Board of Review Composition

[smtroop168]

For this recharter they are only requiring direct contact & new registrations to be trained. At the end of the online registration the document will provide a list of leaders still needing training. You will have to include YPT card for those leaders. Having current on recharter day YPT cards for all leaders in the packet would be good insurance.

The Nov training update on scouting.org has some information on this.

I believe this to be correct, but it is also a moving target. What will be important is how your registrar interprets the rules on the day you charter is processed.

We just told all our adults to get it done prior to recharter regardless of position. The one who didn't, we dropped. I'll let Wagion guess who that was.

Sash Lady?

[smtroop168]

You can have the COR turn in an app that makes him a committee member as well as the COH. It does not have to be done during recharter. It is just easier that way. BTW you troop has 3 committee members at least on paper because you cannot recharter with less than 3.

I checked our troops charter. Our COH is co-list as a committee member so that is legal. The requirement is also on the adult app. What a silly place to look. Too bad, he really wants to be an ASM.

Committee member really is one of those jobs that is only a hour a week. So it is a good entry level position.

Frank is correct. The Adult application allows the COR to be the CC or a CM.

Frank is not correct on the hour a week. I work ours to the bone.

[Nuts4Scouts]

While I appreciate the fact that you want your son to have his BOR for First Class as soon as possible, and as correctly as possible, as a member of the Committee, recruiting BOR members, registering the COR, making everyone take training, etc, is not really your job.

Your Charter Organization Rep (COR), and your Committee Chair (CC), should be doing all of the above, with help from the SM.

Why aren't they?

I suggest having your SON talk to his SM, about his BOR.

BTW - Either your CC, or your COR, should have a copy of the Troop's current charter. There is no reason to hunt it down at your council service center.

[agdparker]

We currently have no CC (haven't had one for 2+ months) and our COR is not really engaged with the troop, so that's why this is falling to me. My son did talk to his SM, but his SM is relatively new and unaware of correct BSA procedures (see my previous comments about training). We've got a disheveled organization right now and I'm trying to clean it up the best I can. The charter is in the hands of one of the ASM's and he's not sure where it is, thus my hunt for the information.

What people in this thread appear to be assuming is a normally-functioning troop and it is far from it, unfortunately. My son is not at a maturity level to understand the issues preventing his BoR and really he shouldn't have to deal with this at all. All that being said, I think with some encouragement, we can improve things. I don't want my son to have to deal with these things, however. His focus should be on advancement and learning.

[smtroop168]

We currently have no CC (haven't had one for 2+ months) and our COR is not really engaged with the troop, so that's why this is falling to me. My son did talk to his SM, but his SM is relatively new and unaware of correct BSA procedures (see my previous comments about training). We've got a disheveled organization right now and I'm trying to clean it up the best I can. The charter is in the hands of one of the ASM's and he's not sure where it is, thus my hunt for the information.

What people in this thread appear to be assuming is a normally-functioning troop and it is far from it, unfortunately. My son is not at a maturity level to understand the issues preventing his BoR and really he shouldn't have to deal with this at all. All that being said, I think with some encouragement, we can improve things. I don't want my son to have to deal with these things, however. His focus should be on advancement and learning.

Call your council office and ask to speak to your District Executive. Tell him you need help asap or there is a possiblility that the unit will fold. He should get the District Commissioner, District Training and District Advancement Chairmen engaged to help you.

[agdparker]

It looks like I've got my question answered and I really appreciate the advice and help people have offered. I think I've got the answer to my original question and we'll get the problem solved.

Thanks again to everyone.

[RWSmith]

Please, keep us posted on the progress of this situation; and, don't hesitate to ask additional questions... maybe we can offer some additional insight, or at least, continued moral support. TFAYDFS (Thanks for all you do for Scouting.)

[agdparker]

Update: I got a hold of our Scout office and the only person registered on the committee is myself and they have me as the CC! I didn't even think it was possible to recharter a troop with so few committee members, but whatever. Interestingly, the registration person tried to tell me that the BoR members did not have to be registered committee members. I politely told her I would stick to the Advancement manual's guidelines.

I will be running some applications around to folks to hopefully get this cleaned up. I wonder what our Varsity Team and Venturing Crew registrations look like...

[Fred Johnson]

Update: I got a hold of our Scout office and the only person registered on the committee is myself and they have me as the CC!

Amazing the stuff that happens. The good news here is that your are in the perfect position to make a difference. The primary role of the committee chair is to make sure the unit functions properly, volunteers know the roles, positions are filled and things happen.

If you are the only committee person (chair or member), then the charter exec and charter org rep are not actively involved in the troop. You should track down the charter org rep and the charter exec and get to know them. Build those relationships as you might need that support as you improve the unit.

Then, work with the existing leaders to build consensus on what needs to change / improve. Make a plan. Work the plan. Review the results. Keep doing that cycle over and over again. And never forget the friendships and fun. Hearts. Cribbage. Late night camp fires.

