Leadership Levels?

[Eamonn]

This could be titled: A sad story with a happy ending.

For a number of years while I was busy trying to make some money I wasn't that active in Scouting. I sat on a couple of committees that didn't meet too often. Mainly stuff that had to do with camp. I was on the Council charter and did make a donation. Along came OJ. Along came Cub Scouting.I was busy, far too busy to get involved.

At Pack meetings I made sure that I sat at the back of the hall and left all the day to day stuff that a parent does to my beloved Wife. I was taking no chances. Soon the word went out that the Cubmaster was moving on, as was the Assistant Cubmaster and the Webelos Scout Den Leaders. I sat firm at the back of the hall. I was busy. Soon the word was that the Pack was going to fold. When OJ had all the money that he had paid into camp returned I thought to myself that these guys were serious and the pack was going to fold. I spoke with the priest and soon there I was the new Cubmaster. The New Cubmaster with not an idea how a American Cub Scout Pack was to be managed.

18 Cub Scouts. No Committee. 4 Den Leaders and after rechartering $21.85 in funds.

The departing Cubmaster had been very much a one man show. She held Leader meetings / Committee??? Meetings (We did have a charter rep.) In her home as and when she decided there was a need.

That year at School Sign up night we signed up 28 new Cub Scouts. Thanks in part to us making sure we were the pack that went into the Schools to do the Boy Talk. We sang silly songs. Read Green Eggs and Ham with puppets. We worked hard at it. We had pack picnics in my back yard and spent time with the parents and signed them on. We lucked out by having the greatest band of Tiger Cub parents ever all join at once. They were great. In fact most still are. We pushed resident Cub Scout camp and Day Camp.

Within 3 years we had 78 Cub Scouts and 22 Leaders all in uniform. We went through 3 Committee Chairs. And seen the pack be the driving force that re-opened the troop that had closed some 15 years before.

The pack is down a little bit right now with only about 60 Cub Scouts. At the last Wood Badge Course there were 8 Cub scouter's from the pack participating.

All this in a small town of under 5,000. With five other packs. The Cubmaster who followed me was Chairman for the local under 11 year old soccer league at the time he said that there was 350 kids turning out for soccer. I don't know how many kids there are in other sports and to be honest there isn't a lot of stuff close at hand for kids to do.

How is Cub Scouting doing in your neck of the woods?

Eamonn

[Bob White]

I visit a lot of the troop in our district while doing training or FOS presentations, and I am very pleased with the vast majority of what I am seeing. We have a pack for instance in a town of less than 2000 that is doing an amazing job. They have a growing leadership team, they have a well trained team and serve over three dozen cub scouts. I was blown away by their Blue and Gold. Action packed, decorated, great food, great entertainment.

 

There is another pack that is only 4 years old. They do a pack activity in addition to the pack meeting each month. Their numbers could be better but they serve a very small parochial school. But they have really active fun meetings and have crossed 100% of their Webelos into troops every year.

 

All in all I give our local packs a combined B+.

 

[Laurie]

So many exciting things are happening that I couldn't begin to list them all. I know... I started to, but the post went on and on and on and...

 

In a nutshell, the DE says we have a healthy district. All that I hear in meeting fellow Cub Scouters and Scouters bears that out (not that I'm not willing to take his word for it, but I do get to see the proof of it too, and that's pretty cool).

 

Leadership levels? From time to time leader training takes a hit, but the pack I serve is small but active and healthy and ready to hold some recruiting activities. It is leader training that is making the difference. The leaders who used the handbooks and came up with their own programs were fine leaders. However, they have less stress and more fun and feel like they are truly accomplishing something purposeful now that they better understand the program. YPT was the one I really pushed; we got our own Fast Start video to circulate; this is a good start. Anyone not trained for his/her current position is taking training soon and wants to. As leaders get trained, they want to attend Roundtables. In attending RTs, we have met fellow leaders. This has led to something we discussed this past week: a couple of packs getting together to have an informal but fun get-together. We have 3 places picked out and commissioners in support of this. This just might grow into a district-wide event of some sort--hard to say right now. I have been promoting the pack I serve and Scouting in general, and at this past RT, I shared a post I made here because of some private messages sent to me. It is being circulated, and it may be used to help with PR. And to me, this is downright exciting.

 

Cubs in this area? It's going well. Could it be better? Sure, but that's part of the excitement now: we are working as a leadership team within individual units and units are helping other units. When one unit struggles, others offer assistance and encouragment. I see Cubs getting better because the passion for the program is growing, and that's got to be good. My own sons? Only one is in a pack any longer, but both think it's "so cool" to have a mom this involved (maybe because I have added to the program--maybe because I stay out of their way--and ideally a blend of both ). My husband, a Scouter only, joined the Cub Scout committee because he caught the vision too. And our daughter: future crew member is my guess because she already thinks she is a Boy Scout--lol!

 

Thanks for asking Eamonn! And this is the short version--lol!

