Cascade Pacific Council

Commissioners are district and council leaders who help Scout units succeed. They coach and consult with adult leaders of Cub Scout packs, Boy Scout troops, and Venturing crews. Commissioners help maintain the standards of the Boy Scouts of America. They also oversee the unit charter renewal plan so that each unit reregisters on time with an optimum number of youth and adult members

Roles the Commissioners Play

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 attitude, "I care, I am here to help,what can I do for you?" Caring is the ingredient 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 commissioner's visit to their meeting. To them, the commissioner may be the BSA. The commissioner helps represent the ideals, the principles, and the policies of the Scouting movement.

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

The commissioner is a teacher. As a commissioner, they will have a wonderful 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 most—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 counselor, 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.

How are commissioners selected- Click here

Unit Visit Tracking System

The Unit Visit Tracking System (UVTS) is a tool for those in commissioner service to record and review information about their contact with the units they serve. With regular and consistent use, this system can provide each commissioner an "at-a-glance" overview of recent visits and a history of communications with each unit, which can help to provide timely and consistent support.

The Journey to Excellence system has a  criteria for unit visits recorded in the Unit Visit Tracking System (UVTS). Commissioners need to record their unit visits in the UVTS in order for this criteria to be met. Most important to Commissioner Service is making quality visits to units on a regular basis. Entering unit health and unit issues in UVTS and talking about them with the Commissioner team will ensure quality service to units. The recording will give historical information about a unit and how a problem was solved. This will also be helpful when there is a change of personnel calling on the unit.

Unit Visit Tracking Instructions

Unit Visit Tracking FAQ

Unit Visit Tracking Presentation/Training

Unit VIsit Tracking Video

Unit VIsit Tracking System Report

 Performance Recognition Program

Journey to Excellence changes the basic way we measure and recognize success in the Boy Scouts of America by moving away from measuring process and moving to measuring performance. The scorecards below provide specific information, justified by unit type, to help you understand the criteria, and exactly what data will be used to determine the three levels of performance. In planning your strategy, use actual numbers from the previous year to guide your performance improvement goal planning. In each area, the unit may qualify by meeting a specific standard or by showing measured improvement.

2013 Scorecards- English

2013 Scorecards- Spanish

 Charter Renewal Tools

Here is a great way to learn how to do the entire Unit Charter Renewal process. Click on the link below, open, and save to your computer the powerpoint presentation. If you would like to customize the information on each slide, just right-click on the slide and select "Edit", make your changes, then "Save".

2012/13 Charter Renewal handbook

2013 Charter renewal Commissioner Training

You can also download a PowerPoint viewer directly from Microsoft at this hyperlink: Microsoft's PowerPoint viewer