Council, District and Unit Commissioners
Daniel King, Council Commissioner
Click here to view the new Centennial Quality Unit Award Requirements for
2010
Announcements -
New
Winnebago Council --- 2010 UNIT
CHARTER RENEWAL
The
Commissioner's Corner
Webelos Transition Requirements
Unit Re-charter system will
be turned on March 1st. Your unit registration
Code will be available at February Roundtable.
Remember to add $1 per person (Youth and Adult) for group accident
insurance.
Beginning in March Units will have access to the
Internet Re-Chartering system. At the February Roundtable Unit
passwords and instructions will be available. With the help of
Council and Unit Commissioners this should be a smooth process.
Hints:
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Make sure to have new leader/scout applications or
copies of applications in hand to fill out appropriate information on
the Re-Chartering system.
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Make sure to have a current roster of the participants
in the pack, created by each Den Leader to be sure to register all
possible scouts/leaders.
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Call each boy before taking them off the charter to
find their interest and if this is what the Scouter really wants.
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Remember their is a $1 fee for all registered participants
to cover accident insurance for the Unit.
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Internet Re-Charter is compatible with the Explorer
web browser only, Netscape will not work properly.
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The Re-Charter process is important for advancement,
liability and membership records, please take the proper amount of
time to do the re-charter process correctly...For Kids Sake.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Commissioners Meetings:
- February 4, 2010 - Charles City 7:00 PM at the KC Hall
- May 6, 2010 - Charles City 7:00 PM at the KC Hall
WINNEBAGO COUNCIL --- 2010 UNIT
CHARTER RENEWAL
The Commissioner’s Corner
Daniel F. King – Winnebago Council Commissioner
December, 2009
See Commissioner's
Corner Archive
Here we are at the end of 2009 already. Where did this year go?
As you celebrate the holidays, each in your own ways and customs,
please take a few moments to reflect back on your scouting
activities this past year.
Is your unit delivering the promise?
Are we delivering the promise to all the boys we possibly can?
How do we fulfill the promise for Boy Scouts? We provide a
program in which boys can truly be leaders and involved in shaping
their future and the future of others around them. We provide a
program that is exciting and challenging, one that every Scout wants
to tell his friends about!
You may ask, what is considered a successful troop? This is a
good question. The ultimate answer is probably a troop where a boy
feels that the promise has been fulfilled. Since that feeling is
hard to quantify, I will focus on some program items that relate to
the promise. The first is the level of program planning in the troop
and the amount of youth involvement in the process. Key ingredients
are troop elections, junior leader training opportunities, and
frequency of patrol leaders' council meetings.
- Does your unit hold an annual planning session?
- How often does your troop hold elections? Recommend every 6
months.
- Does the Scoutmaster provide training for junior leaders
annually?
- Does your unit hold patrol leader’s council (PLC) meetings
monthly?
- Is your unit Scout led?
Most of it you have heard this useful information before. Good
troops do things by the book; they go camping frequently, and have
lots of quality adult and scout leadership. As a troop grows in
size, the number of quality indicators also increase. It's the old
chicken-or-egg problem: which came first, the size or the quality?
The fact is: good troops with good programs serve a larger number of
Scouts. I believe, once a troop reaches twenty-one Scouts, the level
of quality changes significantly.
So let's talk about how we can help you get your troop to grow.
Growth will come when you deliver the promise to your current
members and have a workable plan to attract new members.
Items for Troop success:
- Scoutmaster has completed basic training within 6 months and
Wood Badge within 2 - 3 years.
- Assistant Scoutmaster(s) completed basic training within 6
months and Wood Badge within 2 - 3 years.
- Troop follows traditional troop-meeting pattern (standard
troop-meeting plan with two or more skills-training groups).
- Troop has a high ratio of active adults to youth.
- Leaders regularly attend Roundtables.
- Troop meetings are planned at patrol leaders' council meetings.
- Troop Program features (Woods Wisdom for the more experienced
leaders) is used in planning troop program.
- A patrol for new Scouts exists, with a troop guide and
assistant Scoutmaster.
- Troop adds at least eight to ten Scouts each year.
- Troop has an annual minimum of twenty-five days and nights of
camping.
- Troop attends a council long-term camp.
- Leaders are proficient in outdoor skills.
- Troop has at least twenty-one active Scouts.
- Troop has a program for older Scouts.
- Troop leadership (scout and adult) interfaces with cub packs.
What steps have you taken to ensure we can continue delivering
the promise well into the future? Boy Scout leadership must actively
engage Cub Scouts and Cub Scout leaders. This can be accomplished in
several ways (here are a few):
- Provide den chiefs.
- Invite to joint (age appropriate) activities.
- Invite to attend regular scheduled troop meetings.
- Attend a pack meeting occasionally (even if just for
visibility).
Items for Pack success:
- Cubmaster has completed basic training within 6 months and Wood
Badge within 2 – 3 years.
- Den leaders have completed basic training within 6 months and
Wood Badge within 2 – 3 years.
- Dens meet on a regular basis (weekly recommended).
- Pack meets on a regular basis (monthly recommended).
