From: "settummanque, the blackeagle" (Mike Walton)
Via: Chris Haggerty/ Scouts-L Youth Programs Discussion List
Date: 12 Oct 1994

(Thanks to Chris Haggerty...he found the ORIGINAL posting that I made a while back in regards to the four-pound binder; since I've kinda botched it the first time, here's the original posting and the background of why it is important.)

When I was a young Paraprofessional, the fourteen of us that accepted the calling to serve Scouting was corralled in a office located on Nashville's west end, 2000 Richard Jones Road. We were all introduced to our new "boss", then Area Director William Joe Woodall. Joe Woodall became my Scouting mentor for the next four years as he taught me as he did all of the parapros (except due to attrition, I was the only one left) everything he knew of the craft of selling Scouting.

One evening, as we were standing at a Scout camp, Joe pointed to one of the professionals that I noticed was carrying around a large binder all day long. This guy seemed to have everything he needed in that binder: the daily activities, a small notepad, extra pen. Calling cards in the pocket on one side.

"That's a boy that will never be caught dumbfounded by his volunteers", he told me. We talked about the fact that every time you ask a professional a question, he looks at you and says the traditional NEI (national executive institute) line, "you know (insert name), I don't really know. Give me a call next week and I'll have the answer for you."

They hope that you don't call and remind them...or that you won't be there. "makes us all look stupid", Joe told a bunch of pros once. "Makes the program look stupid, too. Hell," he would scream at them, "WE'RE THE ONES THAT SUPPOSED TO KNOW THE ANSWERS! DON'T LET THEM CALL ME AND ASK...."

Joe taught us to take the most important documents we have, the most useful BSA publications that we could find dealing with our specialty area, a road map ("Don't let a volunteer tell you how to get to his town....you FIND IT IF IT TAKES ALL NIGHT LONG (and it *did*, one time!)"), a pencil ("Some folks look at you as a person with brains if you use a pencil for figuring. Puts you on THEIR level, and they'll liable to talk more with you!"), a stick of chewing gum and his card ("just in case"). "Don't stick them in a briefcase...you're a professional Scouter, not a Wall Street man"; put them in a binder...get the expensive kind, because you want this thing to last a few years. Put so much stuff in it that it's hard to close the thing. That way, if nothing else, you can give a volunteer a answer until you can research it more in-depth."

"And by all means, GIVE THEM AN ANSWER! Even if you're wrong, you can always go back and say "I gave you the wrong answer. Here's the right one. If you don't give them ANY answer at all, then they'll find the answer someplace else and your effectiveness is that much lessened. After a while, you will be replaced!"

William Joe Woodall passed away while I was in Germany, in the winter of 1983. He taught me some valuable lessons that I still use today. Including the "four pounder" notebook that I use to find quick answers to many questions on this list, in speeches, during training sessions particularly with Commissioners and their staffs, and with others that really want to know. When I don't know the answer, cannot find the answer, or when conflicts between what I've been trained and taught and "reality" exists, I pick up the phone (this is the part that Jessica does NOT like), call former National staffers that are now senior executives all over this land (and in Germany), or call the national office to talk with one of the nineteen people that I have developed a long personal relationship over the past 20 years.

The following is what I have in my "four pounder", including the "source code" (catalog number or where I got it from). I place it here because during our past discussions, several was wondering where they could get their hands on "the definitive answer". As my earlier posting said, much of this is available to ANY VOLUNTEER (and not just the ones on the District or Council level) in ANY COUNCIL. The ONLY reason why you will encounter difficulties in getting these items is because someone in your local Council wants to deprive (sp) you of YOUR RIGHT as a Scouter to know exactly what the rules are.

In those cases, do what I do...go to another Council and ask them. Or get the publication directly from National. Our National Editorial Service spends good money and their long time in getting them out to you, the "field". They are ALL GREAT RESOURCES, NO MATTER WHAT YOUR JOB IN SCOUTING IS!

Here they are:

Mike Walton's FIELDBOOK

I. Planning:

II. Organizing:

III. Training:

IV. Support:

V. Evaluation:

VI. REFERENCE:

VII. AWARDS AND ADVANCEMENT:

FACT SHEETS:

Whew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's all that's in there! *Of course* there's a lot more in there than what I typed (WHAT!?!?!?! MORE!?!?!? HOW COULD IT ALL FIT IN THERE?!??!?), but its the same kind of stuff that you all probably have lying around waiting for its turn in the ol' file 13 (garbage can).

Hope that this LLlllllONNNNNNGGGGG posting was to the benefit of those that really needed to know where we "got *that* answer from".

(Sent back home to Mikey by Chrissy Haggerty!)

Again, thanks, Chris! I hope that there are several out there will use a variation of this in their service to our units and in return to our youth!

Settummanque!

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