I guess we all read the post from our own perspective. Your explanation
sure makes a difference. In some cases, the requirements are, in my
opinion, lenient. For instance, one outing per quarter - I'd prefer six a
year. But if you're starting from zero, I guess anything's an improvement!
Personally, I probably didn't get into the content as much as I should have
because the tone turned me off. I understand your frustration with
do-nothing commanders, though. I hope God blesses your outpost with
commanders that truly have a heart for boys.
Andy Cottle
Phenix City, Alabama
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Friday, December 31, 1999 9:55 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [RR] Commitment to Excellence - Response - VERY LONG
First I want to thank everyone for all the feedback, including the flames I
received - they allowed me to bring back my firefighting skills from about
15
years ago!
I thought I'd discuss the "Commitment to Excellence" from my point of view
and respond to some of your responses. Personally I think this is a very
interesting discussion.
Here goes.
First, this was intended in no way to imply that God or family (or even
employment) was to be a lower priority than Rangers. They are first and
always should be. Those who thought it was "a little strong" were right,
but
that was intentional. Someone suggested that this outpost might be having
trouble getting commanders to follow through with commitments. That too is
true. Legalistic? Maybe, but nowhere does it relate following or not
following it as sin or a way into heaven so legalistic probably doesn't
really apply.
I liked the idea one commander had of printing up a declaration each year,
having all the commanders sign it and posting it in the church.
Yes, Rangers is a volunteer organization, but often, volunteers, without
some
kind of incentive (or shock) such as this form, become lackadaisical and do
the bare minimum - which I find unacceptable.
Now, to go over each point:
____________________________________________________________________
***Commitment to Excellence
"As a commander in Outpost 194 I commit to making every effort to improve
myself
and my outpost. I commit to support and promote Outpost 194 in every way
possible. In order to do this I agree to the following."***
Continued training for commanders is something that is very often discussed
on this list. This is one way we lead by example and encourage the boys to
improve themselves. If you are going to be a part of something you should
support and promote it in whatever way you can.
I will:
***1) Plan and prepare for meetings in advance and provide copies of
meeting plans to the Senior Commander (Pioneer meeting plans).***
Sounds like basic LTC taught information. This simply allows everyone to be
on the same page before each class and creates a plausible backup system in
the event a commander can't make it. In response to someone's question -
yes
the Senior Commander is willing and ready to take any class that a leader
doesn't show up for (for whatever reason).
***"2) Attend all sectional, divisional, and district events appropriate
for
the group I lead. This includes being present for the entire event, not
arriving the following day or
leaving early."***
This seemed to be the one most people had a problem with but let's take a
look at what it really says. In this district this would mean the outpost
and commanders would attend 4 events at the sectional and higher level -
Sectional Pinewood Derby, Sectional Camp, Divisional Winter Camp, and the
District Pow Wow.
For Straight Arrows and Buckaroos, this would be only 2 events - a SA/B
Daycamp and the Pinewood Derby.
By the way, if you have a sectional campout and an FCF event scheduled the
same weekend - where you go is up to you - the real question is where are
most of your boys going to be?
***"3) Contact all active absentee's, all visitors, and at least 2 inactive
absentees every week."***
One thing boys need a lot these days is the feeling that they belong and
that
someone cares. A short phone call or even a visit would be outstanding, but
at a minimum, a card should be sent to these boys. On my desk there is a
stack of postcards for visitors and absentees. All a commander needs to do
is immediately following the meeting, take 10 minutes to write a quick note
on a card and put the boys name on it. The Senior Commander will then take
the cards, fill in the address and mail the cards the following day. I
remember an outpost I was in as a kid that never contacted me or let me know
I was missed. That outpost did not do much and no longer exist. However,
another outpost I was in sent cards and made phone calls - we had GMA's
coming out of that outpost and it is still going strong today. As a
commander I watched another outpost grow from 10 to 40 in 2 years. Many of
the boys said they came back because they got a card in the mail.
