DYB-Mike

Greetings ManyHats,

Several months back our Pack was asked to run a concession stand at a local Touch-A-Truck event. We had good luck running small snack bars before at scout-related events, primarily selling candy and water (sometimes hot dogs), but this would be our first big public attempt. The organizer anticipated attendance at 400 but she herself was inexperienced at the fine points of these events.

The bottom line was that we planned for 400 and I dont think we saw half that. We ended up with a lot of stock left over that we had to eat literally, as we were selling fresh pizza! Some of the stock, such as the candy and water we were able to save for Pack events (I still have frozen Pack hot dogs in my freezer). We made some money but probably would have made triple that (or more) if we had been more conservative with stock.

Has your town held this event or a similar one before? If so, are there any other seasoned folks who have run booths in the past you could consult? If your town has had similar events that youve attended what is your memory of the attendance? Did the whole town turn out?

Do you know if the other food booths will be selling similar items? If you got one drink for each person, you may only sell half that if somebody else is selling drinks, maybe less if they are cheaper.

My advice is to be conservative. Its easier to send somebody out for more supplies (make sure you have cash on hand for change as well) than to be stuck with a lot of overstock, especially if its perishable.

Good luck and have fun!

YIS,

Mike

Greetings All!

My wife and I just sent our newly minted scout (cub crossover) to his first summer camp two weeks ago. He had slept away at friends (overnight) and his Nans (several days) so he was not inexperienced at sleeping away from the nest.

I am in complete agreement with those of you that support the concept of using this time away at camp to allow our sons to learn to stand on their own two feet. Its a good thing for both parent and child: son learns to be responsible and fend for himself while parent isnt faced with the temptation to correct or help out.

Wednesday was Parents Day at our sons camp, which is less than an hour and a half away from our home. Neither my wife nor I wanted to go, not because we didnt care about him but because of the reasons stated above as well as the fear of triggering homesickness. Before he left for camp our son asked us to come and so we did. We found him happy and excited (a little dirty and disorganized but thats the nature of the beast). A couple of the other new scouts in his Troop were really having a hard time and there were tears when their mothers arrived. Our Troop leaders, to their credit, got these new scouts through the week though and in my humble opinion the boys are much better for it. What doesnt kill you only makes you stronger.

To the topic, I personally think the daily update emails are unnecessary and do present the opportunity for parents to micro-manage from afar. Its much the same thing with cell phones. The ability to be in constant communication with Mom and Dad is both distracting and defeats the purpose of sending the boys to camp in the first place if one believes the purpose to be for the boys to develop responsibility and self-reliance. Our Troop has a no electronics policy (not sure if the camp has one as well) that I think is a good thing. Im not anti I-Pod, anti-hand held game, or anti-cell phone, its just that theres a time and a place for everything and scout camp is not the place for electronics.

Prior to summer camp our Troop held a couple of information sessions that were aimed primarily for new parents and scouts. They were very comprehensive, providing lists of what to bring, giving an overview of the weeks activities, and answering parents and scouts questions. Knowing the weeks agenda in advance makes it unnecessary for daily email reports.

At one of the information sessions I brought up the subject of the scouts writing letters to home. Everyone laughed at me, both leaders and parents. I guess nobody writes letters from scout camp any more. I did and, 40 years later, my mom still has it.

I trust the Troop leaders and camp staff to look after my son. If I didnt then why would I send him there in the first place? Clearly, if there was an emergency in the area or something happened to my son I would want to know about it, otherwise, as somebody wrote, no news is good news. By not hearing anything I know my boy is learning to be his own man.

YIS

Mike

Greetings All!

Rythos, your post hits home with me.

Ive been Assistant Cubmaster (trained, registered position) for over a year. My oldest son has crossed over but this fall I will be my youngest sons Tiger Den Leader (already trained, the informal position?) while retaining the ACM position. My ACM predecessor was also a den leader but Im not sure if he juggled both at the Tiger level.

