From your Council Commissioner, Michael Lewis
As you read this, we are rapidly coming toward the end of the calendar year. With that in mind, what have we achieved this year and what is yet to complete before December 31? Earlier this year, Cub Scouts transitioned to become Boy Scouts. Scouts of all ages and their leaders attended summer camps. Units were reenergized in starting the fall season with recruiting and activities to bring units back together again. And how many other activities of significance took place in the units, in the Districts, and in our Council? Watching over all of this was our commissioner staff. They see and participate in so many of the activities of our Council and units.
So what better way to finish this calendar year with the commissioners directly involved in the unit activities. We need our commissioners to be there when the units are doing our unit validations. We need them there when the units are planning the next several months of activities. We need them there when the units are going through the online rechartering process. We need the commissioners involved as the unit’s finish this year’s Journey to Excellence evaluations. Our commissioner staff is more important and vital to the unit’s success than they have ever been.
So, as we realize how important our commissioners are, how much attention is being given to the knowledge and skills of the commissioners and how they pass that knowledge on to our volunteer unit leaders? Our attention to making sure all leaders are trained is vital to the health and success of our Council. We need more unit commissioners so that every unit has this resource so recruiting additional commissioners is a primary task in the Districts. All commissioners must be making the unit visits to assess the health of our units and recording those visits in the Unit Visit Tracking System (UVTS). I challenge every commissioner to make just one unit visit entry in UVTS for each of the units in our Council. If we do that, we will more than double the number of visit entries made year to date. Remember, the JTE goal is six visits per unit per year. Have we improved from last year, yes, but, we still have a long way to go.
We also need to pay particular attention to the volunteer unit leader training. While we have shown some improvement in 2011 of direct contact unit leaders trained, our current level of 32% is still far short of ensuring that our leaders are properly prepared to assist our units. Training is a critical element in unit success. A unit with trained leaders, and sound program, and a knowledgeable unit commissioner will retain more youth in the program because they will get more out of the program.
Finally, the most important event yet this year is the unit rechartering. Each commissioner is directly responsible for their assigned units to make sure the charter is completed, accurately and on time. Ahead of time is even better. But no unit should suffer the issues that come with being a lapsed unit. This is directly a commissioner responsibility. So if our commissioner staff have done their job throughout the year, this will be easy. And as a result, our units and Council will have retained a larger portion of the youth and volunteer leaders we are here to serve. Isn’t that ultimately why we are in our positions?
This summer, I had the unique opportunity to return to the Philmont Scout Ranch as a guest of my son at the Philmont Staff Association reunion and reunion trek. What an experience. The people I met all support Scouting in very different locations and in very different roles. But, we all shared one thing. A very special love and passion for Scouting and for the youth that give us a reason for doing what we do each and every time we put on the uniform. We are unique and special, because we genuinely care about the youth of today and want to see them succeed in this difficult world we live in. Doing our jobs in the best way possible, using all the tools at our disposal, and passing our knowledge on to the unit leaders of these youth is all that is expected of us.
To close, let me say thank you to you, our commissioners. I am so proud to be able to represent you throughout our Council. Without you, Scouting would not be what it is today. We would not have youth joining our values-based program and we could not sustain our units in the long term. Each of you working with our professional staff makes a great team for Scouting.
Thank You.
Sincerely Yours in Scouting
Michael Lewis
Council Commissioner