Last summer I volunteered to be a commissioner at a Boy
Scout Camp near where we live. It turned out that I also helped cook three
meals each day for the hungry campers. I had a great time though and have
decided to volunteer at a Boy Scout Camp for six weeks this June and July.
The last week of May I attended BSA’s
National Camping School for training to be the lead camp commissioner at Spanish Peaks Scout Ranch
near Walsenburg, CO.
“What
a Commissioner Should Know and be Able to Do”
1. Serve
assigned units to see that youth and leaders have a positive summer camp
experience
a. Provide
detailed information to units for scheduling, problem solving, interpreting
camp policies, program planning, people management, and customer service
2. Send
scout troops home stronger and better-trained troops than when they arrived at
camp
a. Empower
the Senior Patrol Leader
b. Coach
troop leaders:
i
In troop youth leadership
ii The
patrol method
3. Be a
proactive troubleshooter working alongside the program director
a. Ideally
the program director and camp director encounter no unpleasant surprises
b. The camp
commissioner resolves issues that arise anywhere in camp, especially those
affecting troop relations and functions
c. Commissioners
reside near the troop sites.
4. Record
concerns or questions in a notebook while in the leader’s presence
a. Research
the issue
b. Provide
feedback to the leader in a timely manner
I’m
looking forward to performing this role. It has been 40 years since I last
worked at a camp for more than a week per year. This is going to be FUN!
2 comments:
Stephen:
Two questions:
1) How were you able to attend the National Camping School?
2) Where did you find the Cmap Commissioner patch? I've been looking all over for one.
Hi Mark,
You're the first person that has admitted ever reading my modest blog! Thanks for your questions.
When I learned that the camp had no full time commissioner I called the council's executive director and said I would do it if I could get training. He said great and told me how to register for one of the many National Camping Schools that are offered in the spring and early summer each year. I enrolled online and the computer sent him the bill. I was able to do it because he gave me the link and password needed to register. The basic site is http://www.ncsbsa.org/ which when opens is obviously one of the official BSA sites. Let me know if you find what you want to know about the camping school.
I'm sure that I located the camp commissioner patch logo through a Google search and copy/pasted it onto several documents I created for my work this summer. I may have one actual patch and would have gotten it from scoutingstuff.org as best I can remember.
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