Our Pack is small, about 39 boys currently, with a small core of active, position-holding leaders. I enjoy the ACM position, helping to lead Pack meetings and assisting with the planning and implementation of Pack events and activities, but I do envy the den leaders. Our Cubmaster has said to me that at the den level is where all the action is and I can see what he means.

Now I know I havent gone through the fire yet and know not of what I speak, but Ill throw in my own two cents worth anyway. The first consideration is what do you WANT to do? For me, this is something I WANT to do. I WANT to lead my son and his den-mates but I also WANT to continue to lead at the Pack level as well. If you feel you are being railroaded into taking the ACM position and your heart really isnt in it then you should decline.

Another consideration is the size and activity of your pack. If your pack is large with a lot going on and a lot would be expected of you as ACM then it might be prudent to decline unless you think you can handle it.

Do you feel you would be supported as ACM? Are your Cubmaster, Committee Chair and Committee pro-active and do you have a good supply of helpful parents to assist with pack activities? This would make your job as ACM a lot easier. As it was said you will have your Tiger Partner parents and perhaps an Assistant Den Leader and/or Den Chief to help you at the den level.

How do your scout and the rest of your family feel about you holding both positions? Do you feel you will have the time necessary to handle the responsibilities of both positions?

I will also have the opportunity to volunteer for the Cubmaster or Committee Chair of my Pack in about a years time. Ill see how the Den Leader/ACM goes first before I cross that bridge!

Good luck with your decision. I think that if you WANT to hold both positions and would look forward to the challenge then by all means go for it!

YIS

Mike

Hi folks,

Clearly we can use, and should be grateful for, large monetary donations, or any kind of donation for that matter, be it land, buildings, equipment and so forth.

As it has been pointed out, maybe its the only way a busy person can show their support of scouting or their appreciation for what scouting may have done for them in the past.

That being said, I have to agree with BadenP that to give an award that is normally earned through active service or completing certain goals (Wood Badge) doesnt seem right. I wouldnt go as far as saying that the person is buying scouting, just that the gesture (donation) and the means of recognition are incongruous.

I would assume Councils have the latitude to create special philanthropic awards. Do awards currently exist that are more geared for philanthropic rather than active service? That would seem to make the most sense and eliminate any misunderstanding as to a persons contribution to Scouting. Money or service, each is needed to make the pack [or troop] go.

YIS

Mike

Well, I kinda fell into it when my oldest son joined a pack to be with his friends. I started attending pack meetings and events with him, realized I was having as much fun as he was, and decided to sign on and became Assistant Cubmaster.

Now my oldest has crossed over to Boy Scouts and Im starting the process over with my youngest son, who will be a Tiger. This time I plan to lead my sons den as well.

Fortuitously, Cub Scouts came at a time in my life when I was looking for something meaningful to do aside from work and household duties. I had wanted to be a teacher way back when (didnt happen) so this substitutes in a way. I also liked to camp and hike but never really got the opportunity to do it much until scouts came along. I had been a Boy Scout for a short time but didnt get very far.

I know its supposed to be for the boys but I have to admit to getting a lot of personal satisfaction working with my sons and their fellow scouts and watching them grow, learn, progress and have fun. Ive also begun to see that Im learning new skills as well and using skills I had but didnt get the opportunity to use before. Ive met some terrific people, parents and scouters, in the process. Its a great feeling of accomplishment when the Pack events go over well and you see that the parents are satisfied and the boys have had a ball.

Ive seen that being a Cub Scout Leader, and thus a role model for the boys, is an awesome responsibility and so Im continually working to improve myself physically and mentally to hopefully meet the challenge. I guess I have found something meaningful to do!

Plus, Im just a big kid at heart and this gives me a legitimate venue to act my shoe size and not my age.

YIS

Mike

Folks,

It seems to me that were taking about two different things here.

