It comes down to one simple fact…

[gatorsmom]

Everytime I go on an outing with our Scout troop some parent volunteer does something half-assed and causes a lot of disruption and inconvenience for everyone else. Usually it’s our ScoutMaster. While he genuinely wants the scouts to have a good time, he doesn’t want to put in the effort to do things right. The group is a chaotic mess with poor communication, poor scheduling, poor follow-up. But it’s also the parent volunteers who don’t want to help. There just aren’t enough parent volunteers who are willing to step in and help. They drop off their scouts at the meetings and don’t come in. Dh and I supervised the scouts campover this weekend. The Scout Master popped his head in a few times and was supposed to stay overnight Saturday night to help but said, “You guys got this, I got other stuff to do.” So he wasn’t there and in his absence I heard other parents when they came to check on their kids all talking about his incompetence. And I agree with them. So i poked my head into their conversation and said, “I totally agree with everything you just said. But the sad fact is unless we are willing to take his place as Scout Master, nothing is going to change. So, who’s going to step up?” That’s when they all got quiet, nodded and walked away.

No one wants to leave our troop because it’s such a great group of girls. They get along, they don’t leave anyone out, there is just no girl drama. They are kind and welcoming to everyone. I’ve never seen a group of 12 girls do that before!! But our troop is badly managed and no one wants to help fix it. Ok, vent over.

[Gracemom]

My DH stepped up to be the Scout Master for that very reason. It's a thankless job. You only get complaints unfortunately. We had a fair amount of parent participation thankfully, but no one wanting to take on all the responsibility. He only did it for one year and found someone who really wanted to take it on for the next year. There were sooo many meetings and other requirements that took away from our family time. But I can't believe your scout master didn't stay for the campout!

[gatorsmom]

My DH stepped up to be the Scout Master for that very reason. It's a thankless job. You only get complaints unfortunately. We had a fair amount of parent participation thankfully, but no one wanting to take on all the responsibility. He only did it for one year and found someone who really wanted to take it on for the next year. There were sooo many meetings and other requirements that took away from our family time. But I can't believe your scout master didn't stay for the campout!

The ungratefulness is one of the reasons I stepped down from a leadership position. Oh, that and the fact that I was yelled at for calling out unprofessional behavior from our Scout Master.

In order for the all-girls troop to have a camp out, one female adult has to stay overnight with the girls. That was me this past cold weekend (and for the week of scout camp this summer). When the parents came to pick up their girls, no one thanked me or Dh. We were the only 2 adults there for the two nights. I’ll keep volunteering for Dd. But as soon as DD makes Eagle, I’m so out of there.

[bisous]

The ungratefulness is one of the reasons I stepped down from a leadership position. Oh, that and the fact that I was yelled at for calling out unprofessional behavior from our Scout Master.

In order for the all-girls troop to have a camp out, one female adult has to stay overnight with the girls. That was me this past cold weekend (and for the week of scout camp this summer). When the parents came to pick up their girls, no one thanked me or Dh. We were the only 2 adults there for the two nights. I’ll keep volunteering for Dd. But as soon as DD makes Eagle, I’m so out of there.

I love that your DD is going for Eagle, first of all, but second, man your scout troop does sound problematic. Thank goodness for you and your DH staying! We're fortunate that DS's Scout Master is fabulous. But I really worry that we're going to wear him out. He does SO much. It takes a lot of involved parents to make a good scout troop. I'd say that our troop right now has just five really devoted families and that's about it and we need every one of them. And it translates to a lot of work! It is hard because we love the troop but I have to be honest that if it was up to DH we would leave scouts because he's just not keen on the level of responsibility it puts on us. And that's WITH a really strong Scout Master and a really solid Scout Committee leader. I can't imagine how much work it would be without those two!!

[gatorsmom]

This troop really is a mess. It’s such a disappointment for dd, because her brothers’ troop is so well run. At least Dh, who has seen how the boys troop is run and has been actively involved has been helping our troop and can let us know when something can be done better. I’m new to all of this so I don’t know what I don’t know.

It’s particularly disappointing that the lady who started this girls troop is active on our area council. She gave a big talk about supporting our girls and wanting to start a troop for them. Then she lead it for 6 months before handing it off to this guy. She won the BSA Silver Beaver award and was recognized at a gala though so she got her prize. Doing things like this sets a bad example for our girls, not a positive one.

I desperately want to do more to clean up this troop because I love this group of girls but I already run by myself a girls crafting group at our church. We meet twice a month and I do it all. And now with ds3 struggling at school, I have even less time.

[wendibird22]

I am so sorry you continue to deal with a subpar volunteer experience with this troop. I know from your posts how much effort you put into this, and I'm certain your daughter and the other kids benefit so much from your involvement.