Eagle732

I know.

Somebody else is selling their fathers Silver Beaver award. Different than any other I've seen, this one is gold colored with a green and gold ribbon. Also a Silver Buffalo. Is nothing sacred? (This message has been edited by Eagle732)

eBay ad description "I have come to find out that my mother recieved it in 1972" Selling his mothers Silver Fawn, how sad.

The problem is with our District. The point I made was that these people change almost every year and the people causing problems today are all temporary (I've had 5 DEs in 9 years). Here today, gone tomorrow.

Well we have 70 years in the current council (20 in the previous one). So in my opinion that is a factor against changing. Also we have scouts active in the OA lodge and all members would have to change lodges so that's a negative factor for changing. This is the kind of information I'm looking for. No one should envy the position we are in, hopefully cooler heads will prevail.

I'm just looking for information on changing councils. Of course there's a reason but I've been on this forum long enough to know better than to even get into why. So the answer seems to be it's based on where the CO is located. Our CO is located in a different council than we are currently located. Next question, do we have to change councils in this case or is it the CO's option?

Our CO doesn't have a fixed address since they don't own a meeting hall or facility. Seattle, I didn't say I wanted to make a change. I will go where the CO says we should be.

Well our IH usually changes every year when the Institution holds it's elections. I don't ever recall one actually living in the Council we are registered in. We are right on a state border (literally a block from the border) and have scouts, leaders and CO members from both states.

Will you be able to place those who don't make the cut with other crews?

There has been no change in location of the CO or the troop's meeting location.

Well our troop changed councils in 1944. The two councils are in different states and we are right on the border. Of course that was then and this is now so things may have changed. Just wondering if it can be done and what's involved if it can be done.

Can a unit change councils if the unit's Charter Organization wants to?

Twocubdad's said " Our guys do a pretty cool thing -- the whole patrol accompanies the scout forward and sings with them. Or sometimes is it's a little guy, a number of older Scouts sing with them" I have a whole lot of respect for a patrol that sticks together like that!

For our troop we just pile the stuff up in a corner and make an announcement to please check the lost and found box if you're missing something. After a few months we sort and store it. When new scouts join we let them pick items from stored items. They get lots of nice free stuff. Gloves, hats, knives (I usually keep those and use them for new Scouts to practice their sharpening skills), water bottles, and mess kits are favorite contributions.

When my Web son and I made an unannounced visit a local troop we witnessed their procedure for returning lost personal property. An item was held up by the SM as he asked "who belongs to this?. A scout would come to the front of the room and squat down and do a duck walk while quacking back and forth across the room. The rest of the troop would cheer and laugh. I also saw many items go unclaimed. I wonder if the embarrassment was not worth the price to replace the item. Later my son said he didn't want to quack if he lost something and would not consider joining that troop even though his best friend from his den did. I asked the SM if it was mandatory to do this to have a lost item returned. He said yes, it was part of their program. I am not judging them, they are free to do this if they choose (to a point) but in this case it hurt their recruiting efforts. Other Webs from my son's den visited on the special Webelos Visit Night, they did not see this procedure.

Sheath knives are banned in our troop. No one has ever questioned why, it's just excepted as fact.

In our troop Scouts and adults must have qualified as swimmer during the previous year to get in a canoe. All wear PFDs all the time. It's troop policy and it's not negotiable. If you don't swim you don't go.

MIB, if you want to change the troop for the better join the Charter Organization and become the COR. Then you can make some real changes. First on the list, a new CC! It's great when the people who cause you headaches now work FOR you.

Wow Kudu, you took parts of two sentences from two different paragraphs and combined them to created one sentence, all in an attempt to misquote me. Very creative.

Kudu, I was trying to have a civil discussion on this topic. I hadn't decided how to handle this when I first posted but now that I have I would think you could respect my decision and not blast me for it. I do believe your comments are argumentative and disrespectful to another Scouter who cares about boys and works as hard at providing a good program as I'm sure you do. Kudu, do you really think you're the only one here who reads BP's works? The only one who sends boys out all day with map and compass on patrol hikes without adults? Really? Do you think you're the only one taking boys out backpacking and canoeing? Do you really think that you get to decide that boys who don't like to backpack are not real scouts and that anyone who doesn't run their program the way you do is running a Web 3 program? I've seen all kinds of troops, some like yours, some you might describe as Web 3 programs, but most are somewhere in between. Some types of programs work for some kids, some don't. The boys get to decide where they join and what type of program they get. You don't. You also don't get to decide who the real scouts are in my troop. And you don't get to disrespect others just because they see things differently than you. I might not stress 300 feet but I do stress the Scout Oath and Law, something I've been living by since 1964. I do appreciate the rest of you weighing in though, thank you.

Thanks Chazz for your thoughtful response. I didn't read your post until after I posted my last thoughts but I agree with your advise. I think we all just try to do the best we can for the boys.

There were probably at least 300 people in the room, I had 5 scouts, 5 parents, and our Eagle Advisor there with me. I was not looking at how many adults were using their phones, but none of my adults were. Since this event is put on by our DAC for Eagle candidates parents really don't need to pay attention since they're not doing an Eagle project (or at least that's the intent!). The DAC did ask that all phones be turned off during the presentation. Again, lack of respect. So I asked everyones opinion and I've made my decision on how to deal with what I see is a problem. I will support the SPL and the PLCs "if I see it it's mine" policy. I'll also let parent's know that phones are not needed and are a distraction at Scouting events and discourage them from being brought. My cell number is on every permission slip that each parent gets a copy of so if they need to get in touch with their son they can call me. I'm reminded of a discussion I had with a friend who is a SM who happened to be at summer camp the same time we were. He said Tuesday evening he had parents of two first year scouts show up at camp unannounced to take their sons home because they had called from their cell phones and told their parent's they wanted to go home. He never had a chance to talk with the boys about being homesick and help them through it. We all know the disadvantage to boys when they don't attend the first summer camp, both boys have since dropped from the troop. My SM friend now discourages cell phone use.

Would this "donation" apply to Philmont crew advisors in your council too?

So I asked for opinions on cell phone use and it seems most here don't seem to think they are a problem. Quite different than the opinion of those who responded to the Scouting Magazine article where most felt that they hinder the program. Wonder why the difference of opinions? Kudu, I'm not really sure about how backpacking and canoeing 5 miles to a campsite has anything to do with cell phone use. Since this is a problem that my SPL has identified and addressed I think I (the SM) should care about it. One other point. There's no concern about respecting others?(This message has been edited by Eagle732)

I think for some it goes way beyond an occasional use of a cell phone during an inappropriate time. It's almost an addiction. I have seen boys who constantly use their phones, mostly for games. The only relief is when the battery goes dead. It's not just allowing a boy to listen to music in his tent at night, it's about respecting others. Respecting your tent buddy who's trying to sleep instead of talking on the phone late at night. It's respecting the DAC who's giving instruction on what's expected during an Eagle project and taking notes instead of playing games on his phone (by the way Mom took several pages of notes). It listing to the Chaplain's Aid while he's doing a service instead of texting your friend. None of this is in keeping with Scout Spirit. I'm not big on banning things but if you think about it there's lots of things banned in Scouting.