By the way, I like the idea of doing the same thing for the commanders and
plan to implement it immediately. I also like the idea of having the GOld
Bar staff do this but since we don't have any that would be difficult. In
answer to that silent question that just popped in your mind - yes I want to
have a GOld bar staff but at this point don't have the boys for it nor do I
have commanders who support the patrol system.
***"4) Conduct at least one outpost activity quarterly for the group I
lead."***
This is also something that really doesn't require the time it apparently
seems to. An activity can be 2 hours at Pizza Hut, a campout, or a weenie
roast for the Missionettes on Wednesday night (we have Rangers on Sunday
night). At the very most we're talking about 8 out of 52 weekends (with the
events mentioned above) IF all of these events were weekend campouts.
***"5) Participate in all outpost fundraiser activities and promote these
with my boys."***
Nowhere does this say that the commanders are to foot the bill for the
fundraiser. We also limit our fundraisers to 2 or 3 per year. The problem
that came up involved what could have been a GREAT fundraiser. It was good
but it could have been much better if any commanders besides the Senior
Commander and his father (also a commander) had participated. We sold
pictures (thanks to arrangements made by the North Texas District) mostly
outside the church. Not one other commander made an effort to sell a
picture
and not one encouraged his boys to sell pictures. All but about 10 pictures
were sold by the Senior Commander, his son, and his father. The reason? We
had a contest between the boys o see who would sell the most. One of the
commanders told his boys that they didn't have a chance because the Senior
Commanders son would win because of the help he had form family. The odd
thing is that all but one of the boys in my outpost have parents and
grandparents who would have been more than willing to sell pictures at work
and other places.
So what this is really asking is for commanders to PROMOTE the fundraisers.
If there's a carwash, commanders need to be there to help because we LEAD BY
EXAMPLE.
***"6) Attend all outpost Commanders meetings."***
They want to know what's going on but don't want to tell anybody. Not very
good communication is it? Commanders meetings are typically once a month
and
never last more than an hour. They are started on time and finish on time.
They are also usually held just before the outpost meeting on Sunday nights
so it's not difficult for anyone to get there or set aside time for it.
***"Any deviation to the above must be discussed in advance with the Senior
Commander. Deviations, while expected, must be the exception rather than
the
rule.
We are here to serve the boys, not ourselves, and in doing that we must be
the finest
example we can possibly be."***
Someone defined "deviation". It was obviously the wrong word to use - a
better word would have been "exception". This is the anticipated out for
almost any situation. Emergencies do come up and can't be helped. However,
it is common courtesy to notify the Senior Commander if you've committed to
something and can't make it. Of course that sometimes isn't possible but
normally is. I have a commander who got paged while we were at Pow Wow - he
had to leave to take care of some work (feeding his family is a very high
priority). But before he left, he let the Senior Commander know - out of
respect. He also came back when he was finished with his work. Those kinds
of things happen. Again, no one expects someone to do Rangers 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week. This "Commitment" doesn't ask for that.
***"By signing below, I commit to abide by the above. If I find that I
cannot
(or will not), I will notify the Senior Commander immediately and remove
myself from my leadership role.
_____________________________ _____________________________
Commander Senior Commander"***
Someone asked "Who does this guy think he is?" He thinks he's someone who
is
trying desperately to make his outpost something more than a baby sitting
service. He trying to make his commanders understand that it's not OK to
make fun of boys and their abilities. He trying to get them involved. He's
trying to implement some of the ideas presented by Duane and Victor. He has
already tried the generally accepted ways of encouraging leaders and leading
them by example. He has gotten to the point where he has been praying for
some commanders to LEAVE because they are doing more damage than good. And
yes, we are having problems with commanders following through on commitments
to outings, meetings, etc.
He has given his commanders a copy of his vision for the outpost - similar
to
Victors but with appropriate changes made and a Straight Arrow/Buckaroo
addendum. They read it, smiled, said they agreed and then never changed a
thing.
By the way, he had had many years of training and experience as a leader and
is generally regarded as being quite good at it. Oh yea, he also attend ALL
of the events mentioned above AND spends a great deal of time on prayer for
the boys, the commanders and Rangers as a whole.
For those who asked, feel free to use this in any way you'd like, make any
changes you want and let me know how it goes.
Michael G
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