Need advice from Cub Scout Leaders

[pls5286]

Need advice from High Up Cub Scout Leaders Please. I am Cub Master for our Cub Scout Pack. We are in our second year so we are very young. However, this is not my first rodeo in scouts. I was Assistant Cubmaster with the Pack our Pack was essentially created from for 3 years. Here is where we are having problems. Our Charter Organization Rep is essentially going off on her on and making decisions on her own not doing her job at all. She decided to change all of our Pack Meetings to another day because it suited her schedule better. This was after the Pack Schedule had been published for the year. Today as I am getting ready to send out reminders for leaders meeting for tomorrows meetings, I call to confirm that we have the building, and she has not put us on the schedule. She is looking to make my year very very difficult this year. I have a meeting tomorrow. It is cool and rainy and no building to hold a meeting in. She is the go between between the pack and the church.

 

[Demosthenes]

Need advice from High Up Cub Scout Leaders Please. I am Cub Master for our Cub Scout Pack. We are in our second year so we are very young. However, this is not my first rodeo in scouts. I was Assistant Cubmaster with the Pack our Pack was essentially created from for 3 years. Here is where we are having problems. Our Charter Organization Rep is essentially going off on her on and making decisions on her own not doing her job at all. She decided to change all of our Pack Meetings to another day because it suited her schedule better. This was after the Pack Schedule had been published for the year. Today as I am getting ready to send out reminders for leaders meeting for tomorrows meetings, I call to confirm that we have the building, and she has not put us on the schedule. She is looking to make my year very very difficult this year. I have a meeting tomorrow. It is cool and rainy and no building to hold a meeting in. She is the go between between the pack and the church.

Is your Pack Committee in place? Your Pack Committee Chairperson should, with the input of the members of the committee, create an annual calendar. Changes to that calendar are approved by the pack in committee meeting. It sounds like your Charter rep needs training, but so does your committee chair. They should both start with Fast Start (available online at www.scouting.org). Most new leaders want to do the best by the boys and parents; they just need a little training. I am a Venture Crew Leader, and our Committee Chair was making the same kinds of mistakes. I sat down with her and went through the online training available. We also attended university of scouting (for NEGA that is the first weekend in December; what council are you in?) That will offer basic training.

 

[RF536]

Where is your Pack Committee Chair, that is the person who should be handling the scheduling of meetings and dealing with the Charter Organization Rep? While your charter organization rep. does have the right to participate in the committee meetings, she has no right to change when the meeting are, that is the responsibility of the pack committee chair. What decisions is she making, again the pack committee chair runs the pack, the charter organization rep. has a vote like any other committee member but does not have decision making abilities.
I would inform her when the meetings are and that they are not to be changed.

If she continues to cause problems then I would go to the minister or someone else at the church to get this straightened out. I had a problem last year with our representative from the church not wanting to fill out the adult leader application, and I ended up getting the minister at the church to fill out the paperwork.

If the problem contiunes you may need to look for a different charter organization. I know that this is not ideal, but if the charter organization rep. is causing problems for the pack it may be time to find a new one.

 

[pls5286]

Our Pack Committee is in place and we have been trained, everyone but her. Our Pack meetings were decided when they would be held when our pack was created. She changed them on her own. Without consulting any of us. And has put us on on the Church calender and the church has scheduled other events on the dates that we had originally scheduled some of our Pack meetings. She does not want to go to training and just wants to do things her way.

 

[RF536]

Not receiving training is not an option, she must at least have Youth Protection training. What decisions is she making, again she has no decision making authority only a vote within the committee. Is there anyway you can find a new charter organization rep., it seems that she is working against the pack and will end up hurting the program. You have enough to do without fighting your charter organizational rep. Is it possible to get someone from your council to attend one of your committee meetings and explain to her what her role is in the committee. Your council might also have some suggestions on how to handle the situation, and what steps you need to take to get back on track.

I am the pack committee chair for my local cub scout pack, and I have found that my council is very helpful when I have questions or just need some new ideas. While my pack is not new, myself, the cubmaster, assistant cubmaster, treasurer, and secretary are all new last year, so we have had a lot of learning to do and have had lots of questions.