If someone is asked a direct question, like did you spit from the top of the lighthouse, there is no diplomatic answer to that, just yes or no. To answer contrary to the truth in this instance is a lie, period, and should be addressed accordingly.

To give a diplomatic answer to the question do you like my dress is, in my humble opinion, not lying. A scout is courteous and kind. If one can couch an answer to that question in such a way as, for example, well, I really like that other dress you have better, you know, the (fill in the blank) one shows compassion and a concern for the other persons feelings. The person did not lie and say it was the most beautiful dress they ever saw, but neither did they cut the dress wearer down by telling the truth that the dress was hideous. At worst they could be accused of being evasive. A potential bonus might be that the dress wearer would take the hint and ditch the dress and be appreciative of the concern for their feelings by the absence of a blunt response.

And whos to say that the dress being hideous is the truth? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all.

YIS,

Mike

Gold Winger, I think that telling little white lies is better expressed as being tactful or diplomatic, something Im always trying to hammer home to my kids.

Sometimes family and friends see through some of my less than enthusiastic tactful responses but my retort to them is that when I do heap on the praise or compliments at least they know Im being sincere.

I do agree that there appears to be no real lying here, just a some hesitation (because of embarrassment at being called on it perhaps) in admission of guilt since the guilt was ultimately admitted on the spot. The spitting from the lighthouse is to me the real issue. Glad I wasnt walking around below!

YIS

Mike

Hi Folks!

Novice_Cubmaster wrote, ask any awards person what's the greatest invention of all time - they'll tell you it's the ziplock bag.

SctDad wrote, I have heard about the ziplock method. But I have also heard that there is some things to be said about the baggie presentation.

Our Pack generally uses the ziplock bag to distribute awards, but I remember reading somewhere a while back comments disparaging the plastic baggie and a handshake distribution of awards. Now I suppose if a really neat ceremony were involved that would go a long way to offset the mundane ziplock bag, but it still got me to thinking about novel ways to distribute awards.

My predecessor Assistant Cubmaster once used a catapult he and his Webelos built to fling the awards, encased in plastic eggs, to the recipients. Last November we used a small paper sack that held, in addition to the awards, items such as corn, feathers, seashells and small stones that were symbolic to a Native American ceremony we were doing. For our Chinese New Year themed Blue and Gold this past February the awards were distributed in decorated take-out containers. At our Cross-Over campout last month the awards were distributed in Nalgene water bottles (with a glow stick).

Has anyone else used any other novel methods of award distribution? Im not talking about a ceremony, just the actual container, or lack thereof, of the awards.

YIS,

Mike

Bob, Interesting take.

My initial reaction to this was to propose giving the ceremony a mystical flavor and suggest another leader act as a shaman and do the reaching into the pot for all the cubs. Instead I ran with the parents.

Having a leader do it is probably a better approach unless all the Adult Partners understand the risk (however minimal) and are willing to do it.

YIS

Mike

Hi Folks,

Neat ceremony, but I do agree that presenting it as a final test of their commitment could possibly backfire with those boys that might be afraid to reach into the pot.

Eagledad, it may seem like withholding adventure, but in the analogy you put forth the fearful boy can always choose to hand the stick to Dad or Mom to hold. Here, hes being told that he MUST reach into the pot to prove his commitment.

Id go with the parent reaching in. The Cubmaster could say something like Your Adult Partners have helped you all on your quest to earn the Tiger Cub rank. Now they will help you one final time and retrieve your badge from the boiling pot of _________ (fill in). You might even coach a couple of parents beforehand to overact in their retrieval of the badge unless you want the ceremony to be completely serious.

YIS

Mike

Greetings All!

I picked up a vintage Cub Scout shirt, circa 1956 (the year I was born, hence my interest) based on a dated badge. This boy had his Wolf, Bear, Lion, and Webelos rank. He also had three gold and nine silver arrow points. All of this, plus Denner and several other patches (on the sleeves) make for a pretty striking display.

