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| Home > Online Library > Scouting Guides & Information > Leadership in Scouting > Professional Scouting |
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Scouting Leadership (Serious Side of Scouting) Some Insights On Professional Scouting This is a discussion brought up in an archived Scouting Discussion Thread. All views expressed do not necessarily represent the troop's position and stand. Date: Wed, 2 Nov 1994 22:55:33 -0600 Brian Johnson <ai671@FREENET.BUFFALO.EDU> writes: >Right now, I am a sophomore in High School (almost 16 years
old) and I am Read my book, "Patches and Pins" (whenever it gets published!). When I was 14, there were only three things on my mind: Belinda, the daughter of one of the Post's senior Chaplains;4 becoming an Army officer somehow; and becoming a District Executive. Not necessarily in that order, either. When I told Doyle Fuller, our new DE, that I wanted to "do his job someday", he sat with me over McFood and started in on the "realities of the job". He was the first person to tell me that "Career Scouters" (euphemism for "professional Scouter") weren't too much in demand...or appreciated for that matter. They work long hours, get yelled at a lot by both volunteers and their professional bosses, and get paid less than the average teacher does. "But you're having fun, right?" is what I asked him. I asked him twice. He never did answer me, but kept right on talking down the role and the job. He talked about how some months you don't get your travel allowance payments, about the fact that you're "required to give to United Ways AND to SME" or face the contempt of the others in "the office". I sat there, drinking coffee and eating French fries as he told me that professionals don't get to see their families very often, unless their wives were Cub Scouting leaders too. He told me about how unpleasant it was to go and "beg for money" (his statement, not mine) and how he had to go and present badges to kids that "don't deserve to be in Scouts, let alone be high-ranking Scouts". I guessed that Doyle wasn't happy about being a DE, but what he did was to HONESTLY tell me what *he* does and how effective he feels that he is...which is the first piece of advice to you. Find a DE that won't just "sugar-coat" the role of the District professional to you. This person should be able to express BOTH the great feelings and satisfaction you get when signing the charter for a new unit AND the gut-wrenching, Maalox-treatable stomach knots you get when you lose seven units before "report card time" (June and December in most local Councils) with no time to organize new ones to take their places. Such a man to do that was Doyle Fuller, whom now works for the Elizabethtown-headquartered News-Enterprise Companies. The _News-Enterprise_ is the newspaper in Hardin County...they also publish the Fort Knox Communities newspaper _Inside_the_Turret_ as well as two smaller papers in Sonora and Vine Grove, Kentucky. Doyle (only "Mr. Fuller" around my parents and when introducing him to people that didn't know him) taught me how to organize a unit. The RIGHT way, not the way that I would have thought to do it. He also allowed me to go with him while he pitched for money, while he pitched for Scouts and for adults. Many of the techniques I later used in eastern Kentucky and northern Tennessee I learned from Doyle. I was "used" as an example of what Scouting is all about, and I didn't mind. And when I became a Junior ROTC student at the high school, many more people knew me as "Doyle Fuller's assistant" at the young age of 15. Doyle left the profession shortly after I broke up with Belinda ("I can't compete with the entire Boy Scouts", she told me...she wanted to date someone else.) and two weeks before my father's father (not my grandfather...) passed on. When I returned to Rose Terrace, I got a phone call from Doyle expressing sympathy and introducing Mr. Scott Claybaugh, his replacement. "I can't continue. My points are low, I'm losing more hair every day, and I'm unable to see Missy (his wife, a nurse at Hardin Memorial) and the kids. Scott will work hard and he's more ambitious to serve than me". (Personal note: Doyle Fuller officially has MORE hair now than he did when he was a DE in the Lincoln Trail District. It IS a very stressful job, being a District Executive.) Scott Claybaugh *was* more ambitious...he's NOW a successful Council Scout Executive in Ohio and moving upward and onward onto the years. Scott showed me a lot and worked with me and others interested in the profession, and I owe a lot to him (and to Hal Cory, the old Scout Executive of the Old Kentucky Home Council). But my introduction to professional Scouting started with Doyle Wayne Fuller. Some more positive advice:
And you WILL live the Scout Oath and Law as best as you can. That's not a requirement, it's a given. Kids will look at you and some of them will say what YOU said (at least, what I'd said to Doyle Fuller): they will want to "do your job someday". That's a GOOD thing to do, believe me. And when someone asks you "You're having fun, right?", you can look them squarely in the eyes, smile at them and respond "Every single day." Settummanque! [extracted from the preface: Mike Walton served as a Paraprofessional Executive and later as a Neighborhood Professional within the old Area Two of the old Southeast Region from June 1977 through May of 1981, under a grant given to the BSA by the-then CETA (Comprehensive Education and Training Act). Walton worked in rural areas of five local Councils in Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia; and in the urban area of two others in Kentucky. During that same period, Walton was also a member of the Regional Exploring Committee and provided guidance to Explorer Presidents' Associations and Exploring divisions within the old Southeast and East Central Regions.] -- Date: Thu, 3 Nov 1994 22:06:22 -0600 What a great article! My wife (I use her logon) Kathy is a Senior D.E./ Multi Person in the Ventura California Council. Everything that the article says is true. Tonight is a good example. Kathy is at a meeting, and I'm home with a sick baby. She is out about 4-5 nights a weeks, and every other weekend. The only way for me to see her was to become the Dist. Advmnt. Chair! Yes, much of her job is "begging" for $$, and she hates that part. In this council they do telemarketing for funds; try getting hung up on 50 times a night, not fun. The Scout Executive here says if you're not working 70 hours a week, you're not doing your job. You should probably plan on your Scouting professional career to be in the area of about 3-5 years. If it last longer, great, but if not, you're in the majority. Regards, Date: Tue, 31 Oct 1995 02:12:09 -0600 At 01:40 PM 10/30/95 EST, you wrote: >Second: What do you need to be a Professional Scouter ? A lot of patience, a willingness to serve without worrying about being compensated for it, a presence of strength and willingness to "do your best", and most of all, the ability to work with a diverse number of Scouting and community members, from all walks of life, with all levels of income and backgrounds, and to do so basically anytime day or night, every day, every year. To become a professional (career) member of the Boy Scouts of America, you must be at least 21 years of age, of sound physical and moral ability, with a bachelor's degree or higher in any discipline (but those in the social sciences, business, or physical education or recreation tend to provide the best collegiate background), and be willing to subscribe to the Scout Oath and Law and the Scout Executive Code. You DO NOT need to be a former member of the BSA, nor do you HAVE to be an Eagle Scout (although either and especially both are looked upon highly as desirable traits). Many of the career Scouters in our local Councils come to us from ministries, from the business sector and from fish and wildlife organizations. There's been a decline in the number of Eagle Scouts and former Scouts/Explorers entering the profession in the past seven years or so. This is being changed, as a new emphasis is being made to have Council Scout Executives to identify early those outstanding Scouts and Explorers whom would be interested in pursuing a career of service with the BSA. > [... ] ....in the "Roundtable Meeting that NEVER ends!" Settummanque!
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