Recharter: Explained

If you are reading this, you probably have just been asked to “recharter” your “unit” and are full of questions. You also may be a little anxious, wondering “what in the world have I gotten myself into?” because everyone else was so relieved when you agreed to do it.

RELAX. Unit recharter has earned a reputation as being difficult when, in fact, it is pretty easy. If there is a hard part, it’s that some rules have to be followed for each member and that you have to finish on time.

So let’s start with some of those questions:

What is a unit?

That’s the Pack, Troop, Team, Crew, or Ship that asked you to do this. Units in our area operate under the local Cherokee Area Council Boy Scouts of America (BSA). The Council assigns each unit to a District, a geographic part of AAC’s area of operations. A unit always has a Unit Leader who is responsible for seeing that a program is delivered to the youth members. The Unit Leader has a title like Advisor, Cubmaster, Scoutmaster, Coach, or Skipper. A unit has at least three adults who serve as the Unit Committee that supports the Unit Leader.

What is recharter?

BSA issues a charter through the local Council to a Chartered Organization, like the Church or other organization that owns your unit, which allows it to use a BSA program to serve youth in its community. For example, a Cub Scout Pack uses Cub Scouting to serve boys in the first through fifth grades. BSA requires that the charter be renewed annually to continue using the program. We call that annual renewal “recharter”.

What else happens during recharter? In addition to renewing the unit charter, recharter time is when all youth and adult members (leaders) renew their membership in BSA. Member renewals are most of the work. If your unit collects all or part of its member dues or fees on an annual basis, that collection often takes place at recharter too. Your unit should also complete the application for the Journey To Excellence Award.

For more information on rechartering, contact Barbara Edwards.