Ch-Ch-Changes

This Sunday they released me as Scoutmaster for troop 519 and called Bill Tayler to take my spot. They didn’t kick me out of the program all together though. I’ve been asked to serve as Committee Chairman for the troop. I’ve got some mixed emotions about the changes. First of all I think I’ll enjoy being committee chairman. It’ll give me a chance to work on my Woodbadge ticket from a slightly different perspective than I’d originally planned. I also know that a fully functioning committee can really take the boys’ plans and turn them into reality. I’m looking forward to doing just that.

On the other side I will miss dealing directly with the boys. I’ve been working with this same group of young men since they were all about eight and I was their primary teacher, then their Cubmaster and then later on when I was their Assistant Scoutmaster and Scoutmaster. It’ll feel kinda different just working with the leaders than the boys. Don’t get me wrong I’m still going to invite myself on plenty of campouts. It’ll actually be nice to go out and just enjoy the campout and let somebody else stress the details.

As I was growing up and my folks were pretty active in scouting I noticed a large group of leaders who seemed to be just in the program for the adult camaraderie. They went to roundtables and training sessions to hang out with the other adults. It was their own little cliché. I kinda felt like they were missing the point. All the training and support mean little if they don’t actually apply it to the programs and ultimately the boys. I made a promise to myself that I’d never forget what Scouting was all about and I’d strive to stay as close to the boys as I could. My job as committee chair now takes me a step further up the ladder than I’d have chosen, but I’m still close enough to really make a measurable difference in the lives of these guys.

We had our first committee meeting last night with me as chairman. I was pleasantly surprised by the participation. We had about ten parents and leaders there and I feel like we got off to a good start. As I was writing my Woodbadge ticket I noticed that it would be really easy to become one of those who became too separated from the boys. I made a conscious effort to word my ticket in such a way that I was only doing things that I felt would directly improve the quality of the program for the boys.