Lighthouse District

Help us serve our units!

2010-02-25T11:42:00.000-08:00

The Commissioner team is the unit service team. These are the people that go out and help the units with issues that they may have. They sit at a monthly meeting with other commissioners recieving a report from the District Commissioner about the health of the units that they are serving and upcoming events that they Unit Commissioners are to report back to their units with. They also discuss issues that their units are experiencing and discuss ways to help those units with their issues.

We have 80 units and only SIX ACTIVE commissioners to serve those 80 units. In an ideal situation a Unit Commissioner is assigned to a Chartered Partner and services the units assigned to the chartered partner. So there should only be a total of 3 units per Commissioner and that's the ratio we should have 1 Unit Commissioner per 3 units. Right now our ratio is 1 UC to 26 Units.

So we are in need of 22 Unit Commissioners and 4 Assistant District Commissioners.

Come on ladies and gentlemen let's improve our district and bring it back to where it belongs... On the Top! Only with your help and support can we make this happen! So either comment on this blog or contact me at 609-272-6820 x27 or via email tapplegate@jerseyshore-bsa.org to begin the process!

YIS,

Thomas Applegate
Lighthouse Assistant District Executive
Jersey Shore Council, Boy Scouts of America
Join Scouts at http://www.beascout.org
Visit us at http://www.jerseyshore-bsa.org
Follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/r0adra93

District Committee Volunteers Needed!

2010-02-25T11:35:00.000-08:00

We need dedicated volunteers to serve on the district committee. These people help us proactively serve the units within the district.

The district committee has many open positions available within the following areas:

Activities
Advancement
Finance
Membership
Training
Cub Scout Program
Boy Scout Program
Venture Program

If you are willing to put your time and effort into our district please comment on this blog or contact me at 609-272-6820 x27 or via email tapplegate@jerseyshore-bsa.org

YIS,

Thomas Applegate

Lighthouse Assistant District Executive
Jersey Shore Council, Boy Scouts of America
Join Scouts at http://www.beascout.org
Visit us at http://www.jerseyshore-bsa.org
Follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/r0adra93

Who makes the decisions?

2010-02-25T10:29:00.000-08:00

The decisions made for a district are made by the District Committee which is a group of volunteers who help lead the district to quality district status as well as plan, organize and run events and camporees, ensure advancements are being completed by the units, membership within the units are increasing, financial goals are being hit, the scoutreach program is being successful, new ideas are brought to the table to be voted upon as well as implemented and run, the district committee also reviews the information provided from the Executive Board to catch issues with units. IE: Lack of advancements, no new members, members leaving. This information is then noted by the District Commissioner so the Commissioner Teams have information to work off of when they visit their assigned units.

What makes a district?

2010-02-25T09:07:00.000-08:00

A watered down dry definition of a district is that it's a geographical area in a Boy Scout Council that is managed by a District Chairman, District Commissioner and a District Executive. A district is not a registered business entity as it is part of an entity known as a Council. The Council is basically a bigger district that has smaller districts within it to support the scouts and scouters more directly. I will not go real deep with a council except to say that the same elements that make up a district are also making the council.

The fact of the matter is, there is more to a district than the quick definition. There is actually so much to a district it's complicated even when you break it down to it's basics, however, I will do everything I can to explain a district in the simplist of forms to make it easier to understand.

A district is really an extended family. Every person in a district is a member of that family. In order for this family to function the family members need to be involved. These family members do different things such as ensuring there is a program for our children, that the programs being run are of the highest calibure, that their immediate and extended families are a quality family.

Now the question that we want answered is, "What is the district?" The simplest answer is the district is every person involved in the program within that district. Every Scout, parent, Scouter and Staff member form the district.

A Foggy Night...

2009-08-27T23:24:00.000-07:00

Almost 100 years ago on a foggy night in London, England a man was lost in the fog. A boy assists this man to his destination. When the man reaches into his pocket to give the boy some money, the boy refuses the payment. From that simple gesture a great movement was born here in the United States. This story is told to every person from the boys who enter as tigers all the way to the professionals. We all hear it and we all believe in it. That is what makes scouting the movement it is today!

Through our actions, we teach the boys to serve one another and themselves. The scouts see us working to better the program and they see that not one person can do anything by oneself. People need each other to meet the challenges ahead. When these tasks feel hopeless or we grow weary, we just need to keep that simple story in our minds and ask ourselves, "Where would we be right now if that scout accepted payment from Boyce?" With this, I wish to say to all our volunteers thank you for keeping the tradition alive within yourselves and most of all with the boys you all work very hard to serve.

YIS,

Thomas Applegate

Lighthouse District Paraprofressional

Jersey Shore Council, Boy Scouts of America

Join Scouts at http://www.beascout.org

Visit us at http://www.jerseyshore-bsa.org

Follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/r0adra93

What's in it for me?

2009-08-24T02:02:00.000-07:00

Hello and well met!

A few years back while attending one of my first Knights of Columbus meetings one of my brother Knights asked a simple question, "What's in it for me"? Right then and there I applied that question to my volunteer service in scouting. After a few days of this thought nagging at me I finally realized that I am in scouting for that awesome feeling I feel when I do something good for someone else. Many of our leaders are here for that very same reason. Some are here for the status that they hold as a volunteer or they are here for their children and to support their children along the scouting trail. There are many other reasons as to why people volunteer here with us. Bottom line is as long as we as leaders fill this question with our prospective volunteers they will make the decision to stick with it and to make scouting as much a part of them as it is a part of us.

I realize this question is a bit hard to swallow as it is brash, however, at the core it is honest and to the point. I would like you to ask yourself this very same question when it comes to scouting, "What is in it for me"? Then take a good hard look and see the impact you have personally made to the scouts in your local unit, district, council, nationally and world wide. Look at how simply realizing "what's in it for me" has impacted millions of lives across the world. Now, that is truly amazing and what makes scouting, the movement it is today.