Wow! It reminds me a lot of some folks I know from my Owasippe days. There was (and still exist) a group of former scouters that volunteered their time to the camp during the summer. I see two key distinctions.
One, this program formalizes the roles, hence giving the council control over their actions. This is both good and bad. Good because it will add consistency and direction to the program. It can also focus the their activities with more direct contact with the boys. Two, it’s directed towards weekend, non-summer camp camping at council facilities. This is a good thing as council camps are typically under utilized by troops who think of them for long-term camping. I especially like the idea of the Campmaster working with new troops to help acclimate them into camping. If a new troop’s adult leaders have little or no experience camping as a troop, this will help ease their burdon.
So you’re going to be a Campmaster.  They saw you coming a mile away.
Okay, so envision yourself as a weekend commissioner. You will not be able to instruct multiple troops effectively. I would look at two approaches. One, develop some core group demonstrations, similar to Outdoor Leader Skills, Wood Badge, Woods of Webelos, etc. Recruit volunteers from the troops’ senior scouts. Have a cracker barrel for them on Friday night. They will become your camp staff for a portion of the weekend. They need to know what their troop plans and schedule are for the weekend. If they already have a program in place, fine. They enjoy the camaraderie of the cracker barrel. Otherwise, you work out a game plan to hold your sessions. If council provides you contacts prior to the weekend, you can coordinate with the leaders as to what specific advancement or program interests them, as well as coordinate resources, such as dutch ovens, food or fees for food if you purchase it. You can also recruit adult leaders to help, both from the camping units and other scouters with too much time on their hands. ;-) Also, look to the OA lodge and chapters to recruit on your staff.
In fact, I’d try to build a summer camp model for the weekend. The Campmaster is the weekend Camp Director, adult Scouters and weekend leaders are the Directors & Commissioners, and OA scouts and senior troop scouts are the staff. I wouldn’t get carried away with it, but adapt parts of that model to meet the demand and requirements for the weekend program.
So to be successful, you’ll need a database of volunteers and their skill sets and training. Pick a few scouters you know and perhaps a guinea pig troop to practice a dry run. Survey troops that are interested and see what they expect and are willing to do to help. Focus programs to fill in the gaps for troops. For example, we always run new scouts through Tote’n Chip and Fireman Chit on their first campout. Some of our older boys work with other scouts on a pioneering project, such as a monkey bridge or tower. We’re fortunate enough to have a large enough troop to do those activities concurrently. Smaller troops cannot. So a Campmaster program can help with those situation.
I would stress the involvement of the camping troops senior scouts. To me, developing leadership skill for this age group is even more important than advancement and learning new skills. A Campmaster program could be a great opportunity for them. If they’re demonstrating a skill to a group of boys that includes scouts from their troop as well as other troops camping that weekend, they’ll have an opportunity to grow.
So when do you start?
<img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Previous Topic
Index
