.

 

After driving Scouts to and from outings for seven years as a Scoutmaster, I was offered gas money only once by a Scout (oh, yeah, my mom said to give you this). I didn't blame any of the Scouts.

 

Now, for pure numbers, we had the same type information on our permission slips as Kudu and also had a line with "Can you pull the troop trailer" (plus a database on insurance coverage for each automobile as required by the tour permits at the time). I let the adults coordinator worry about transportation issues - I had enough issues on my plate.

 

That was one of the few planning items that I took off the youth's plate.