Are Roundtables Dead


On the Scouts-L discussion group a member raised the question of whether Roundtables were dead (see italisized text). Mike Walton's responded as follows:

Our district "roundtable" was held last night and I was quickly (emphatically) informed that it is no longer to be refered to as "Scout Roundtable" but as "Leaders' Meeting". Similarly, the Commissioners' meeting and district commitee meetings have been renamed (I seem to >recall the terms "facilitators" and "operations").

My question to the wisdom of the list: Did I miss something? Are "Roundtables" a thing of the past?


No more than we are calling our District Executives "Unit-Serving Executives".

A year and some months back, the BSA *suggested* that "the field" change some of the titles and working groups that have since the start of Scouting, has been a fixture. Some of it is reflect what exactly goes on during those activities; and others have been suggested as a way of "updating the program."

Don't count on those new "titles" to catch on....there is a LOT of resistance from our professional counterparts to part with the "District Executive" and "Senior District Executive" titles!

And don't count on "Leaders' Meeting" to take the place of "Roundtable" and "District Operations Meeting" to take the place of "District Committee meetings". I haven't heard the "faciliator" title used anywhere....

This is all coming from the same people whom want our Council Scout Executives known as "Council Presidents" and our Council Presidents known as "Chief Executive Officers".

These are ALL SUGGESTIONS. The BSA hasn't officially change ANY of our official titles, the names of our program elements, nor the names of those supporting programs to benefit the Council, District and unit operation. There are several field tests going on now, and your District may be included in one such field test to see how well (or not) those proposed changes may work before implementation.

As a former Boy Scout "Roundtable" Commissioner of fairly successful monthly meeting (>50% of units in attendance regularly), I'm somewhat familiar with the objectives of this meeting and the "training" that is to be carried out there. My impression (from last night's "encounter") is that these "leaders' meetings" are to be more information transfer oppertunities than anything with the majority of the activities directed toward the Cub Scout program.

The scope of the meetings will continue to be as it is presently done; just the NAME of the meeting will change. Note that Exploring has long had held "Leaders' Exchanges" which describes closer what Roundtables do in the "Exploring scheme" of things....

Because I am also serving as the newsletter editor, using the correct terms is important.

For right now, I would suggest that you use the suggested titles and place the "traditional" titles in parentheses so that "old-timers" reading the articles continue to associate the "event" with "what it is called today."

As in "Leaders' Meeting (Roundtable)."

Settummanque! (Settummanque!)

Scouts Using the Internet Cartoon - Courtesy of Richard Diesslin - Click to See More Cartoons
© 1994-2024 - U.S. Scouting Service Project | Site Map | Disclaimer | Project Team | Contact Us | Privacy Policy

Materials found at U. S. Scouting Service Project, Inc. Websites may be reproduced and used locally by Scouting volunteers for training purposes consistent with the programs of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) or other Scouting and Guiding Organizations. No material found here may be used or reproduced for electronic redistribution or for commercial or other non-Scouting purposes without the express permission of the U. S. Scouting Service Project, Inc. (USSSP) or other copyright holders. USSSP is not affiliated with BSA or WOSM and does not speak on behalf of BSA or WOSM. Opinions expressed on these web pages are those of the web authors. You can support this website with in two ways: Visit Our Trading Post at www.ScoutingBooks.com or make a donation by clicking the button below.
(U.S. Scouting Service Project Donation)


(Ruth Lyons Memorial Donations)