When our sons join Scouts we want two things for them - fun and success. The boys primarily want to have fun. However, for both to happen with regularity, we as parents and volunteers have to do some planning, and that means setting some goals. The amount of fun – and achievement – that a Cub Pack, Boy Scout Troop, or Venturing Crew has, determines how successful that unit will be. It all starts with a plan and setting goals. That’s how eager, energetic Tiger Cubs grow into proud, strong Eagle Scouts – by accomplishing hundreds of specific goals over a period of years.
Up until 2010, the method that the Boy Scouts of America used to gauge this success was an annual program you knew as the Quality Unit recognition. Several years ago that program began to purposely evolve into a process where Unit Volunteers started taking ownership of setting goals for their units to achieve. When units rechartered for the year, they determined how they did by the Quality Unit standards for the previous year, and then set goals for their units for the coming year. Everyone wanted to be a Quality Unit. Not only did it mean that your Scouts could proudly wear a Quality Unit patch, but hopefully it represented that they were having fun because you were running a successful unit. However, at rechartering, your unit either qualified for Quality Unit, or it didn’t. Not everyone achieved success.
This year Journey to Excellence replaced the Quality Unit program. Instead of the Quality Unit’s old pass-fail system, through Journey to Excellence, or JTE, units can achieve three levels of success – Bronze, Silver, or Gold. At the beginning of the year when your units rechartered, your unit’s Volunteer leadership received a JTE check list outlining the 11 to 13 specific areas of performance used to assess the success of your unit. These include things like having a unit budget, the amount of camping your Scouts do, the percentage of your youth advancing each year, and whether your unit is retaining its Cubs, Scouts, and Venturers. Each of these JTE “objectives” has been demonstrated over the years to be linked to a unit’s success, and more importantly, to the fun and achievement our Scouts experience.
It’s October, the leaves are starting to turn red and yellow, 2011 is winding down, and another rechartering cycle is a few short months away. And it’s time to get that JTE paperwork out and check to see how your unit has done this year. Hopefully, it has helped focus your efforts this year, and you’ve experienced its success in the smiles on your Scouts’ faces at campouts and the pride in their achievements at Courts of Honor. There’s still time to accomplish more success – to move from Bronze to Silver, and from Silver to Gold. Journey to Excellence means exactly that – and excellence means your Scouts are having fun and achieving success.
Yours in Scouting,
Eric Chiles,
Minsi Trails Council Commissioner
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