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Q. Ray,
Two questions regarding adult nominations for membership:
- Group #1 says only the Scoutmaster and the unit committee chairman sign the nomination form and that no one else has a say. Group #2 says the Scoutmaster and the committee chairman (as the spokesperson for the unit committee) sign the nomination form.
Which group more accurately describes the adult nomination process? - We have an adult assistant Scoutmaster who is two nights shy of the camping requirement. Youth elections are next week. Most likely two boys will be elected (one of them the assistant Scoutmaster’s son). Five days after the youth election the assistant Scoutmaster will have met the camping requirement.
Can the troop committee nominate the assistant Scoutmaster several days AFTER the youth election?
A. Two great questions regarding the nomination of adult candidates. I’m sure others have encountered similar circumstances.
- Please note that the Guide for Officers and Advisers says:
“Each year, upon holding a troop or team election for youth candidates that results in at least one youth candidate being elected, the unit committee may nominate adults to the lodge adult selection committee, composed of the lodge adviser, the chairman of the council committee on which the lodge adviser serves and the lodge staff adviser.”
Group #2’s interpretation is correct: the unit committee decides which adults are nominated, and the unit committee chair signs on behalf of the committee and its decision. - The official language in the Guide for Officers and Advisers says:
“Each year, upon holding a troop or team election for youth candidates that results in at least one youth candidate being elected, the unit committee may nominate adults to the lodge adult selection committee…”
It all depends on how to interpret the word “upon.” In this circumstance, I think it would be fine to have the committee’s nomination be a few days after the youth election, especially since the troop committee often isn’t able to act at a troop meeting but rather prepares its nomination(s) a few days after the election, when they regularly convene.
Thanks for all you are doing to promote membership in the order in your unit!
Ray