A discussion of this important district level volunteer position and how it can help your unit.
Show Notes:
- Unit Commissioners (BSA)
Transcript:
You probably have a unit commissioner and may not even know it. A unit commissioner’s job is to ensure that a pack or troop is running effectively.
You are probably like me, that when I heard that there was a Unit Commissioner, and he was there to assess and monitor the troop or pack, I was a bit hurt. What was I doing wrong that this person was judging me?
The reality however is very different.
Your unit commissioner is a volunteer like you, and a resource to the troop or the pack. The commissioner corps is made up of scouters with experience with their own packs or troops, and have heard the band play, and know all the songs.
They are not there to insert themselves into the running of your unit, unless there is a problem. For example, say the Cubmaster and committee chair are not getting along, and it’s affecting the program. The unit commissioner can help as an unbiased party to help smooth things out.
They are not there however to run your program. They will not show up one day and say you are doing it all wrong, and say – “step aside while I manage your program”. They might however offer suggestions.
As a resource, you can ask them questions, have them participate in unit activities such as uniform inspections, or help run program here or there.
In our unit, the adult leaders run one of the months of the program, the theme was advanced cooking, and our unit commissioner was a trained chef, as well as a merit badge councilor for cooking merit badge. We asked him to come down and craft a 15-minute session for the boys, and as a result enhanced our program, as well as putting a face to a popular merit badge.
Since these folks have been with the program for a while, they have gained knowledge and skills you can lean on. Ask them what they are good at, you might be surprised and be able to use them as a resource for cooking, or knot tying or games as well.
A unit commissioner wears many hats including as a friend to the unit, to make you successful, and helping out as needed. They also represent the unit, as some units have little or no contact with the larger BSA program. The commissioner stays on top of all the new things happening, from new Youth Protection guidelines, to events happening in your local council, to the swirling inclusion of girls to the BSA program. Part of their job is to stay on top of and disseminate this information to their units.
They can also act as a doctor, and suggest ways to do things in the unit that have been shown to be successful, and where appropriate as a teaching resource for yourself and your fellow leaders. In short, they are there to help.
Take what you like and leave the rest, and as we say in Woodbadge, feedback is a gift, leave yours below in the comments, with the hope we can all learn together.
I’m Scoutmaster Dave, and this was a bit on the Unit Commissioner.
