By David Weyrick -

A couple of years ago, I wanted to know why Scouters stayed in our program and why they left. I created a survey and received responses from about 350 Boy Scout leaders who attended my council’s summer camp over a seven-week period.

I found that the majority of Boy Scout leaders with less than 10 years of experience stayed in because they wanted to be with their sons. In addition to the desire of wanting to help all the boys in general, their primary reason for volunteering was spending time with their own children.

But two of the findings Scouters into their second decade of service. Those with more than 10 years of experience remained because the priority for them was the fun they were having. I discovered a priority shift, which I call “from the son to the fun.”

You know this scenario. A boy becomes a Tiger, and Mom or Dad latches on as a volunteer and moves with him into Cub Scouts. Mom or Dad becomes a den leader and then a Webelos leader and crosses over with the boy into a troop as a committee member or assistant Scoutmaster. The parent goes to summer camp and participates in high-adventure activities with the troop. Parent and son share great memories. The son earns his Eagle Scout badge and perhaps moves into Venturing.

Eventually, the son “ages out” and is off to college or working and can no longer be a part of the troop. For 10 years, parent and son have been together, have a scrapbook full of pictures, and now the young man’s uniform hangs in the closet. If the son leaves, the leader can easily leave the program because, as one Scouter put it, “Who wants to drive to a meeting alone?”

A priority shift needs to happen. For leaders to remain leaders after 10 years, I discovered they must consciously make that move “from the son to the fun.” Not to say that the leader wasn’t having fun in the first 10 years, but take the boy out of the equation and fun needs to surface. But does it? A leader succession plan needs to be in place.

Susan J. Ellis of energizeinc.com published “The Top 10 Reasons Why Volunteers Leave.” Not surprisingly, the number one reason volunteers check out (drumroll, please): “It stopped being fun.” If only more units, districts, and councils knew this, our adult retention rates would improve. It is the presence—or absence—of fun that keeps leaders in or takes them out,

A second priority shift to retain leaders once they no longer have a boy in the program, is the move that I call “from the kid to the kith.” Kith is an older word that refers to friends and fellowship.

Leaders whose sons are no longer Scouts not only relish in having fun, but also enjoy being with other leaders who have become close friends. They have created memories and a bond of fellowship that make it worth staying in the program.

So how can commissioners help units have fun and fellowship? They need to be watchdogs for unhealthy conflict because that is “anti-fun.”

Conflict is inevitable in life. Yet, there is healthy conflict. When committee members disagree about something like popcorn sales or where to hold the blue and gold banquet, a healthy discussion can occur and the group can make a decision with some give and take.

Commissioners need to be aware of any unhealthy conflict in units and work to resolve it as soon as possible. After all, Scouters who are having fun and enjoying fellowship with other leaders in their dedication to helping the youth of today don’t mind at all.

David Weyrick is the vice president of Membership for Central Region, Area 4.