Fred

[agdparker]

I know the COR very well as we went to school together. He doesn't seem to have a lot of Scouting experience, but he has 2 boys in Cubs now, so I think he'll be amenable to making sure the program is functioning correctly. I'll function as the "Acting" CC, but since we're an LDS unit, the CC appointment comes directly from our IH. There's a very specific process for that to happen, so I'll do what I can in the interim.

[RWSmith]

biglou's thread has been split into its own topic: Volunteer causing multiple instances of "conflict"

[smtroop168]

Update: I got a hold of our Scout office and the only person registered on the committee is myself and they have me as the CC! I didn't even think it was possible to recharter a troop with so few committee members, but whatever. Interestingly, the registration person tried to tell me that the BoR members did not have to be registered committee members. I politely told her I would stick to the Advancement manual's guidelines.

I will be running some applications around to folks to hopefully get this cleaned up. I wonder what our Varsity Team and Venturing Crew registrations look like...

Minimum positions for a chartered troop
A chartered Boy Scout troop requires a Chartered Organization Representative, a Committee Chairman, at least two committee members, and a Scoutmaster.

How does a council allow this?

[Fred Johnson]

... since we're an LDS unit, the CC appointment comes directly from our IH. There's a very specific process for that to happen ....

Huh. I learn something every day. Thanks!

[Nuts4Scouts]

I would recommend that you talk to your friend the COR, and have him contact your Bishop to get things straightened out - NOW.

You stated that your Troop had already rechartered, however, looking at the web site for the Greater Yosemite Council, recharter is due 12/01/2010. Perhaps someone started the recharter process, but never completed it because of missing registrations. Whatever the problem, your Troop (and possibly your church's other units also) have a VERY short window in which to get this fixed. That is why I said your COR needs to get with your Bishop ASAP. The COR should also contact your District Executive (DE) at the council office to see about getting a bit more time for the charter to be corrected.

NOTE - When getting new registrations, a completed Youth Protection training certificate MUST be attached to the application when it is turned in to your council. If there is no YP certificate, the application will NOT be processed. This training can be easily done online at the BSA National MyScouting site.

I hate to say it, but in LDS units, disorganization, untrained leaders, and insufficient registered help, all seem to be ongoing problems. Yes, I realize that this happens in other units also, but the setup of LDS units seems to me to make these problems more prevalent in their units.

[agdparker]

The recharter has been turned in, but not processed yet. Apparently no one kept a copy of the recharter docs, so I'm not sure what we'll find. For now, I can only say what the council has on record for our troop. The COR and IH are aware of the need for a CC and functioning committee, but this has not occurred yet. I asked the COR about it about a month ago and the answer was that basically they were aware of the gap. I'm aware of the YPT requirement and I will be explaining that as I go around. I need to read up on how that works for new leaders so they get recorded appropriately.

I've only been in 1 non-LDS unit (did Tiger Cubs with one of my boys), so I can't speak to how it compares, but in the 2 Boy Scout units I've been involved with (both LDS) had serious organizational issues when I came in. I think I left the first one better than when I found it. The second, well I'm working on that. I have found that in these LDS troops that parents are usually apathetic when it comes to TC responsibilities.

Trying to stay positive and work through the issues. If I dwell too long on them, it only becomes more frustrating.

[smtroop168]

I don't think the LDS has a corner on dysfunctional units. I do Eagle Project Reviews for 2 LDS Troops, some good some not so good. The LDS unit leaders want to do a good job but sometimes its not their primary focus. Keep the council involved to help you.

[agdparker]

Update:
I got a printout of the 2011 recharter docs from council and they seem to have randomly picked one of the parents as Troop CC until an official replacement is made.

The AC got an app yesterday, as did 2 parents. We also are going to cross-register another one of the parents (he's currently a Round Table Commissioner, I believe) on the troop committee. I think things are shaping up. <fingers crossed>

They are all aware of the YPT requirement, also.

As a side note, I also got a printout of the advancement from Council and it's a mess. We have 2 Eagle scouts that should not be Eagle scouts according to the records (merit badge dates don't match BoR dates, missing ranks, etc). Fortunately, I've got everything entered into TroopMaster, so it's catching all of the errors. We'll have to correct those records. Le sigh...

[smtroop168]

Update:

As a side note, I also got a printout of the advancement from Council and it's a mess. We have 2 Eagle scouts that should not be Eagle scouts according to the records (merit badge dates don't match BoR dates, missing ranks, etc). Fortunately, I've got everything entered into TroopMaster, so it's catching all of the errors. We'll have to correct those records. Le sigh...

That's one that should definitely never happen since all that should heve been caught when the Eagle Application was processed through Council and National.

[agdparker]

Agreed. It doesn't make sense to me either, but I'm going to try and clean up the records.

[agdparker]

Update:
We have held 4 appropriately-staffed BoR's this week. The committee is up to about 8 people (registered and YPT trained), so I think we're on the right track. Still no official Committee Chair, but I'm told that a name is under consideration by the Chartered Org. The Eleven Year Old scout group got a new leader who is eager to get the appropriate training and follow the program, so I think things are definitely looking up there also.

I have a suspicion that I will shortly be asked to work in the Cub Scouts (Cubmaster or Den Leader), so I'm trying to get all this done while I have time to work on it.