Sam Houston Area Council B.S.A. Crew 505
Chartered to St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church
Houston, Texas

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[ This month's Scouting ]
President
So you're the new Crew President?

Congratulations! While the importance of the job of President probably cannot be overstated (because a lot of responsibilities come with being the President), you should not forget to have fun! You'll burn out otherwise, and not only you but the rest of the crew will suffer as a result. Remember, too, that the crew wants you to succeed (they elected you, after all), and that the adults are there to help you succeed. Be sure to let them know what you need... be specific!

You already know that, as the top junior leader in the crew, you will be expected to lead with your vision and by your example. We know that you have a vision for the crew and your own ideas about the direction you'd like the crew to take... now it's up to you to translate your vision into action.

Remember, don't underestimate the importance of good planning. A good meeting plan should tell someone else everything he/she would need to know to carry out a meeting without you. Likewise, a good activity plan should tell someone else everything he/she would need to know to carry out an activity without the activity chair. Previous Presidents have established a good pattern: fine-tune the specific details of the crew activities that will occur prior to the next crew planning meeting, and begin planning the themes for the crew activities that will occur two and even three months out. Anything more than that is "gravy".

Effective planning consists of thinking about what you need to do, what you have or need to do it with, several ways to do it (because "stuff happens"), writing down the plan (so that everyone knows what it is), doing it (obviously!), and afterwards thinking about how well it worked and what didn't work (and writing that down as well).

You've been to enough meetings and activities to know which ones were well planned and which ones weren't. What did you like about the ones that were well planned? Was it the particular theme? Was it fun? Where was it held? (There's no rule that says all of our meetings have to be held at the same place, for example.) Be creative, and show your enthusiasm. You'll be surprised to see how quickly a positive attitude rubs off onto those around you.

Finally, here (in no particular order) are some additional resources to help you:
What is Venturing?
"Lessons Learned" for Venturing Crews
Venturing Achievement Award Opportunities
Venturing Crew Self Assessment
Venturing links/presentations/docs

Stripes
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Sam Houston Area Council B.S.A. Crew 505
URL - http://www.stvincentscouts.org/c505/newpresident.htm
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