TOO MANY HATS!

Too often in Scouting we find ourselves volunteering for more than one position. This is a common occurrence with kind-hearted, generous people who believe strongly in the Scouting program and the benefits it provides for young people and their families.

Upon closer inspection though, we realize that this practice actually does a disservice to the individual, their family and the very Scouts and leaders that they have pledged to serve. To truly do any one district level position effectively and to the best of one's ability, it precludes us from doing another job. If one accepts multiple assignments, something will have to suffer. It might be our family, our vocation, the very jobs we have agreed to perform, or the units and leaders we are supposed to be helping.

Wearing multiple hats also diminishes the number of volunteers who can serve on district committees and commissioner staffs. We are all familiar with the old adage, “Many hands make light work.” More volunteers also means we can accomplish more as a team.

If you currently occupy more than one district level position, I strongly encourage you to determine which one you find most rewarding to you and/or beneficial to the district and reduce your load to just that one assignment.

The most common response to this message is that it is not easy to recruit a sufficient number of volunteers. While that is true, it is also true that we usually don’t ask enough people to fill all positions. Together we can identify and recruit enough people to fill every job. It never hurts to ask!