USSSP - Baloo's Bugle

TRAINING TIPS

Recruiting Leaders

Your Pack’s Blue and Gold Celebration is on track and ready to go. The B&G committee you recruited last September - right after your annual program planning session - is doing their job and reporting that everything is right on schedule.

Congratulations! That’s the way a good pack committee and leadership should operate.

So what are you going to do in February? Take the month off? Instead, why not start at your Blue and Gold to take a LEADERSHIP INVENTORY.

What leaders and other key adults in your pack will still be around next fall? You will most likely lose a few and they must be replaced so your pack can continue to provide a quality program to the boys.

What are the big activities scheduled for spring and summer that will require more leadership and adult help? It’s just about time to bring some new faces into your Corps of Scouting Discovery

This is the time to take inventory of all your leaders. Who will be staying on for the coming year? Who will be going on to Boy Scouts with their graduating Webelos? Who will be moving away from the community? It is much easier to recruit replacements and to enlarge your committee right after your Blue & Gold banquet, before summer comes.
Yes, it will take that long to get new folks on board - They will need to be selected, recruited, trained and mentored into your Cub Scouting world.

Good Cub Packs have Good Leaders.

We don't get good leaders by accident. It takes planning and hard work.

Start right now at your Blue and Gold Banquets to take a good look at the leadership needs of your Cub Pack.

As you approach the end of your Webelos year, consider which of your present Pack leaders will be going on with their graduating sons to Boy Scouts?
Who will replace them? When will they be trained? Will your Pack's program continue with no interruption?
Who will lead the new Dens as Tigers graduate to the Wolf program, Wolves to Bear, and Bears to Webelos? This will occur in most Packs in April or May.
Who will be in charge of Roundup, Pack finance, the Pack's camping program?
Its time to take stock. The Blue and Gold is an excellent place to look for new leaders. All the parents are there and it gives us the lead time to do a good recruiting job.

Effective recruiting takes planning.

Selecting the right prospects
What do you know about the parents of boys in your pack?
Try to match people with jobs. Have you had all the parents fill out a Parent Talent Survey Sheet? Some years ago I found a great Personal Information sheet on the internet. You can download a copy from: http://wtsmith.com/rt/ftp

Choosing a recruiter
Who knows the prospect? Is there someone in your organization who commands the respect of one you hope to recruit? Someone to whom they might say “yes.”

Closing the Deal
Never attempt to recruit over the phone or standing up at a meeting and asking for volunteers.

The key factor is asking them personally. This should be done in a face to face situation, preferably while you are wearing your uniform. If you ask someone personally to basically give what you're giving, it is much harder for them to say no.

Remember:

In Scouting, we are in serious competition with a host of adversaries:

We compete against intolerance, violence and hate;
We compete against neglect, deceit and abuse;
We compete against drugs and street gangs;
We compete against rejection, loneliness, and humiliation;
We compete against illiteracy, ignorance and despair.

We do not lack competition;
what we need are allies and team members.
Go out and recruit them.

Remember for your new leaders – Fast Start training and Youth Protection training is available on-line -

Fast Start training http://www.scouting.org/cubscouts/faststart/

Youth Protection Online http://www.scouting.org/pubs/ypt/ypt.jsp