What is Little Philmont?

With a Little Philmont approaching in our area, I have been getting many questions about exactly what it is. Here is what I have been telling people. If anyone has anything to add (or correct) please add a comment.

Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico is the site of several premier scout leader training courses every year. Two weeks out of every summer (two sessions, one week each), the Church holds Priesthood Leadership Training at Philmont Scout Ranch, where the General Young Men Presidency and General Primary Presidency train Stake Presidencies in using Scouting in conjunction with the priesthood. Those Stake Presidencies are then encouraged to take what they learn back to their stakes and hold a "Little Philmont" - a one or two day conference about how Scouting fits with the Church and the priesthood. This is done under the direction of the Young Men General Presidency. In fact, I have heard there is often a member of the Young Men General Presidency, as well as members of the Board at the Little Philmont.

Who should attend a Little Philmont? Everyone! Little Philmont is for anyone with a Scout-related calling, from direct contact leaders to committee members, Cubs through Venturing. It is for Young Men and Primary presidencies on both the stake and ward level. It is for bishoprics and parents of scouts. And, of course, commissioners serving LDS units would find it helpful. It is for anyone who could benefit from a better understanding of how the priesthood and Scouting fit together and why the Lord has asked us to use this program to raise His young men and train them to be missionaries (and beyond).

There is a section on the Church Website about Philmont and Little Philmont, the link to which says, "The purpose of this conference is to help stake leaders better understand how Scouting can support the Aaronic Priesthood." It includes a suggested agenda for Little Philmont, in the middle of a lot of other great Scouting resources.

For those in the Northern Nevada area: Our Little Philmont will be on August 23 at the Winnemucca Stake Center. You can e-mail me for more details (or ask your local leaders). The Stake President who is heading the effort was at Philmont Scout Ranch last week receiving his training. 11 stakes from Northern Nevada are being invited (not sure whether that includes Sierra District as well). I was told that the last Little Philmont in our council was eight years ago, so this is a rare opportunity, worth taking advantage of. I have also heard that there will be a member of the Young Men General Presidency there (hint: he's a Nevada native).

Another Handbook Update

The Church's Handbook on Scouting (the "Green Book") was updated again in May. You can find the latest version here. The biggest change, or rather addition, that I know is a new section on Unit Commissioners, giving new, more specific guidelines on how stake callings fit in with commissioner work and what the responsibilities are of those who are unit commissioners because of their callings.

May 2014 Newsletter

LDSBSA.org has a new newsletter posted for May. You can find it on their newsletter page here. Some highlights of the newsletter are a message about Roundtable from the General Primary Presidency and a message about safety.

Key 3

As District Commissioner, I am part of the District "Key 3," and I can tell you, it has been an eye opening experience for me in a lot of ways. On the district level, the Key 3 consists of the District Executive, the District Commissioner and the District Chair. The three meet together once or more a month and stay in close contact throughout the month. They work together to set the direction of the district and keep things moving along as they should. I love the two other members of my Key 3. They are really great to work with, and it is pretty exciting to be a part of helping everything come together. I talk to both of them frequently, and we all keep each other updated on important things in our different areas of District Operation.

On a unit level, the Key 3 consists of the Chartered Organization Representative (in LDS units, this is a member of the bishopric), the Unit Leader (Cubmaster, Scoutmaster, Varsity Coach, Venturing Leader), and the Committee Chair. Having seen the Key 3 concept in action, I can see now what a difference it makes whether a unit's Key 3 are working together closely to keep the unit on track.

In all honesty, I have only ever seen this in one unit - the first pack I was ever involved in. I was only an Assistant Den Leader, and I had never heard of a Key 3, but even from that position, I could see how closely the Bishopric member, committee chair and Cubmaster worked together, and how they supported each other. It was obvious they were on the same page and they were coordinating their efforts. The Committee Chair ran the Committee Meetings, but the Bishopric member was always there, and the presence of his priesthood authority was felt, without taking anything away from the authority of the Committee Chair. Since these were actually combined Committee/Leader Meetings (which I know is common), the Cubmaster ran the portion of the meeting pertaining to Pack Meetings. Everyone knew their part, and the coordinated efforts of the Key 3 trickled down to the rest of us and affected how we approached our callings.

The Church's Scouting Handbook states that every Scouting committee should have a member of the bishopric on it. I believe that bishopric member is most effective when he takes an active role, guiding and working closely with the Committee Chair and Unit Leader in everything. I do not know whether there needs to be a once a month meeting (the BSA does recommend once a month Key 3 meetings on a unit level). Even maintaining contact (e-mail, phone, touch base at church) throughout the month would make a huge difference, I think.

I know in the units I have been involved in since that first one, it would have made a huge difference if the Bishopric representative had taken on that role and worked closely with the unit leadership. Most of the problems the units had would never have happened.

