Troop Leaders That Are ANTI-OA

[Lynda J]

O A elections will always probably be partly a popularity vote.
But boys in a troop can also send a message to a boy by not voting for him.
We had one boy who at the time was SPL. He was doing a terrible job and there was actually among the boys about removing him from the position. When OA elections came around he was not elected. When tap outs came and he wasn't tapped out he came to me very upset. I ask him if he could think of a reason that the boys in his troop hadn't voted for him. He said he couldn't. I ask him if he thought he was going a good job as SPL. He admitted he wasn't. Then he looked at me and grinned and said. "Guess they just let me know what they think of how I have done my job as SPL." From that night he was a much better SPL.

[WVBeaver05]

Scout_Momx2

If OA elections are a popularity contest then it sounds like the problem is with your troop not OA. For the last two years I've been driving my son who has been a Chapter Chief & a Chapter Secretary to troop elections. There is both a video and a script that outlines the goals of OA and the election process. Both the video and script specify that an Arrowman's first responsibility is to his troop.

O A elections will always probably be partly a popularity vote.
But boys in a troop can also send a message to a boy by not voting for him.

I witnessed one "bad" election, where I felt that the Scout elected did not measure up. Another seemed perfect. Three Scouts were eligible, but one had been mostly inactive over the previous year. The two active ones were elected.

What was the difference? The presentation by the OA election team that both impressed upon the Scouts the seriousness and honor and explained what was involved.

The moral. Make sure that an OA election team runs your elections. The system works! (I didn't say it was perfect, but it does work.)

YiS

[vpalango]

I witnessed one "bad" election, where I felt that the Scout elected did not measure up. Another seemed perfect. Three Scouts were eligible, but one had been mostly inactive over the previous year. The two active ones were elected.

What was the difference? The presentation by the OA election team that both impressed upon the Scouts the seriousness and honor and explained what was involved.

The moral. Make sure that an OA election team runs your elections. The system works! (I didn't say it was perfect, but it does work.)

YiS

Don't forget the role of the unit leader in this process...

Unit leader approval. To become eligible for election, a
Boy Scout or Varsity Scout must be registered with the
Boy Scouts of America and have the approval of his unit
leader prior to the election. The unit leader must certify
his Scout spirit (i.e., his adherence to the Scout Oath and
Law and active participation in unit activities). The unit
leader must also certify that the nominee meets all specified
requirements at the time of this annual election.

A scout who doesn't "measure up" shouldn't be put up for election by the SM in the first place. This is a matter of philosophy, in which I know there is disagreement out there.... That being said, I think OA candidates should be set up to succeed in elections, not set up to fail. The Unit Leader requirement is the FIRST requirement in the handbook, so I look at it as the first hurdle a scout must overcome before going on the ballot.

YIS,

[Silver Fox]

Our troop has not been a big OA proponent in recent years. Not sure why, but we didn't see the value. It seems elitist and an excuse to get some work out of the scouts. Maybe it is the two+ hour tapout ceremony.

We had 8 eligible scouts. All 8 were approved by the SM. 5, from one patrol, made it and 3, from another patrol, did not. The 3 that didn't were some of our top campers. In my opinion they are good examples of brotherhood, cheerfulness, and service, but they tend to be high spirited where the other 5 are quieter and more stereotypical scouts. None of these are bad scouts or the SM would not have approved them.

Is this a wake up call from their peers or is this a popularity constest?

[wagionvigil]

Probably a little of both.

Wagion #6 has a service weekend to start getting camp ready for the summer this weekend. This past week we had around a foot of snow at camp But we will still have betwen 200-300 Lodge members at the weekend giving cheerful service to the council. For those of you that complain about the cheerful service think about how much more camp would cost if were not for the service furnished by the Lodge. We do all maintenance and building at our camps we never pay for construction or outside help. The only exception in recent history was a new water line that was over a mile long and we had to get outside help to dig the line through rock. I have seen ordeals building new lodges learning to put rock on the outside of the building.