Commissioners

Commissioner Responsibilities: Roles the Commissioner Plays

A Commissioner plays several roles, including friend, representative, unit doctor, teacher, and counselor.

The commissioner is a friend of the unit. Of all their roles this one is the most important. It springs from the attitiude, "I care, I am here to help, what can I do for you?" Caring is the infrediant that makes commissioner service successful. He or she is an advocate of unit needs. A commissioner who makes himself known and accepted now will be called on in future times of trouble.

The commissioner is a representative. The average unit leader is totally occupied in working with kids. Some have little, if any, contact with the Boy Scouts of America other than a commissioners visit to their meetings. To them , the commissioner may be the BSA. The commissioner helps represent the ideals, the principles, and the policies of the Scouting movement.

The commisioner is a unit doctor.  In their role as doctor, they know that prevention is better than a cure and tries to make their unit see that good health practices are a way of life. When problems arise, and they will even in the best unit, they act quickly. They observe symptom, diagnose the real ailment, prescribe a rememdy, and follow up on the patient.

The commissioner is a teacher. As a commissioner they will have a wondrful opportunity to participate in the growth of unit leaders by sharing knowledge with them. They teach not just in an academic environment, but where it counts- as an immediate response to a need to know. That is the best adult learning situation since the lesson is instantly reinforced by practical application of the new knowledge.

The commissioner is a counselor. As a Scouting counselot, they will help units solve their own problems. Counseling is the best role when unit leaders don't recognize a problem and where solutions are not clear-cut. Everyone needs counseling from time to time, even experienced leaders.

		View Responsibilities for each position