What Is Commissioner Service?
According to "The Language Of Scouting", A commissioner is a
volunteer Scouter who works with packs, troops, and teams/crews to help
the units succeed. In addition to the council commissioner, there are
district commissioners, assistant district commissioners, roundtable
commissioners, huddle commissioners, program commissioners, and unit
commissioners.
The Commissioner Concept
According to the "Commissioner Fieldbook for Unit Service" (33617), the only reason for having commissioners is to help units succeed.
A unit is the basic structure operated by a chartered organization to
deliver the program of the Boy Scouts of America to youth members. The
BSA works with and through the chartered organization to serve youth.
It is important that the chartered organization and its units be served
effectively by the commissioner.
Concept Statement
The
concept for today's commissioner service focuses on the unit. The
commissioner's specific mission is to keep units operating at maximum
efficiency so that they can deliver a good program to a growing
membership.
Today's commissioners are results-oriented rather
than procedures-oriented. They are successful in their mission when
units continue to operate, units regularly accept new boys, and units
effectively deliver the ideals of Scouting to their members.
Commissioners
are also involved with carrying programs to the unit, but their main
concern is to develop strength within the unit operation.
In
other words, the concept calls for commissioners to develop program
capability in a unit. They are neither program specialists nor
production experts, although they are concerned and knowledgeable in
both fields. Their activity is focused, not on program or production,
but on the unit.
Strength
Commissioners must be
sufficient in number to fill the needs of the council and district.
They must be trained and guided in their efforts.
Unit
commissioners are accountable for the success of their assigned units.
There is no perfect formula for numbers of commissioners or frequency
of unit contacts. Numbers and methods should be determined by the needs
of units to be served.
The commissioner structure of the district must be dictated by the needs of the council and district and the units to be served.