[Philmont] Increased Participation was RE: Albuquerque to Philmont

You are right about Philstaff knowing the pay scale when they accept
the job, and, for the most part, working conditions are not unlike
other Scout camps. They do it because they love the work and because
they love the opportunity to be at Philmont.

Having said that, I don't think the rangers this past summer signed-up
to work 6 straight weeks without a day off. Dining staff works 4 days
on and 3 off. The camp staff also gets time off (can't remember how
much). Rangers were told that they couldn't have time off because
there were not enough rangers for the number of crews scheduled. If
Philmont tries to increase the number of crews they may be caught in a
Catch-22 where they need more rangers but the number of crews creates
working conditions that make it difficult to recruit qualified rangers.

Dan Preston
Louisville, KY
Philmont '70, '72, '02, '06
On Sep 27, 2006, at 1:16 PM, Michael_J_Conkey@nbc.gov wrote:

>
>
>
>
>
> Dan-what you describe isn't inherent to Philmont. I think most BSA
> camps
> work their staffs like dogs. The camp staff at our local council camp
> also
> work very long hours. I know, I am the proud Dad of two of them.
> They are
> up at 5:30 AM and rarely get to bed before 11 PM. Six days per week,
> for 9
> weeks over the summer. They get one evening off (after 6 PM) during
> the
> week (but few leave the property because they are an hour from home),
> and
> then they have 24 hours off from 10 AM Saturday to 10 AM Sunday. All
> for
> under $150 per week, usually. Counselor's start at $65 per week. They
> don't do it for the dough, they do it because they LOVE what they
> do.... I
> think many of the Philstaff fall into this same viewpoint.....
>
> What has helped at our council camp was that we had a deep-pockets
> benefactor donate the money to start a scholarship fund. Youth in
> leadership positions at camp can get $5,000 per year (renewable) to
> pay for
> college starting the summer after they graduate from high school.
> There
> are multiple scholarships and the other requirements (besides working
> at
> camp) are not outrageous (service hours, GPA, etc.) Of course, to be
> the
> BEST applicant for the scholarships, you need years of camp staffing
> under
> your belt so many kids start as Counselors-in-Training at 14 years old!
> CITs make $5 per week their first year and $10 per week their second
> year.
> The scholarship helps offset the low pay that drives some staff members
> away to better paying jobs. What the scholarship also does is prevent
> qualified staff members from our Council from even considering a summer
> being Philstaff. While Philmont may be heaven, they have trouble
> passing
> up the good opportunity to make $5,000 in scholarship funds.
>
> I think finding staff for Philmont wasn't always so tough. I applied
> to be
> PhilStaff in 1978 and was placed on a waiting list. When the job offer
> finally came (early in June, as I recall), I had already found
> something
> else.... Knowing what I know now, I should have quit my desk job,
> packed
> my bags and headed to New Mexico. But at the time, I was a poor
> college
> student and the money from my summer job with the Government was too
> good
> to let go.....
>
> YIS. Mike ('76, '02, '04 and '07).
>
>
>
> |---------+---------------------------->
> | | Daniel Preston |
> | | <prestonar@bellso|
> | | uth.net> |
> | | Sent by: |
> | | Philmont@troop47.|
> | | com |
> | | |
> | | |
> | | 09/27/2006 09:31 |
> | | AM |
> | | Please respond to|
> | | philmont |
> | | |
> |---------+---------------------------->
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> --------------------------------------------------------|
> |
> |
> | To: "Philmont List Member" <Philmont@troop47.com>
> |
> | cc:
> |
> | Subject: [Philmont] Increased Participation was RE:
> Albuquerque to Philmont |
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> --------------------------------------------------------|
>
>
>
>
> If Philmont wants to increase participation, they better figure out how
> to hire more rangers. This past summer, rangers worked for six
> straight weeks without a day off, due to a shortage or rangers. There
> is no overtime pay or comp time for all of the extra hours and it is
> not unusual for your ranger to work a 16 hour day on his first day with
> your crew. Several rangers quit midway through the summer due to the
> working conditions. I don't know how they get around Department of
> Labor laws, but if they try to increase participation without improving
> ranger working condtions, Philmont is going to have a major labor
> problem on their hands.
>
> Dan Preston
> Louisville, KY
> On Sep 26, 2006, at 6:33 PM, Donald S. Roberts wrote:
>
>> From: JVH2099@aol.com
>>  > We heard that Philmont wants to increase participation by about
>> 15%
>>>  next summer.  That may be the reason for no early arrivals.  Things
>> will
>>>  be getting a bit crowded in tent city.
>>
>> Jim ought to have a pretty reliable rumor source...
>>
>> They have a waiting list that never seems to get to the end of the
>> list and
>> they want to INCREASE participation?  I don't get it.  Are they
>> getting
>> unfilled slots but for some reason not giving those to the waitlisted
>> crews?
>>
>> Or does this mean they are increasing the capacity?
>>
>> We have discussed the pros and cons of increasing the capacity here on
>> this list, and a lot of us felt the impact on the ranch is bad enough
>> without
>> opening the ranch to more crews.
>>
>> During my trek in 2005 (itinerary 2) I sure felt like I was in a well
>> used
>> wilderness that looked much more encroached than our typical Sierra
>> Nevada backpacks.  How much more wear and tear can the ranch take?
>>
>> Regards
>> Don Roberts
>> Fullerton, CA
>> with definite mixed feelings...
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow
Scouts and Scouters, do your best to be trustworthy,
loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient,
cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
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Received on Wed Sep 27 14:29:55 2006