- Pack and Den meetings are fun.
- Cub scouts experience a taste of boy scouts to see into the
future.
Does your unit need advice or have an issue you need help with?
Your first point of contact should always be a commissioner. Your
unit commissioner is your friend, representative, doctor, teacher
and counselor. If you do not know who your unit commissioner is,
contact your District Commissioner.
District Commissioners:
Lakeland: Fred Fox
Twin Rivers: Murray Harris
Sun Rivers: Sherman Lundy
Wabuha: Chris Davis
I can be reached at: MTCRET@MCHSI.COM or through the scout office
319-234-2867. I will make every effort to keep regular office hours
on Wednesdays from approximately 2:45 until 4:00 PM.
Last but not least, please consider a special year end gift of
financial support to the council. I know we all have a limited
amount of resources. For those that are able, these gifts will help
ensure we deliver the promise into the next decade and beyond. Happy
New Year!
Yours in Scouting,
Daniel F. King
Pehachpamhangick Achtyou
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Webelos Transition Responsibilities
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| Commissioner
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Boy
Scout Troop
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Cub
Scout Pack |
3a)
Be a catalyst in developing good relationships between troop and pack
leaders.
3b)
Promote communication by scheduling a meeting of key volunteers.
3c)
Help plan a Webelos den visit to a troop meeting and other joint
activities.
3d)
Keep the pack and troop on schedule as plans develop for the crossover
ceremony at the blue and gold banquet.
3e)
Attend the crossover ceremony.
3f)
Be sure new Scouts have completed a Boy Scout application, that they have
a copy of the troop's activities, and that they know when and where the
troop meets.
3g)
Work with the pack and troop in their charter renewal process to help
ensure Webelos Scouts are moved from pack rosters to troop rosters.
3h)
Work with the Webelos transition chair to follow up on boys who have not
yet joined a troop. Make sure they are invited to join a troop.
3i)
Be sure Webelos Scouts join a troop in time to prepare for Boy Scout
summer camp.
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2a)
Select Scouts to serve as den chiefs for each Webelos Scout den and Cub
Scout den. Arrange for Den Chief Training.
2b) Serve as a resource for overnight activities. The troop can be
of service to provide equipment, leadership, and logistics for Webelos
parent-son campouts.
2c) Conduct an orientation in the Bear Cub Scout dens to explain
the changing role as boys become Webelos Scouts and then again as they
become Boy Scouts. Explain how being a Webelos Scout will help prepare
them for Boy Scouting.
2d) Webelos den/Scout troop campouts should show Webelos Scouts
and their parents what to expect when they move into the troop. The troop
should cook and camp by patrol, and use skills that the Webelos Scouts can
participate in.
2e) Arrange for Webelos dens to visit a troop meeting. This should
be planned several weeks in advance.
2f) Provide each Webelos Scout a copy of the troop's activities
for the upcoming year.
2g) Work with Webelos den leaders to encourage them to plan to
move into the troop with their Webelos Scouts and to serve either as
committee members or assistant Scoutmasters.
2h) Conduct a Scoutmaster conference under the guidance of the
Scoutmaster or the assistant designated by the Scoutmaster. This
conference should cover the meaning of the Scout Oath and Law, the
advancement program, troop camping, the patrol method, summer camp, and
personal equipment.
2i) Work with the Cubmaster in planning a meaningful crossover
ceremony at the pack's blue and gold banquet. Coordinate the ceremony and
arrange for each Webelos Scout to receive a troop neckerchief and Boy
Scout Handbook along with his Arrow of Light Award. Members of the
Order of the Arrow may assist in the ceremony. |
1a)
Develop a working relationship with the leadership of a Boy Scout troop or
troops in the community. Most troops should have either an assistant
Scoutmaster or a committee member assigned to new Scouts. Your unit
commissioner can help put you in contact with troop leaders.
1b) Compare calendars of troop and pack activities to coordinate
activities. Community events can be done together, and planning can help
prevent conflicts in use of equipment and facilities.
1c) Work with troop leaders to secure den chiefs for each Webelos
den and Cub Scout den.
1d) Work with troop leaders to plan and conduct Webelos overnight
activities.
1e) Work with troop leaders to plan visits to troop meetings.
Never show up without first calling in advance.
1f) Invite the Scoutmaster and troop youth leaders to special pack
activities. This will help create familiarity and a level of comfort for
the Webelos Scouts and their parents as they ease into the troop.
1g) Plan a meaningful crossover ceremony at the pack's blue and
gold banquet. Include troop leadership to be present to accept the Webelos
Scouts as they graduate to Boy Scouting. The local Order of the Arrow
lodge can often be a valuable resource in conducting ceremonies.
1h) Webelos leaders should be strongly encouraged to move into the
troop with the boys, either as assistant Scoutmasters or troop committee
members. This will give the new Scouts a familiar face at troop meetings
and a connecting link to Boy Scouting.
1i) If a troop does not exist in your community, discuss with the
head of the pack's chartered organization the possibility of organizing a
troop. A graduating Webelos den can form the nucleus of a new troop.
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