This is another part of Scouting that draws a parallel to Church leadership. In every level of the priesthood (all the way up to the top; no I mean the step even above the First Presidency), there are presidencies of three. How well would a ward function if a Bishop did not meet with his counselors regularly and keep in close contact with them?

What is a Commissioner?

This is a question I hear a lot. Even experienced Scouters often do not know what a commissioner is, because they have never seen one, outside of maybe a red vest/jacket at a district or council event. Unfortunately, most districts do not have full commissioning staffs, and the commissioners do not always understand their jobs. I think that is a shame, because I really think commissioners can be a great support to a unit and help the leaders build a quality program.

At the first commissioner staff meeting I attended two years ago, the District Commissioner explained to us that, "Unit Commissioners are home teachers to Scouting units." Since then, I have seen the same analogy used here, and I have learned personally that the analogy really is a good one. On the most basic level, Unit Commissioners are supposed to visit their assigned units once a month. They provide resources and act as a go-between for the unit and the district.

You could even think of the different levels like this:

Unit Commissioner - Home Teacher/Visiting Teacher
Assistant District Commissioner - Home/Visiting Teaching Supervisor
District Commissioner - President
District Executive - Bishop


Just like the Bishop or president cannot visit every family or person under their stewardship every month (as much as they would like to), the DE or DC needs help serving all of the units. They need a team to help keep an eye on everything, build a relationship of trust with units, and let the district know when a unit is in trouble.

Often the commissioner is the only real contact a unit has with the district. That is why it is so unfortunate when that contact fails to happen.

According to the commissioner website, a commissioner is a friend, representative, doctor, teacher and counselor. Honestly, I think it is one of the most fun jobs in Scouting. It is great to have the excuse to attend the activities of other units and just sit back and observe. It can be satisfying to watch unit leaders grow in their positions. It can be a challenge to know when to help and when to sit back and listen.

On this year's Journey to Excellence forms, the gold level for the rechartering requirement includes inviting a commissioner and your charter representative to one of your activities. You can find out whether you have a commissioner assigned to your unit by contacting your district. If you do not have one, let them know that you would like one.

If you love Scouting and do not currently have a calling in it, or you want to be ale to do more, you may want to look into volunteering as a Unit Commissioner. Check to see if the class "The Commissioner Concept" is being offered at your local University of Scouting for a better overview of what the position includes.

And say hi to your friendly, neighborhood commissioner!

Doing Hard Things

I have been really enjoying the Voluntold Scouter's recent series of "Owl Posts." This one about "Reaching Beyond Your Goals" especially struck a chord with me, because I have found myself doing something I did not think I could do. So I thought I would share the story.

I was recently contacted by our DE and informed that the nominating committee had nominated me to be the new District Commissioner. The position becomes official next week, and I have spent the last two months getting ready, trying to recruit some more staff, and learning as much as I can. I have already experienced a lot of frustration, sprinkled with small bits of progress.

Occasionally it crosses my mind that in a room full of District Commissioners, I would probably stand out just a little. In fact, I attended a Commissioners Conference on the other side of our council last year, and I definitely stood out. The other seven participants were gray-haired men who introduced themselves with things like, "I have been involved in Scouting since I was a Cub Scout 60 years ago." When my turn came, I did not have much more to say than, "I have been involved in Scouting off and on for 10 years. I have three boys. The oldest is seven. We have many years of Scouting ahead of us."

I know that in our district, you often have to take what you can get. Sometimes I wonder if that is what I am - what the District Nominating Committee could get - the first sucker to come along.

I have to remind myself that it does not matter if that is why I am in this position. It does not matter how many Charter Reps or Scoutmasters roll their eyes when I try to say something. All that matters at this point is what I do with the position now that I am in it.

For the last several years, I have had a wish that there was something I could do to help as many units as I could in our area improve their programs. That was the main reason behind creating this blog, as well as several resources I have put together. It has hit me that this position (though not something I would have chosen for myself) is exactly the opportunity I have been wanting. I cannot change programs, but I can put together a good commissioning staff and train them and send them out to help the units in our district. Even if it results in just tiny changes here and there, it will be a great thing.

Just like the climber in the story, I know I am not alone. I have been reminded from the beginning that I have the power of prayer. This may not be a church calling, but that does not mean I cannot ask for God's help and allow him to guide me. I also have a supportive husband, a DE who is a great mentor and encouraging friend, a friendly and helpful District Chair, and another friend who I can sound off to when I need.

It has also occurred to me many times in the last two months that Scouting is about doing hard things. That applies to the adults as well as the youth. In addition to making full use of my support system, I keep in mind what I think is the most important thing they taught us at Wood Badge: OMHIWDMB (On My Honor, I Will Do My Best.)