If youre out there Cub Scout from Den 11, Pack 76, Kansas City, MO Im impressed!

YIS

Mike

Our Webelos II boys adopted an emblem this past cub year. To my knowledge this was the first time our Pack did this. We had two small Webelos II dens that merged (six boys total in the end).

The boys voted on their emblem and became the Dragon Patrol. They made a Patrol flag that they used in some ceremonies and at the Klondike Derby.

Once they adopted the emblem the boys liked to refer to themselves as the Dragon Patrol but officially they are (until the May 17th cross over) still a den.

YIS

Mike

Greetings!

Our Council directed our unit to use our Chartered Organizations tax exemption number when we applied for a grant. We did have to discuss the matter with our Chartered Organization but they quickly acquiesced.

My understanding is that a Pack or Troop is owned by the Chartered Organization. The Chartered Organization charters (contracts) with the BSA to run a scouting program and use the BSA name, forms, and so forth. Consequently, the Chartered Organizations exemption ID should be used by the Pack or Troop.

This seems to makes sense given the power the Chartered Organization has over the unit and that if the Chartered Organization decides not to renew the charter the unit ceases to exist unless it can find another organization that will take on its charter.

In Massachusetts the tax exemption number is the same as the federal taxpayer ID number

YIS

Mike

Gold Winger,

Youre right about the chess board but I am aware of instances where parents have had to step in when their kids fixation with ball games and player stats was taking precedence over schoolwork and grades.

I too have gotten attitude from my boys when I pulled the plug on their video games for whatever reason. My response is a mixture of a flat-out get over it and an attempt at explaining the reasons behind my actions. I know some think attempting to rationalize with a child is a waste of time (as it can be with any pig-headed adult) but personally Ive always felt to wasnt quite fair to continually play the because Im the Dad thats why card (not that I havent in some cases). I figure that, like with some Eastern religions, if you keep repeating the same mantra over and over eventually enlightenment will happen. My kids and I have a running joke Oh no, its time for one of Dads lectures!

YIS

Mike

Greetings,

Our second year webelos have attended a camporee as guests of the Troop they will be crossing over to. The Den meetings are now held at the same time and location as the Troop meetings. After Den business, which lately has consisted of cross over preparation as mentioned in my earlier post, they are invited to participate in the Troop game at the meetings end and in the Troops closing ceremony. They have also participated in a few of the Troops meeting activities. A Troop-Pack Liaison (a member of the troop leadership) has been assigned to help in the transition and answer parents questions. So the Troop leadership and the Boy Scouts are aware of whats going on and they are fine with it.

Now these boys have earned their Arrow of Light, which was presented at the Blue and Gold in February. Why not just cross them over to the troop you ask? Our Pack has a long-standing tradition of crossing the boys over in May at a special camp-out at a local campground. Both the Pack and the Troop wish to continue this tradition, thus the interim period.

And have no fear Gold Winger, as you can see from the above we still call their meetings Den meetings. Thanks for pointing that out though.

YIS

Mike

I had a feeling somebody would call me on that.

What I am saying is that the film Reefer Madness is viewed today as a humorous bit of Americana rather than the educational, cautionary film it was intended to be due to its hysteric, distorted presentation of facts. Im not advocating marijuana use, just using the film as an analogy as to how I view the video game addiction letter.

Its been years since I viewed Reefer Madness but I believe one of the scenes has a guy smoke a joint and is instantly transformed into an ax murderer.

YIS

Mike

Greetings!

This year we formed our six second-year webelos into a patrol. We allowed the boys to select their emblem the Dragon. We got them dragon and position badges and they elected their patrol leader and the other positions. The positions were rotated a couple of times. The boys helped make a patrol flag that they attached to their Klondike Derby sled.