[fotoscout]

We are what has become a commuter town of about 17,000, with the RR station right smack in the middle of town. My pack is one of 4 in our little community. We average about 60-65 kids each year. From what Im told we are the strongest and most stable of the local packs. However, we are only able to field one den at each level. No one will step up and be the leader. Tell me what to do and Ill do it, but I wont be a leader, we even get this from the ADLs. Web I, Bears, and Tigers have two-deep leadership. We had 2 Web II dens, but they are gone now. All of the boys moved to BS! Neither of those dens had two-deep leadership. Actually Web I is 1 deep, our CM fills in to help but has no input. Basically, thats the same activity level we get from him as CM.

 

Our new Tiger leaders are excited about getting trained, and one of them makes an effort to get to RT. Unfortunately, one of the two of them works in the city and rides the train. His time during the week is very limited. I and my Asst DL are the only leader with a Trained patch. The Web II leaders who just left never did a bit of training, and the CM has only done CM specific, and I think he only did a portion of that.

 

Committee..ha! Not a good story, actually theres no story. Spouses.

 

Our Pack nights are good, simple but good. My den meets weekly, week in and week out, we also go on outings. The other dens try to meet every other week, but they always seem to have excuses for not meeting. The Wolves just got their Bobcat badge at B&G!

 

Pack trips, camping trip, Council camp attendance, Memorial Day Flag placement, etc, etc. Not one of them would lift a finger to do more than the absolute minimum to bring more of the program to the kids. Plan a trip, most of the leaders dont show. And of course, if the leader shows little interest, the kids dont show either.

 

As hard as weve tried, we cannot get more adults to commit as leaders.

 

 

What else happens in our little town? Soccer with 1200 kids playing fall and spring, 600 kids playing through the winter. Baseball with 1300 kids playing in the spring, 300 & climbing, playing in the winter. Wrestling, two new programs in the past five years for elementary school aged kids, Im told that the enrollment is around 350, during the fall and winter. Basketball, two different programs, about 500 kids during the winter. Karate, I havent a cue how many dojos are around town, my sons program has almost 300 kids in it. Lacrosse, taking off like a rocket in the younger age groups! There are about 250 young kids from our area playing in the league. Hockey, this one is interesting, slowing growing in popularity, only around 100 kids from our town. But because of the hours, these kids drop out of most other activities. Then theres football. Our program has about 600 young kids in the program.

 

Hes ranting again, Fotos lost his mind!!

 

Why did I go through this? This is the reason why we cant get parents to commit to Scouting. Most of these activities have volunteers running them. There are only a limited number of adults willing to volunteer their time and energies. That group of people is becoming thinner and thinner.

 

Unfortunately, as I visit other Packs and talk to my friends at RT, this is very common around here. Thats not to say that there arent pockets of greatness. But this seems to be the norm.

 

[Eamonn]

That great Tiger Cub Den that we had became the Wolf Den and none of the parents were willing to step up to the plate.

As Tiger Parents they had taken turns leading the Tiger Den in a theme for a month. So I put it to them that they could all be Den Leaders. I signed them up that way, mainly to ensure that they got the full Scouting Magazine. They sat in as part of the annual planning meeting and divied up who was going to take each month. As ever the more interested and involved parents started to take the lead do more and more. This won't work every time but it did wonders for pack 155.

Eamonn.

[fotoscout]

Our great Tiger den, with all its parents, who did a great job every month with the Tigers activities, soon became a Wolf den. Then a Bear den, still with all the great parents doing what ever is asked of them. Each September at the den Parents meeting the Adult Applications come out, and are discussed. Still no takers, they are involved in so many other things that they just wont make the commitment.

 

Here are my thoughts about signing them up as a group. First, I could not be so presumptuous as to sign them up without a desire on their part to be a registered leader in the BSA. Second, it would cost my pack money that we just dont have. Wed gladly spend the money on active leaders, but we cant go on a fishing trip with it. Third, if the parents of this den came to the yearly planning meeting, we would have to change the Pack number from its current number to Pack 3.since we are now Den 3. The planning meeting needs to be balanced with respect to all of the kids, and not overwhelmed by one age group.

 

[fotoscout]

I went to Webelos Leader Specific training last night. Not to my surprise, I learned that the leadership situation that I described for my pack was pretty much the same for all the packs represented by the attendees, and also the same for the trainers Packs. Although this was certainly not a very big group by any means, it certainly appears to be indicative of Scouting in this area.

 

I can even tell you about one large den where the parents decided that they wanted to have a Den Dinner without the kids. Basically a night out for the adults! But these people who are very happy with the program, and get along well, still won't sign the application.

[Eamonn]

Of course no one was signed up who didn't want to be. They had to fill out the application!!

As to the expense. It was by far the best spend money ever.

I have no idea what some people do at their planning meetings we covered the monthly themes working mainly from the program helps, the Council and District calender. Dates for B&G and other pack events. Having a few extra leaders from one den had little or no impact. Then there is the end result. The Cub Scouts received a first class program all through Cub Scouting. The pack resurrected a troop with one of the Tiger Parents as Scoutmaster, another as the Troop committee Chair, severaL others serve on the Committee or as ASM's. One serves on the District Committee another has gone on to be the Day Camp Director. Which is all OK but far more important is the fact that the boys who were Tiger Cubs are still in the program all these years later.

Please tell me a better way of spending money. I would love to hear it.

Eamonn

I nearly forgot six of them have taken Wood Badge and are working their tickets.(This message has been edited by Eamonn)