I have been working on a letter to introduce my replacement in our scouting group for almost a week… it was turning into one of my blog posts that would never get published but I finally did it.  I PDF’d the letter and attached it to an email… away it goes.

I have several scouters from Alberta, the US and Eastern Asia that read this blog sporadically and I thought I would post it here as well for them.  they have shared so much with me over the past few years that it only seemed fair to share such an important moment in our group’s history in Canada.

Here is the letter…

Hello Parents, Scouters, Volunteers, Youth, and anyone else reading this,

I wanted to take a moment to formally introduce you all to the new Group Commissioner for 12^th St. Albert Scouting… everyone say hi to Sandra (last name redacted).  Most of you knew that Sandra and I were switching Group Committee roles this year but did you know why?

Some, who don’t know us well, might think that Sandra and I work together great and we agree on everything.  You can’t be farther from the truth.  Sandra and I have differing, and often opposing views on almost everything.  I don’t just think that this is just good for the group, I believe it is essential.  This is how the group will continue growing in new ways that I wouldn’t have thought of, or taken initiative toward.

Yes, she is different from Shayne, but who is Sandra and why is she the new Group Commissioner?

We don’t have to get personal to know who she is as a person.  In a world where everyone is pulled in every direction, Sandra went, in a period of 12 months, from new Beaver section lead (and solidifying in my mind that we need a female with day-home management experience in our beaver section forever… and more moms in general), to getting her Group Committee Woodbadge I training (all day Saturday course), to taking on part of the Group Administrator role last February (I piled on whatever she was willing to do), to attaining her Beavers Woodbadge II certification in 2 weekends in April (to help her properly train Karen as her replacement) and then gaining her Cubs Woodbadge II certification at a full-week training camp in August.

When you see me smirk when an adult tells me that they are too busy to volunteer, or come to a camp, or do some online training, or spend an extra hour at an event setting up chairs or washing dishes; I am not thinking less of that volunteer because I don’t know their circumstances and I understand ‘busy’.  I sometimes think that I reinvented ‘busy’ as a way of life.

What I am thinking is, “Hey, I appreciate your consideration but when you say something is impossible, I just wonder how long it would take Sandra to do it”.

She inspires me to be a better scouter and I think you would do well to find some time to get to know her better.

Thanks and have a great 2015-2016 scouting year!

Shayne (last name redacted) – Group Administrator
12^th St. Albert Scouting Group

My favorite picture of 12th St. Albert Scouting Group from a few years back