Beyond that, I dont think there was much boy leading practiced, although the boys were made aware that they would be responsible for the planning and most of the execution of their activities as Boy Scouts. Their den leader formed the patrol primarily to give the boys some idea of what the new arrangement in Boy Scouts would be like. There was instruction as to what the positions meant and associated responsibilities. The Chaplains Aide did give a blessing at our Blue and Gold.

I wouldnt consider patrols for any of the other cub ranks except the second-year webelos to prepare them for the transition. For large dens either break it up with an additional den leader or get some assistant den leaders and den chiefs to help out with the activities.

YIS

Mike

Greetings,

I had intended to respond to this thread earlier but since many have already stated opinions similar to mine I didnt post earlier.

I, for one, would not read it to my scouts. As I read it myself I got the impression I was reading a verbal version of Reefer Madness. It was purely black and white If you think you play too much get rid of the games. No discussion of moderation and self-discipline, essential parts of good character. The suggestion of cutting yourself off from the games for a month and advising that if you find yourself thinking of the games during that time means you are hooked is silly. Ill ask you whats your favorite food? Deprive yourself of it for a month and if you can honestly tell me that you dont get a hankering for it during that time then perhaps Ill have a rethink.

Im the father of three young children and Ill agree that, if left to their own devices, they would probably spend too much time on video games. If left to their own devices they would also subsist on a diet of candy, cookies, and chips with tonic (soda to all you non-Bostonians) to wash it down. Are they hooked on sweets? Shall I deprive them of these goodies? What I should do is be a vigilant parent, set boundaries, and teach my children the virtues of moderation. Ill admit its easier if you start when theyre young, but even with older kids (young teens), if you cant have a constructive dialogue with them and are unable to impose house rules on the minors in your care then you have a much bigger problem than video game addiction.

My oldest (10) spends a lot of time on the computer but in addition to games he also explores the programs. Hes shown me function in Microsoft Word that I didnt even know existed (and I use that program heavily). He recently chose to do an assignment as a Power Point which so impressed his teachers and other faculty that he was asked to present it several times, including once to our Superintendent of Schools!

As a parent I think it would be more productive to talk to, encourage, advise and, yes, play a video game or two with my kids (Im a fan of Half-Life and FEAR but my wife will not let me play THOSE games with them) then to scare them with Reefer Madness

YIS

Mike

But in order to answer the question how can I effectively meet the needs of my community wouldnt one need to ascertain what those needs were and whether you were meeting those needs? The recommend and why question would seem to me as a way to gauge existing satisfaction (the program as is is meeting needs and expectations) and, from the no responses, what needs were not being met and other suggestions for improvement.

I also would venture to say that a cable company does not offer a uniform experience. My company (Comcast) offers various levels of programming packages, Pay Per View, channels and Internet. I think even phone service is coming or has come. I can customize my experience to suit my needs. I think one could say scouting is more uniform for such reasons as requirements for rank progression and aging out, although a scout can choose to pursue a host of electives as well.

The unit level recommendation is an interesting take. I had interpreted the question as coming from a high level (National) as to the program in general.

YIS

Mike

Hi Eamonn,

I think the cable question itself would work. I assume it is meant to be asked to consumers and probably would follow with if so why? or if not why not?.

So you would ask scouts and parents: would you recommend Scouting to your friends and neighbors and why or why not?

I suppose you could ask leaders and professional scouters but theres a built-in bias there; however, given some of the discussion Ive seen in my short time here it wouldnt surprise me to see some why not comments.

The question is so general that I think you cover all the bases. An articulate respondent could even include a hint of the negative in a positive response, such as I would recommend scouting because of X but it could be a better program if Y were included.

And yes, I would recommend scouting because:

It teaches boys responsibility and social skills in a fun and challenging way.

It allows a parent to interact with his/her son and his friends and provide an additional opportunity to serve as a positive roll model.

In a pack or troop with enthusiastic leadership theres always something fun and stimulating going on.

And on a personal note, it helps to keep an old man young!

YIS

Mike

Greetings All!

