Leaderboard

Last year on this day, our Troop lost a scout to Suicide. This could have absolutely destroyed our Troop, and we lost some, but that is ok. The majority rallied around each other, and stood strong. I'd like to tell you, that was a hard day for us, and myself. I personally called every parent and let them know before they found out from another source. Bad news travels fast. The lessons I learned when my best friend died of suicide a decade ago helped me to help these guys process their feelings. We brought in a counselor for them all. Anxiety induced depression, depression, o

It was interesting to see the thread about misconceptions as I had deliberately logged on to post something. yesterday I spent 40 minutes on the phone and my Group Scout Leader (my manager, don’t think you have an equivalent) had spent 2 hours on the phone with the mum of a scout who was having a bit of a moan. She had various things to say but they all stemmed from the fact that her daughter has not made PL or APL yet. Her daughter is disappointed. She’s not the first and won’t be the last and in herself is not a problem. The problem is that her mum does not accept how scouts operat

Ours is a multi-generational LDS Scouting family with three generations of Eagle Scouts and two generations of Scoutmasters. In spite of my dedication to Scouting, I have felt increasing discord each time BSA takes a left turn. My uneasiness grows with each new announcement from Irving. Our missions are diverging: The BSA program is changing to seek greater approval and acceptance from the world; the church youth program is changing to seek greater approval and acceptance from God. So be it - each organization should have control over its own destiny. The more details I learn about the re

Sure! I don’t know all the details, but here is what I do know. He is no longer an ASM, but is still a member of the Committee. He accompanies the Troop on campouts as a parent, but that’s all. I am glad I reported it— the Scoutmaster said that it really “empowered” him, whatever that means.

Skip: I'd say this is a good example of one of my favorite axioms: "The work is done by whoever shows up." This young Scout will be one of the ones who show up, yes? And, as has been said, when the other Scouts notice who helps with the dishes, who helps the younger Scouts over the log, who jumps in when the tent starts to blow down, the next election will show who they have come to expect leadership from. The Servant Leader does not necessarily seek the TITLE. she/he leads by leading, not by complaining.

I wonder if it would help to talk with the parent about the things the Scout could do to help increase her prospects of getting chosen. It's tough sometimes to simply accept - they chose someone else. While that's a useful lesson in life to learn, it also can be a good motivator to make yourself the obvious choice for next time. You mentioned: Are there somethings she could do to position herself to be the clear choice next time? Volunteer more for within the group, speak up more often, make it clear that this is something she wants? We see this in our troop. We have yout

Sounds like a good scoutmaster minute. Thanks. Oh, and it's one more thing we can blame on the British

I appreciate the optimism. 😊 My personal observation and experience -- especially with Scouters -- is that when a local, solvable problem is identified, there are always folks with creative solutions or just stamina who are ready to jump in and try it. The "empowerment" issue is not about them -- it is about convincing the people with authority over that area to say "yes -- go for it." I have seen far too many skilled, eager volunteers give up on solving a problem because the person or group that holds the keys or writes the checks won't approve the effort, or won't decide, or won't even l

Last week I travelled to West Lafayette to see the Mizzou / Purdue football game. Along for the trip was my family and my brother's family and my sister. Well, during the tailgate I got a kick out of the fact that my boys (ages 27 and 26) used their old Patrol cooler and stove for the tail gate. My oldest was in charge of the grill - burgers for all (he had a steak!) and they cleaned up everything. Their aunts & uncles and cousins were impressed. Their Scout training came in very useful. It brought back a flood of memories of when we were all about 10 years or more younger and th

Related would be death for other reasons as well. I know that when we lost one of our Eagles years ago to an Air Force training accident, and we were asked to be honor guards, it was really hard for many of his friends from his time in the unit. For me, it was more so, in that he and I had been friends beyond his youth time and his mother asked me to do a eulogy. Still probably the hardest thing I have ever done as a leader.

I know it's my faith, but you are there for a reason. God bless you. Reading about your gift, I reflected at a time when a scout came to a meeting late and out of uniform. We leave the uniform requirements and choices up to the scouts, but this was an unusual occurrence with the scout. So I asked him how things were going. He confessed (blurted out) that his parents just dropped him off from announcing they were getting a divorce. I knew from other life experiences that divorce ranks way up there when it comes to shock. I didn't know what to say, but I felt that he wasn't ready to join h