Changing of the guard

railtracks_200A few weeks ago, our troop had the beginnings of the changing of the guard.

First, the Scouts elected a new senior patrol leader. The winner wasn’t the first one to throw his hat in the ring. In fact, it was one of the other Scouts who decided, maybe at the last minute, to give it a whirl.

I didn’t listen to their stump speeches, but he must have given a good one, because he won the election. I don’t know by how much (I don’t concern myself with such details), but it shows that the message is important. He accepted the challenge of backing up his ideas and putting them in motion, and has been doing a terrific job. Continue reading “Changing of the guard”

Dealing with troop election results

This month’s What Would You Do? question in Scouting Magazine comes from Scoutmaster D.M. of Ft. Myers, Fla.:

We recently had our troop leadership elections, and the Scouts elected a senior patrol leader who is inexperienced, uncommitted, and has no real sense of responsibility. I am worried about the direction of the troop, but I want to respect the boys’ choice. What do I do? Continue reading “Dealing with troop election results”