I gotta go with Gold Winger on this.

I went to the Guide to Safe Scouting and found thebigguys reference to the prohibition on den camping and noted that everything that followed was in the context of what Im calling for want of a better term stereotypical camping: outdoors, in tents, hiking, bad water, and so on. Nothing here seemed to apply to sitting in the Chartered Organization rec room playing games and watching scary movies until all hours. Im willing to bet that a rec room sleepover was not in the minds of those who drafted the prohibition and that part of the Guide.

The term camp-in is certainly a more exciting term than sleepover. I would think the only connection to the event in question and real camping was probably a sleeping bag. As to what is the difference from cabin camping, I would argue that you are still in a wilderness (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) environment and pursuing the same activities as tent camping hiking, swimming, boating, campfire and so forth. The Bears in the rec room were clearly not doing that.

I found this thread particularly interesting because my Pack is considering doing this very thing (camp-in at our Chartered Organization). Ill admit it didnt occur to me that District or Council permission would be necessary so long as proper safety precautions were in place. If this idea moves forward I now intend to give the District a heads up.

Carl, Im a new guy too and while I respect rules and regulations and will Do My Best to follow them I would not necessarily be a slave to them. Ive worked with federal and state regulations for twenty years and what Ive learned is that regulations can be subject to interpretation and waived if the circumstances are fitting. Also, I note that our rulebook is called the GUIDE to Safe Scouting. No rulebook can anticipate every eventuality thats why we have lawyers!

I dont think you should feel guilty for having stood by and kept my mouth shut in this case. The leaders followed the important rules of safety with regards to training, Youth Protection, and sleeping arrangements. By your own admission a safe environment was provided for the boys and they had FUN thats what counts.

I guess the moral here is: when in doubt, go to your District or Senior Executive and get the answer in writing.

YIS

Mike

Greetings Pack468_Troop659!

Great idea, I may borrow that one as well!

The others are right, of course, that the boys should have a say into what goes on the coat-of-arms. Have a brainstorming session with them and Im sure some good ideas will come out.

In addition to the other great suggestions some other things you could suggest to the boys are:

You mentioned your state flag. How about something more local? Do you have a famous personage, building, or monument from/in your city or town? How about your Chartered Organization; does it have a notable building (maybe where you meet) or some other local icon attached to it? A picture or drawing of these local icons on the coat-of-arms may bring questions from other scouts outside of your area and give your boys a sense of pride in their community.

Has your pack won any special awards like the Centennial Quality Unit Award or maybe something specific to your District or Council? If so, showcase the Packs accomplishment!

Do you have a Pack yell, cheer or slogan? That could go on the coat-of-arms or on a ribbon around or attached to it, like the Order of the Garter.

YIS

Mike

Thats interesting. I entered my profile back when I joined in early January and Ive experienced no problem with it.

Now if I had better luck with adding my unit to All Scout Units on the Web. Ive submitted my data twice over the last three months and it still hasnt appeared.

YIS

Mike

Greetings sssdigger,

Reading your email kinda reminds me of my own situation. Im the Assistant Cubmaster of our Pack and my oldest son, a Webelos II, will be crossing over in May and my youngest son will be coming in as a Tiger at the same time. Havent done the den leader thing yet but Im planning to do it for my Tiger and hopefully take him all the way through to Webelos.

Theres a lot of great stuff here so read and enjoy! Good luck with your awesome pack! May all our Packs (and Troops) be awesome!

YIS

Mike

Im an Assistant Director of Accounting and Financial Reporting / CFO of an extra large public housing authority.

The part to the left of the / is what I really am. CFO is a title I can legitimately use but, without getting into the details, its more ceremonial than substance, like Queen Elizabeth except she makes a lot more than I do. But I cant complain it pays the bills.

Ive been in this line of work for about 20 years now. In school I wanted to be an archaeologist or a history teacher. Teaching cubs is a nice substitution.

YIS

Mike