MARCH 10, 2021

[NO. 669 – 20TH YEAR OF HELPING SCOUTS, SCOUTERS, & PARENTS]

Hi Andy,

Looks like I only write you when things are going seriously awry, but thanks to your personal mission, I do know who to turn to when things aren’t right.

I’m a 20+ year volunteer and presently an Assistant District Commissioner (“ADC”) for a fairly large, multi-district council. We’ve had re-orgs in the past and it looks as though we’re starting yet another one. But where the earlier ones were transparent and inclusive, this one isn’t.

Some of my fellow commissioners and I have learned (afterwards) about meetings of staff and some volunteers held with no prior announcements, and they’ve been “closed sessions” as well. I know this for sure, because another ADC sent me the Zoom link for one of these, but when I attempted to “join meeting” I was locked out. In response to a quick text message about this that I quickly sent to my District Commissioner and District Executive, I was told I’m “not on the list,” but they promised me that they’d tell the Zoom Host to admit me. That never happened. I waited for over an hour to receive the invite confirming the session number and pass code, but that never happened. Plus, when I re-texted the DC and DE, neither responded.

Four days later, I still hadn’t heard from the DE, and then the DC told me that I’d been “transferred” to another district and I’d shortly be told which one!

Turns out my “new” district holds its commissioner meetings and district Roundtables at a location that’s more than an hour’s one-way drive from my home. When I pointed this out, I was switched to another, closer-to-home district and to three troops that I’ve served before and know well.

But then, when I met with each of the three troops’ “key three” (Chartered Organization Representative, Committee Chair, and, Scoutmaster), I learned that, thanks to a newly-drawn district “dividing line,” these troops have been “separated” from their former “feeder” Cub Scout packs! This, without any advance notice, or consultation, or actions of collaboration. It was simply done, thus giving three troops no traditional means of annual recruiting and three packs high and dry.

This isn’t the first time the DC and DE have lied to me. I’m truly puzzled about whatever happened to the Scout Law’s “Trustworthy” and “Courteous.” As a leader from one of the troops I served said, “None of these changes, or the way they were done, fits any part of the Scout Oath or Law.”

I’ve complained about the treatment of these six units all the way up the line and the only result is that the BSA national office has invalidated my “myscouting.org” name and password. I now have Internet access to my own records, to say nothing of my district’s and my unit contacts’ information!

Among other stuff I’m seeing…

Chopping out a fast-growing troop’s feeder pack (they have different sponsors, but are in the same general neighborhood and share their town’s schools!), leaving the troop high and dry.

The seemingly arbitrary forcing out of dozens of multi-decade volunteers (like me!).

“Behind closed doors” meetings and you only find out about them when you’re unilaterally reassigned or—worse—simply sent packing.

Is there anything that can be done to right our sails and proceed in a healthier (and more Scout-like) direction? (Loyal but frustrated ADC)

Probably not. If you and others are being shut out and ignored now, there’s little you’re going to be able to do to change this. In fact, you’ve already discovered that when you took some of your complaints “up the line.” (But it’s unlikely that the BSA national office was actually involved, because these folks have enough “fires” to deal with—like lawsuits and bankruptcy—and the last thing they need now is to get involved in local councils’ hairballs. Talk to your council’s registrar and see if you can get your “identity” back—and you’d best do this hat-in-hand and refrain from being belligerent or accusatory!)

In any corporate re-org (and I’ve gone through a couple of these in my professional career), there are the “ins” and the “outs.” The “ins” are a small group and cohesive; the “outs” are typically the rank-and-file, widely spread and usually with no “network.” This of course means you’re hardly alone. It’s just that you’re likely not closely connected with the majority of others who are being treated the same as you…or worse.

o what to do…

“Don’t try to fight city hall” is pretty good advice. “Ride it out and let them chew each other up” is also good advice. Don’t get on your high horse about “not living up to the Scout Oath and Law”… That’s preachy and petty. The Scout Oath in fact instructs us to “do our best” to live up to the points of the Oath and Law, and if you think about it, “our best” is indeed the best we can do! It’s just that, for these jokers, the bar’s been set a lot lower. Best to not get exercised about someone else’s inability to meet “your” standards.

All that said, there definitely is something you can do as a unit-serving representative of the BSA: You can focus on helping your units survive and thrive despite what’s being thrown at them right now. You do this by not allowing yourself to create or engage in a “unit-level pity party.” Instead, you’re the cheerleader (yes, CHEERLEADER!). Your units’ leaders need somebody who can think positively, who can find solutions to problems, who can keep them from self-destructing, who can find ways to dodge bullets and find a way around the cannon-fire.

If you’re up to it, this is the most important thing you can do! It will help your units the most! Here’s one example…

A Scout troop with a traditional “feeder pack” of Cub Scout who’ll graduate into that troop in time gets lazy. They start believing that it’s de facto that all that pack’s graduating Cubs will join their troop. It doesn’t occur to their key adults—the Scoutmaster and the troop’s chair and committee—that from at least December through February, it’s “open season” on Webelos Scouts who will soon graduate. Teach the troop you serve how to gently go after every pack in their town and—with your fellow commissioners—encourage every other troop in town to do the same.

When all the troops do this, it makes the pack leaders feel important and valued and it gives their graduating Webelos options instead of same-old, same-old. This changes the choice-dynamic for families: Instead of parents asking their son or daughter, “Are you gonna join Scout or play club or traveling soccer?” it becomes, “Which troop do you want to join?” This is a huge change in families’ thinking and it’s not only their offspring but Scouting itself that benefits!

Finally, let’s talk about you. If you continue to be unhappy and can’t shed that feeling, it’s time to go find something else that does make you happy. Because the simple fact is that if you’re not happy, no one around you is going to be happy, either. Give yourself the gift of happiness, whether it’s through Scouting or elsewhere—You deserve it!

Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay positive!
Happy Scouting!

Andy

I personally answer every message I receive. There’s no “writing staff”—just me. When writing, please include your name & council. If you’d rather be anonymous—if published—just tell me and I’ll honor that. Although these columns are copyrighted, you have my okay to quote or reproduce any column or part, so long as it’s attributed: “Ask Andy” by Andy McCommish.

[No. 669– 3/10/2021 – Copyright © 2021 Andy McCommish]